Source: https://guides.edgible.com/guides/openclaw-on-edgible/05-telegram-pocket-client.md Last updated: 2026-08-30 # 5. Telegram pocket client for OpenClaw **Message the agent on your VM from a chat app you already use.** ## 5.0 Why Control UI is the right client for anything serious, but each new phone or browser profile costs a token paste and a device approve. A one-line question does not need that setup. Telegram is the cheap client, and it is not an Edgible app. There is no port and no hostname to publish. The Gateway dials out to Telegram’s API on TCP 443, as it already dials out to Edgible, so nothing new is exposed and nothing new is forwarded. Publishing a chat channel at a hostname would add an inbound path this never needed. The costs are privacy and precision: your messages traverse Telegram’s servers, and slash commands in a chat window are a clumsy place to approve a shell write. Use Telegram for questions and quick checks. Use Control UI for exec approvals and the first run of anything new. ``` you, on a phone Telegram app ──► api.telegram.org ▲ │ outbound 443 (no inbound door) Ubuntu guest OpenClaw Gateway ──────┘ ▲ you, in a browser https://openclaw-ui..edgible.com ← org login (chapter 2) ``` **Where you run this:** BotFather and the DM in the **Telegram app on a phone**; the token, config and logs on the **Ubuntu guest**. ## 5.1 The job You create a bot, store its token on the VM, and DM that bot (not BotFather). OpenClaw replies. The Gateway dials out to `api.telegram.org` on TCP 443. There is no `openclaw channels login telegram`; you paste a BotFather token into config. Do not publish Telegram (or WhatsApp, Discord, Ollama) through Edgible. Do not port-forward 18789. Control UI remains the cleaner place for `/skill` and exec approvals. WhatsApp is the bindable ACP client. Telegram is official Bot API. **Done when** - A bot from [@BotFather](https://t.me/BotFather); token on the Gateway host only (literal `123:AAH…`, not `$TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`). - `channels.telegram.apiRoot` is unset. - `openclaw channels status --probe` shows Telegram working. - You DMed your bot, not BotFather. - A DM to your bot gets an OpenClaw reply (identity ritual counts); pairing approved if asked. - You can tell Gateway `/whoami` (instant sender id) from `/skill edgible whoami` (Edgible CLI, through the model). - You did not publish a Telegram port through Edgible. **Need first:** [1. OpenClaw on the VM (loopback Gateway)](01-openclaw-on-the-box.md) (Gateway + a model). Prove the skill in [4. OpenClaw skill for the Edgible CLI](04-edgible-openclaw-skill.md) before Telegram `/skill`. Control UI through Edgible is optional for Telegram itself. **Not this chapter:** putting the token in chat or Edgible; using Telegram as an Edgible app. ## 5.2 Create the bot On your phone or [web.telegram.org](https://web.telegram.org/), open **@BotFather** (Telegram’s official bot). 1. `/newbot`, then pick a display name and a username ending in `bot`. 2. Copy the **HTTP API token** (`digits:AAH…`). Treat it like a password. 3. Later: `/mybots` → your bot → **API Token** if you lost it. **Revoke** if it leaked. Logging into Telegram as yourself does not put this token anywhere. OpenClaw only sees it when you `config set` it on the VM. DM the bot you just created. BotFather will not forward your `hello` to OpenClaw. --- ## 5.3 Store the token on the VM SSH into the Ubuntu guest (the Gateway host). Do not paste the token into OpenClaw chat, WhatsApp, or this guide’s examples in a ticket. ```bash openclaw config set channels.telegram.enabled true openclaw config set channels.telegram.botToken 'PASTE_TOKEN_HERE' ``` Do not set `apiRoot`. If you run `openclaw config get channels.telegram.apiRoot` and see `Config path not found`, that is correct. The default is `https://api.telegram.org`. Setting `apiRoot` to the full `https://api.telegram.org/bot` URL makes grammY double the `/bot…` path. Logs then show: ```text telegram deleteMyCommands / setMyCommands failed: 404 Not Found ``` If you already set a bad `apiRoot`: ```bash openclaw doctor --fix openclaw config unset channels.telegram.apiRoot ``` `apiRoot` is only for a self-hosted Bot API server (file-size limits, blocked regions). Everyone else leaves it unset. Check the token is real (do not paste the value into chat): ```bash openclaw config get channels.telegram.botToken ``` Empty, missing, or `$TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN` means OpenClaw never got the secret. A `123:AAH…` shape is what you want. ```bash openclaw gateway restart openclaw channels status --probe ``` You want Telegram enabled, configured, a bot username, token from config. --- ## 5.4 Pairing and first `hello` **Smoke test.** Default DM policy is pairing. Send `hello` to your bot. On the VM: ```bash openclaw pairing list telegram openclaw pairing approve telegram ``` Send `hello` again. You want a reply from OpenClaw (Gemini Flash, or whatever you set in [8](08-models-beyond-free-gemini.md)). If there is no reply: token, `apiRoot`, pairing, or the Gateway not running. `openclaw doctor` and `channels status --probe` first. There is still no Edgible hop on this path. ### Verify - [ ] A bot from [@BotFather](https://t.me/BotFather); token on the Gateway host only (literal `123:AAH…`, not `$TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`). - [ ] `channels.telegram.apiRoot` is unset. - [ ] `openclaw channels status --probe` shows Telegram working. - [ ] You DMed your bot, not BotFather. - [ ] A DM to your bot gets an OpenClaw reply (identity ritual counts); pairing approved if asked. - [ ] You can tell Gateway `/whoami` (instant sender id) from `/skill edgible whoami` (Edgible CLI, through the model). - [ ] You did not publish a Telegram port through Edgible. --- ## 5.5 Gateway commands vs the Edgible skill Telegram slash commands that OpenClaw handles in the Gateway (no model) must be a standalone message: | You send | What it is | | --- | --- | | `/whoami` or `/id` | Your Telegram sender id (`telegram:123…`). Instant. | | `/status` | Runtime and selected model; a Fallback line if this session answered on a backup. | | `/model status` | Endpoints / picker detail. | | `/stop` | Abort a stuck OpenClaw turn. | | `/skill edgible whoami` | The Edgible CLI `edgible whoami`. Full model turn (slow). | If `/whoami` spins, a previous `/skill` turn is probably still queued (`/stop` then `/id` alone), or Telegram treated the slash as chat and the model loaded the Edgible skill because the description mentions `whoami`. A real `/whoami` is a short identity line in a second or two. Your numeric user id is the number in `/whoami`. Use that for allowlists (`id:123456789`), not `@username`. If the command never comes back: [@userinfobot](https://t.me/userinfobot) `/start`, or `openclaw pairing list telegram`. --- ## 5.6 Which model, and 429s This chapter assumes the [chapter 1](01-openclaw-on-the-box.md) Gemini Flash primary. A 429 is quota, not a broken Telegram install. Failover (same turn, no resend) only if you set `agents.defaults.model.fallbacks` in [8. Models beyond free Gemini](08-models-beyond-free-gemini.md). A pinned Control UI `/model` is strict, so leave the picker on **Default**. In a DM, a switch can show: ```text ↪️ Model Fallback: ollama/qwen2.5:7b (selected google/…; rate_limit) ``` Groups suppress that notice; `/status` still has the state. `/skill` is slow when the model is slow. `edgible whoami` on the VM is milliseconds. ```bash openclaw config get agents.defaults.model ``` You want `primary` = Flash until you change it in [chapter 8](08-models-beyond-free-gemini.md). --- ## 5.7 Logs do not echo your Telegram text Default `openclaw logs --follow` is `info`. Inbound message bodies are not printed (privacy). A successful `/whoami` can be almost silent. Follow logs on the VM, not the Mac. ```bash openclaw channels logs --channel telegram openclaw channels status --probe ``` To see raw updates while debugging, raise file logs then put them back: ```bash openclaw config set logging.level debug openclaw gateway restart openclaw logs --follow ``` Then: ```bash openclaw config set logging.level info openclaw gateway restart ``` If debug still shows nothing when you send a DM, the Gateway is not receiving Telegram (wrong host, another poller, stale update offset). `openclaw gateway status` and `ls ~/.openclaw/state/telegram/`. --- ## 5.8 `/skill edgible` from Telegram You already installed the skill in [chapter 4](04-edgible-openclaw-skill.md). After pairing works, send: ```text /skill edgible whoami ``` You want the same Profile / Environment / Account / Organization as the VM `edgible whoami`. If that never ran in Control UI, go back to [chapter 4](04-edgible-openclaw-skill.md). Telegram `/skill` is the slower copy of the same OpenClaw turn. Do not confuse with Gateway `/whoami` (your Telegram id). --- ## 5.9 Optional: stop WhatsApp Same OpenClaw Gateway; WhatsApp is a channel. Pause: ```bash openclaw config set channels.whatsapp.enabled false openclaw gateway restart ``` Unlink the phone session: ```bash openclaw channels logout --channel whatsapp ``` Telegram is unchanged. --- ## 5.10 Optional: host bash (`!` / `/bash`) Off by default. It is a host shell from chat, not the Edgible skill. ```bash openclaw config set commands.bash true openclaw config set tools.elevated.enabled true openclaw config set tools.bash.enabled true openclaw config set tools.elevated.allowFrom.webchat '["*"]' --strict-json openclaw config set tools.elevated.allowFrom.telegram '["id:YOUR_TELEGRAM_USER_ID"]' --strict-json openclaw gateway restart ``` Standalone message: `! edgible whoami` or `/bash edgible whoami`. Limit Telegram to your `id:`. Do not enable this in a group. --- ## Next [6. WhatsApp linked device for OpenClaw](06-whatsapp-pocket-client.md) if you want a linked-device client, or skip to [7. Cursor Agent from OpenClaw on the Edgible site](07-cursor-agent.md). Paid / local models: [8. Models beyond free Gemini](08-models-beyond-free-gemini.md). Series: [README](README.md).