Integrations & Debugging

Step 1: Create Your Bot with BotFather

1. Open Telegram and search for '<'code'>'@BotFather'<'/code'>'
2. Send '<'code'>'/newbot'<'/code'>' and follow the prompts
3. Choose a name (e.g., "My OpenClaw") and username (must end in "bot")
4. BotFather will give you a token like: '<'code'>'123456789:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11'<'/code'>'

Step 2: Add Token to OpenClaw

Use the CLI to register the provider:

moltbot providers add --provider telegram --token YOUR_BOT_TOKEN

Or add to your config directly:

// ~/.clawdbot/config.json
{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "123456789:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11",
      "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
      "allowFrom": ["YOUR_TELEGRAM_USER_ID"],
      "groupPolicy": "allowlist",
      "streamMode": "partial"
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Configure DM Policy

By default, '<'code'>'dmPolicy'<'/code'>' is set to '<'code'>'"pairing"'<'/code'>':

• '<'strong'>'pairing:'<'/strong'>' Unknown senders receive a pairing code (expires after 1 hour)
• '<'strong'>'allowlist:'<'/strong'>' Only allow specific user IDs
• '<'strong'>'open:'<'/strong'>' Allow anyone (not recommended!)

To approve a pairing request:

moltbot pairing list telegram
moltbot pairing approve telegram <CODE>

Step 4: Group Configuration

Telegram bots use Privacy Mode by default—they only see messages that mention them. To see all messages, add the bot as a '<'strong'>'group admin'<'/strong'>'.

Step 5: Restart Gateway

moltbot gateway restart