To get Telegram working with OpenClaw (also commonly referred to as Clawdbot), you essentially need to create a bridge between a Telegram Bot and your OpenClaw instance. The process involves generating a token from Telegram’s “BotFather” and inputting it into the OpenClaw setup wizard.
Since you’re comfortable with HTML/PHP and managing domains/VPS hosting, you’ll likely find the terminal-based setup straightforward.
Phase 1: Create Your Telegram Bot
Before touching the OpenClaw configuration, you need a dedicated bot on Telegram.
* Open the Telegram app and search for @BotFather.
* Start a chat and send the command: /newbot.
* Follow the prompts to give your bot a name (e.g., “Nathan’s Assistant”) and a username (must end in bot, e.g., nathan_claw_bot).
* BotFather will provide an API Token (a long string of characters). Copy this and keep it secret.
Phase 2: Configure OpenClaw
Depending on how you are running OpenClaw (Local, Docker, or VPS), the steps to trigger the setup wizard are similar.
* Enter the Setup Wizard:
   * If you are doing a fresh install: Run the installation script (e.g., curl -fsSL https://openclaw.io/i.sh | bash).
   * If already installed: Run the configuration command in your terminal (usually openclaw config or oclaw config).
* Select Messaging Channel:
   * When the wizard asks for your preferred messaging channel, use the arrow keys to select Telegram (Bot API).
* Input the Token:
   * Paste the API Token you received from BotFather earlier.
* Pairing Your Account:
   * OpenClaw will provide a Pairing Code in the terminal.
   * Go back to Telegram, open the chat with your newly created bot, and click Start.
   * Send the pairing code to the bot.
   * If you are running in Docker, you may need to run a specific command to approve it:
     docker compose run –rm openclaw-cli pairing approve telegram <YOUR_CODE>
Phase 3: Verification
Once paired, your OpenClaw instance is “awake” inside that Telegram chat. You can test it by sending a simple message like “Hello” or “What is your current memory?”
Quick Troubleshooting
* Permissions: If you’re on a VPS (like the Hostinger setups often used for this), ensure your firewall allows outgoing connections to the Telegram API.
* Web UI: Remember that OpenClaw usually runs a local Web UI on port 18789. If you want to manage it via browser, you’ll need to use the tokenized URL generated during the setup.

Type your email…

Subscribe