Telegram Setup

UseOpenClaw currently supports Telegram as the primary chat channel. More channels are coming soon.

To connect your bot, you’ll need a Telegram bot token from BotFather.

Create a Telegram Bot

Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
Start a conversation and send the command /newbot
BotFather will ask you to choose a name for your bot (this is the display name)
Then choose a username — it must end in bot (e.g., my_assistant_bot)
BotFather replies with your bot token — it looks like this:

123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz

Copy the token — you’ll need it in the next step

! Important

Keep your bot token private. Anyone with the token can control your bot.

Connect to UseOpenClaw

Open the UseOpenClaw platform and go to your bot’s page (click on your bot from the dashboard)
Click the Chat Settings button (Settings icon) in the action bar
Paste your bot token into the Telegram Bot Token field
Confirm the connection

Once connected, you’ll see your bot’s Telegram username displayed in the settings (e.g., @my_assistant_bot).

💡 Tip

If you’re setting up for the first time, the platform includes a video tutorial during onboarding that walks through the entire process step by step.

Verify Your Connection

Send a message to your bot on Telegram. If this is a new bot, it will start the initialization flow. If everything is configured correctly, your bot will respond.

What’s Next?

Direct Messages — Control who can message your bot privately
Group Chats — Add your bot to Telegram groups