Setting Up the Telegram Bot: BotFather to Onboarding

Wiring OpenClaw to Telegram

Plan for fifteen minutes. The result is the single most useful integration in the course.

Step 1 — create the bot in BotFather

1. Open @BotFather in Telegram
2. Send /newbot
3. Pick a display name and a unique username ending in bot
4. Copy the HTTP API token that BotFather hands back

Step 2 — add the token to OpenClaw

In your OpenClaw secrets file (the path is in the docs — typically ~/.openclaw/secrets.env):

TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123456789:AAH....
TELEGRAM_OWNER_ID=987654321

Find your owner ID by sending /start to @userinfobot. Locking the bot to your ID prevents random strangers from chatting with your agent.

Step 3 — restart OpenClaw

systemctl restart openclaw   # or compose restart, or your local launcher

In the debug console, the Telegram channel should turn green.

Step 4 — first message

Find your bot in Telegram (search by the username). Send /start. The agent should reply with a short welcome built from your Soul + Identity files.

Onboarding niceties

• Set a description and "About" text via BotFather (/setdescription, /setabouttext) — they show up when someone opens a fresh chat
• Set a profile picture — your bot should look like a contact, not a bot
• Add /help and /sessions commands via BotFather's /setcommands for quick discoverability

Common pitfalls

• "Unauthorized" error in logs — wrong token or pasted with whitespace
• Bot is silent — confirm it is enabled in OpenClaw config and that the channel is started in the debug console
• Replies arrive but are blank — usually a model error; check the event log

Try it

Send your bot a question that requires using the filesystem tool ("list the files in ~/openclaw-test"). Confirm it answers correctly from your phone.