How do I create a bot?

Message @BotFather on Telegram, run /newbot, follow prompts, copy the token. Paste it into the openclawOS Control UI's Telegram tab. That's the whole setup.

Can the bot join groups?

Yes. Add it like any other Telegram bot. By default it only responds when @-mentioned in groups; in DMs it answers every message. Both behaviours are toggleable in the binding.

Does it work with inline mode?

Yes. Pi exposes a small inline-query handler — useful for quick lookups directly in the compose bar.

All supported. Files up to 50MB upload/download. Voice notes are transcribed. Pi can emit polls as structured replies — handy for daily standups.

Telegram on openclawOS — self-hosted AI agent

Spin up a Telegram bot powered by Claude, GPT or Pi in under 60 seconds. Self-hosted via openclawOS, no third-party bot platform, no data exfiltration.

Telegram is the most developer-friendly messenger on the planet. It’s the channel openclawOS users typically pair first because the setup is hilariously fast and the protocol is sane.

Why Telegram first?

Five-minute bot creation. @BotFather + a token, done. No app store review, no business verification.
Bots are first-class. Inline mode, slash commands, polls, payments — Pi can speak all of it.
No phone number burned. Unlike WhatsApp, a Telegram bot has its own identity.
Reliable file roundtrip. Send Pi a PDF, get back an annotated PDF.

Setup, end-to-end

Run openclaw apps install telegram in your shell.
The CLI prompts you for a bot token. Get one from @BotFather: /newbot, name it, copy the token.
Paste, hit enter, you’re live.
Open your bot in Telegram, type /start. Pi responds.

You can also configure via the Control UI under Channels → Telegram. Tokens are stored encrypted in the credentials vault.

Commands openclawOS adds

Out of the box, Pi reserves a small command surface:

/new — start a fresh session (discard memory of the current conversation)
/fork — branch the current session
/summary — Pi compacts the current session
/agents — show available agents (if more than one is configured)
/help — what Pi can do for you right now

You can rename or disable any of these in the binding.

Group behaviour

In groups, Pi by default ignores messages unless you @-mention the bot or reply to one of its messages. This keeps groups quiet. Flip a binding flag to make Pi listen ambient — handy for a team Pi that volunteers context.

Inline queries

Type @your_pi_bot something in any chat and Pi can respond with structured inline results — perfect for sharing summaries, code snippets, or pre-baked replies into other conversations.

Tips

Use a separate bot per binding (one for coding Pi, one for research Pi). The token is the identity.
For multi-user bots, scope sessions by Telegram user ID — Pi handles this automatically.
For private deployments, you can self-host the Telegram Bot API server and point openclawOS at it. Useful for sensitive environments.

Telegram

Why Telegram first?

Setup, end-to-end

Commands openclawOS adds

Group behaviour

Inline queries

Tips

Common questions

Related reading

Run Telegram through your own Pi.