How to Connect OpenClaw to Telegram — The Easiest Setup (5 Minutes)

Telegram is the recommended first channel for every OpenClaw user. No Business account needed. No phone verification. 5 minutes from zero to a working AI agent on your phone.

If you are new to OpenClaw and have not yet connected a messaging channel, start with Telegram. It is the easiest setup by a significant margin — no corporate account required, no API approval process, no second phone number. Any Telegram account works.

Step 1: Create Your Bot with BotFather

Open Telegram on your phone or desktop and search for @BotFather. This is the official Telegram bot for creating and managing bots. Start a conversation with it and send the command:

/newbot

BotFather asks you for two things: a display name (e.g. "My OpenClaw Agent") and a username that must end in "bot" (e.g. myagent_bot or yourname_assistant_bot). Both can be changed later.

Step 2: Copy Your Bot Token

After you provide the username, BotFather sends you a message containing your bot token — a long string that looks like 110201543:AAHdqTcvCH1vGWJxfSeofSs4tNo2lZDlV58. Copy this token immediately and keep it private. It is the key that authenticates your bot.

Step 3: Connect to OpenClaw

In your terminal, run:

openclaw channels add telegram

When prompted, paste your bot token. OpenClaw connects to the Telegram Bot API and confirms the connection. The whole step takes about 10 seconds.

Step 4: Start Your Bot

Find your bot in Telegram by searching for its username. Open the conversation and send /start. Your agent replies with a greeting — it is now live and listening.

Testing Your Connection

Send your agent a simple test message: "What time is it?" A response within 5-10 seconds confirms everything is working. If no response comes within 30 seconds, run openclaw status in your terminal to check that the Gateway is running. If it is not, start it with openclaw gateway.

Useful Telegram Features for OpenClaw

Telegram's bot features work particularly well with OpenClaw. You can send voice messages — OpenClaw transcribes them and acts on the content. You can send photos of documents for processing. You can forward messages from other conversations for analysis. And because Telegram is available on every platform, your agent is accessible from your phone, tablet or desktop equally.