OpenClaw Telegram Bot Setup: The Complete 2026 Guide

Telegram is the most popular channel for OpenClaw. It turns your phone into a remote control for your personal AI assistant — send messages, get responses, and automate tasks from anywhere.

This guide covers everything from creating your bot to your first AI conversation.

Step 1: Create a Bot with BotFather

Every Telegram bot starts with BotFather, Telegram's official bot creation tool.

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Start a chat and send /newbot
3. BotFather asks for a display name — this can be anything (e.g., "My AI Assistant")
4. Then it asks for a username — must end in bot (e.g., my_ai_assistant_bot)
5. BotFather sends you a bot token — a long string like 1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz

Keep this token safe. Anyone with this token can control your bot.

Step 2: Connect to OpenClaw

Option A: Using ClawTank (Recommended)

If you're using ClawTank:

1. Click the Telegram button on the setup card
2. Paste your bot token
3. Click Save & Connect
4. Sign in with Google — done!

ClawTank handles all the backend configuration automatically. Your bot is live within 40 seconds.

Option B: Self-Hosted OpenClaw

If you're self-hosting, you'll need to:

1. Set the token in your OpenClaw configuration:

openclaw config set telegram.token "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN"

2. Restart OpenClaw:

openclaw restart

3. Send a message to your bot on Telegram. You'll see a pairing code in the terminal.

4. Approve the pairing:

openclaw pairing approve telegram CODE

Step 3: Your First Conversation

Once connected, send any message to your bot. Try these:

• "Summarize the latest tech news" — tests web search
• "Remind me to call John at 3 PM" — tests scheduling
• "What's the weather in Tokyo?" — tests real-time information
• "Help me draft an email to my team" — tests writing

Your OpenClaw assistant processes messages through Claude (or your chosen model) and responds directly in Telegram.

Tips for a Better Experience

Set a Profile Picture

Go back to BotFather and send /setuserpic to give your bot a custom avatar.

Set a Description

Send /setdescription to BotFather to add a description visible when users first open your bot.

Group Chats

You can add your bot to Telegram groups. It will respond when mentioned or when configured to listen to all messages.

Privacy Mode

By default, bots in groups only see messages that mention them. To change this, send /setprivacy to BotFather and set it to Disabled.

Common Issues

Bot doesn't respond:

• Check that OpenClaw is running and the gateway is ready
• Verify the bot token is correct
• On self-hosted: check openclaw logs for errors

Pairing code not showing (self-hosted):

• Make sure Telegram channel is enabled in config
• Restart the gateway: openclaw gateway restart

Messages delayed:

• This is normal during high API load
• Check your AI provider's rate limits

Why Telegram?

Telegram is ideal for AI assistants because:

• Always accessible — on your phone, desktop, and web
• Rich formatting — markdown, inline buttons, file sharing
• Bot API — purpose-built for automated interactions
• Groups — share your assistant with your team
• No cost — Telegram's bot platform is free

Get Started

The fastest way to get an OpenClaw Telegram bot running is ClawTank — choose your model, paste your bot token, and deploy in under 1 minute.