OpenClaw on Telegram: Complete Guide
Last updated: March 2026
OpenClaw supports Telegram as a messaging channel, letting you control your AI agent from your phone. Self-hosted users need to create a Telegram bot via BotFather and configure the token in OpenClaw. With OpenClaw Cloud, Telegram is the default — setup happens entirely inside the app in about 3 minutes.
By Weihao Ming, from the team behind AWS EC2.
Why Telegram?
Telegram is the most popular messaging channel for OpenClaw users. It works on every platform — iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, and the web. Messages sync across all your devices. It supports rich media, file sharing, and has no message length limits.
For an AI agent you want to use throughout the day, Telegram is ideal. You send a message from your phone on the bus. Check the response from your desktop at work. It’s the same conversation, everywhere.
OpenClaw also supports WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, and other channels. But Telegram has the lowest friction and the most features for agent interaction.
How to connect OpenClaw to Telegram (self-hosted)
If you’re running OpenClaw on your own server, here’s how to connect it to Telegram.
Step 1: Create a Telegram bot
- Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
- Send
/newbot - Choose a name for your bot (e.g., “My OpenClaw”)
- Choose a username (must end in “bot”, e.g., “my_openclaw_bot”)
- BotFather gives you a bot token — save this
Step 2: Configure OpenClaw
Add the Telegram bot token to your OpenClaw configuration. If you used the onboarding wizard, it asked for this during setup. If not, add it to your environment variables:
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your_token_hereRestart OpenClaw after adding the token.
Step 3: Test it
Open your bot in Telegram and send a message. OpenClaw should respond. If it doesn’t, check that your server is running and the token is correct.
Common issues
- Bot doesn’t respond: Check that OpenClaw is running and the gateway is accessible. Check logs for connection errors.
- Slow responses: Your server might be underpowered. OpenClaw recommends 4GB+ RAM.
- Messages not delivering: Telegram requires HTTPS for webhooks. Make sure your reverse proxy is configured correctly.
- Bot works, then stops: Your server might have restarted (power outage, update, crash). Set up monitoring and auto-restart.
How OpenClaw Cloud handles Telegram
OpenClaw Cloud was built with Telegram as the primary interface. Instead of setting up a server and then connecting Telegram, the entire experience happens inside Telegram from the start.
How it works
- Start a conversation with the OpenClaw Cloud bot on Telegram
- Add your API key — the bot walks you through it
- Start using your agent — that’s it
There’s no web dashboard. No config files. No SSH. No BotFather setup. We handle the bot creation, the server, the networking, and the updates. You just chat.
Why this matters
The traditional path is: rent a server, install Docker, configure OpenClaw, create a Telegram bot, connect them, set up monitoring, handle updates. That’s 1-3 hours of work before you send your first message.
With OpenClaw Cloud, the first message IS the setup. You’re talking to your agent within minutes.
What can you do with OpenClaw on Telegram?
Once connected, your Telegram bot is a full AI agent. Not a chatbot — an agent with access to a real computer. From a Telegram message, you can:
- Research topics — “Research the top 5 project management tools for freelancers and summarize their pricing”
- Process files — Send a spreadsheet and say “clean up this data and remove duplicates”
- Run code — “Write a Python script that converts this CSV into a chart”
- Browse the web — “Check this product page and tell me when the price drops below $500”
- Automate tasks — “Every Monday, check these 3 competitor websites for pricing changes”
- Manage files — “Rename these 50 PDFs using the format YYYY-MM-vendor-amount”
Everything happens in the same Telegram thread. Send a message, get a result. No context switching, no dashboards, no learning curve.
Self-hosted vs managed: which is better for Telegram?
| Self-Hosted | OpenClaw Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Telegram setup | Create bot via BotFather, configure token | Automatic |
| Time to first message | 1-3 hours | ~3 minutes |
| Webhook configuration | Manual (HTTPS, reverse proxy) | Handled |
| Bot updates | Manual | Automatic |
| Works offline? | Only if your server is up | Always on |
| Data privacy | Depends on your server setup | Zero-access architecture |
If you’re already running OpenClaw and just need to add Telegram, follow the self-hosted steps above. If you’re starting from scratch and Telegram is your primary channel, OpenClaw Cloud skips the entire server setup.
Get early access to OpenClaw Cloud — Telegram-native from day one. Set up in under three minutes.