OpenClaw Telegram setup

Prerequisites

• OpenClaw installed via installer or npm.
• Telegram account (for creating bot and getting user ID).
• LLM provider credentials already configured.
• Gateway running: openclaw gateway status.

Step 1: Create your Telegram bot

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather.

2. Send /newbot to create a new bot.

3. Follow the prompts to name your bot (e.g., "My OpenClaw Assistant").

4. Copy the bot token — you'll need it for configuration.

Step 2: Get your Telegram user ID

1. Search for @userinfobot on Telegram.

2. Send any message to get your user ID.

Alternatively, use @myidbot — send /getid to get your ID.

Step 3: Configure Telegram channel in OpenClaw

Run the configuration wizard:

openclaw configure

Select "Add channel" → "Telegram" and enter:

• Bot token from Step 1.
• Your user ID from Step 2 (for allowlist).

Or add manually via config:

openclaw config set telegram.bot_token "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN"
openclaw config set telegram.allowed_users "YOUR_USER_ID"

Step 4: Verify Telegram connection

Check gateway status:

openclaw gateway status

You should see Telegram as an active channel.

Open your bot in Telegram and send /start — you should receive a greeting from OpenClaw.

Step 5: Test your setup

Send a message to your bot:

OpenClaw should respond using your configured LLM provider.

Common errors and quick fixes

"Bot token invalid"

Copy the token exactly as provided by BotFather — it should be in the format 1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz.

"User not authorized"

Your user ID must be in the allowlist:

openclaw config set telegram.allowed_users "YOUR_USER_ID"
openclaw gateway restart

Bot doesn't respond

Verify the gateway sees Telegram:

openclaw gateway status

Check logs:

openclaw doctor

"Channel not found" during config

Ensure OpenClaw is updated:

npm install -g openclaw@latest

Next steps