Telegram Ops

Manage Telegram forum topics and Bot API operations.

Prerequisites

• Bot must be admin in the group with can_manage_topics permission
• Get the bot token from OpenClaw config:

  gateway action=config.get | jq -r '.result.parsed.channels.telegram.botToken'
  

Creating a Topic

When creating a topic, follow all of these steps:

1. Create the topic via Telegram Bot API (returns message_thread_id)
2. Set the icon -- pick one that matches the topic's purpose (see Icon Reference)
3. Choose relevant skills -- run openclaw skills list, pick only ready skills that fit the topic's purpose
4. Write a system prompt -- give the agent context for what this topic is about
5. Patch the OpenClaw config -- register the topic with its skills and system prompt

Step 1: Create via Bot API

curl -X POST "https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/createForumTopic" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "chat_id": <GROUP_ID>,
    "name": "topic name"
  }'

Returns message_thread_id (the topic ID) -- you need this for all subsequent steps.

Step 2: Set the Icon

curl -X POST "https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/editForumTopic" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "chat_id": <GROUP_ID>,
    "message_thread_id": <TOPIC_ID>,
    "name": "topic name",
    "icon_custom_emoji_id": "<EMOJI_ID>"
  }'

Step 3-5: Configure OpenClaw

Patch the config to register the topic with a system prompt:

gateway action=config.patch raw='{"channels":{"telegram":{"groups":{"<GROUP_ID>":{"topics":{"<TOPIC_ID>":{"systemPrompt":"Topic-specific instructions"}}}}}}}'

Topic configs inherit from the parent group -- only specify overrides.

Do NOT add a skills key -- omitting it means all skills are available. Only restrict skills if you have a specific reason to limit the topic's capabilities.

Session Keys

Each topic gets its own isolated OpenClaw session:

agent:main:telegram:group:<GROUP_ID>:topic:<TOPIC_ID>

Each session has independent conversation history, context window, and compaction.

Topic Icons

See references/emoji-ids.md for complete list.

To fetch all valid icon sticker IDs:

curl -X POST "https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/getForumTopicIconStickers"

Archiving a Topic

Archive workflow: rename with [ARCHIVED] prefix, set folder icon, close topic, then handle the OpenClaw session.

Step 1: Archive in Telegram

Use the archive script:

scripts/archive_topic.sh <TOKEN> <GROUP_ID> <TOPIC_ID> "Current Topic Name"

This will:

• Rename to [ARCHIVED] Current Topic Name
• Set the 📁 folder icon (5357315181649076022)
• Close the topic (locks it from new messages)

Step 2: Export and Delete OpenClaw Session

# Export session history to the sessions archive folder
openclaw sessions history 'agent:main:telegram:group:<GROUP_ID>:topic:<TOPIC_ID>' > ~/.openclaw/agents/main/sessions/archive/<topic-name>-<date>.md

# Delete the session (manual - remove from sessions.json and delete transcript)
# Session key: agent:main:telegram:group:<GROUP_ID>:topic:<TOPIC_ID>

Step 3: Clean Up Config (Optional)

Remove the topic from OpenClaw config if it had custom settings:

gateway action=config.patch raw='{"channels":{"telegram":{"groups":{"<GROUP_ID>":{"topics":{"<TOPIC_ID>":null}}}}}}'

Limitations

No getForumTopicInfo method exists. Cannot query topic name by thread ID.

Workarounds:

1. Cache names from forum_topic_created events
2. Store mapping in local config
3. Monitor topic creation service messages