Is my data secure and encrypted?

All data is encrypted at rest using AES-256 and in transit using TLS 1.3. Your encryption keys are stored exclusively on your dedicated VPS.

Are my conversations truly private?

Yes. Each user gets a fully isolated container environment. We follow a zero-knowledge architecture.

Do you train AI models on my data?

Never. Your conversations and data are never used to train AI models.

Connect Telegram Bot to OpenClaw Agent: Complete Configuration Guide

TL;DR

Telegram Bot API is OpenClaw’s primary production-ready messaging channel
Obtain token via @BotFather; never hardcode secrets into configuration files
Update `channels.telegram` section in `~/.openclaw/openclaw.yaml`
Restart the agent daemon to apply channel configuration changes
Test with `/start` command in Telegram; monitor gateway logs for delivery confirmation

Telegram bot connected to OpenClaw AI agent container via cloud infrastructure

Messaging Channel Landscape

OpenClaw supports multiple messaging channels. Choose based on your audience, API stability, and operational requirements.

Channel	Auth Method	Status	Message Rate Limit	Best For
Telegram	Bot API Token	✅ Live	30/sec	Production bots, public deployment
Discord	Bot Token + Gateway	⏳ Coming Q2 2026	120/min	Community servers, async tasks
Slack	Socket Mode / Events API	⏳ Coming Q2 2026	1/sec per method	Internal tooling, enterprise
WhatsApp	QR Link (Web)	❌ Not supported	N/A	Use Telegram instead

Prerequisites

You need a running OpenClaw instance and a Telegram account. No local port forwarding required when using a managed gateway.

Step 1: Provision a Telegram Bot Token

Message @BotFather on Telegram. Send /newbot, choose a name, and copy the token. Export it as an environment variable.

# Example token from @BotFather
export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN="123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11"

# Verify the token is set
echo $TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN

Step 2: Update OpenClaw Configuration

Edit ~/.openclaw/openclaw.yaml. Set channels.telegram.enabled to true and reference the token via environment variable.

# ~/.openclaw/openclaw.yaml
gateway:
  token: "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN}"
  host: "0.0.0.0"
  port: 18789

channels:
  telegram:
    enabled: true
    bot_token: "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}"
    webhook_path: "/webhook/telegram"
    # When deploying via easyclawd.com, the public URL is auto-generated
    # webhook_url: "https://your-id.easyclawd.com/webhook/telegram"
    allowed_chat_ids: []  # Empty allows all; restrict for private bots
    parse_mode: "MarkdownV2"

daemon:
  auto_reconnect: true
  health_check_interval: 30

logging:
  level: "info"
  channels: true

Message flow diagram from Telegram through OpenClaw gateway to LLM provider and back

⚠️ Security Warning: Bot tokens grant full control of your Telegram bot. Never commit them to Git. Use environment variables or a secrets manager. Exposed tokens can be exploited to spam users or extract conversation logs.

Step 3: Restart Agent and Test

Restart OpenClaw to load the new configuration. Send /start to your bot on Telegram. Check the dashboard logs to confirm message receipt.

openclaw restart

Common Issues

`401 Unauthorized`: Token is invalid or missing. Re-export `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`.
`Webhook timeout`: Ensure the gateway is publicly reachable. Managed services handle this automatically.
`403 Forbidden`: Chat ID is not in `allowed_chat_ids`. Check the log for the actual chat ID.
No response after `/start`: Confirm `channels.telegram.enabled: true` and restart the daemon.