Telegram News Digest (Lite)

🤖 Autonomous AI agent for monitoring public Telegram channels
✅ No Telegram API keys • ✅ No authentication • ✅ Zero-config startup • ✅ Works with any LLM provider

🎯 What Problem Does This Solve?

Real-world scenario

You're a product manager tracking competitor announcements, a journalist monitoring breaking news, or a crypto trader watching market signals. Manually checking 10+ Telegram channels every hour is unsustainable. This skill automates the entire workflow:

[10 Telegram channels] 
        ↓
[Fetch new messages every 30 min]
        ↓
[Filter duplicates + detect novelty]
        ↓
[Generate AI summary: "Key facts in 3 bullets"]
        ↓
[Send digest to your Telegram/Discord/Email]

Before vs After

🏗 How It Works: Architecture Deep Dive

Data Flow Diagram

graph LR
    A[OpenClaw Cron/Heartbeat] --> B[run_digest_cycle]
    B --> C[Load config.yaml]
    B --> D[Initialize TelegramWebScraper]
    B --> E[Initialize StateManager]
    B --> F[Initialize Summarizer]
    
    C --> G[Channel list: durov, tjournal, roem...]
    
    D --> H[Fetch https://t.me/s/{channel}]
    H --> I[Parse HTML with Cheerio]
    I --> J[Extract message text + timestamp]
    J --> K[Generate SHA256 hash per message]
    
    E --> L[Load seen_hashes from state/seen_messages.json]
    K --> M[Filter: hash NOT IN seen_hashes]
    
    M --> N{New messages?}
    N -->|Yes| O[Send to Summarizer]
    N -->|No| P[Skip channel]
    
    O --> Q[LLM prompt: "Summarize these messages"]
    Q --> R[Parse JSON response: {summary, tags, sentiment}]
    
    R --> S[Format digest with markdown]
    S --> T[Send via ctx.send to notify_channel]
    
    K --> U[Update seen_hashes cache]
    U --> V[Save to state/seen_messages.json]

Component Responsibilities

⚙️ Configuration: Real Examples

Basic Setup (30 seconds)

# config.yaml
monitoring:
  channels:
    - "durov"                    # Pavel Durov's channel
    - "telegram"                 # Official Telegram News
    - "tjournal"                 # Russian tech media
    - "https://t.me/s/roem"      # Full URL format also supported
    - "@coindesk"                # With @ prefix — also works
  
  fetch_window: 20              # Check last 20 messages per channel (catch up on missed updates)
  rate_limit_ms: 2000           # Delay between requests to avoid IP throttling

digest:
  language: "en"                # Summary language: "en", "ru", "es", etc.
  max_tokens_per_channel: 300   # Limit summary length (~2-3 short paragraphs)
  format: "markdown"            # Output format: "markdown", "html", or "text"
  group_by: "time"              # Organize digest: "time" (chronological), "channel", or "none"
  notify_channel: "default"     # Where to send: "default", "telegram", "discord", "webhook"
  min_messages_for_summary: 2   # Don't summarize if <2 new messages (avoid noise)

Advanced: Custom LLM Provider

# If you use OpenRouter instead of default gateway:
# Set in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:
{
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "openrouter": {
        "baseUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
        "apiKey": "${OPENROUTER_KEY}"
      }
    }
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": { "primary": "openrouter/qwen/qwen3.5-35b" }
    }
  }
}

Then in config.yaml:

digest:
  language: "en"
  # Skill automatically uses context.model.primary from OpenClaw

Use Case: Crypto Trader Monitoring

monitoring:
  channels:
    - "coindesk"
    - "theblock__"
    - "cryptobriefing"
    - "binance"
    - "elonmusk"  # For meme-coin signals 😅
  
  fetch_window: 50  # Deeper history for volatile markets
  rate_limit_ms: 3000  # Conservative to avoid blocks

digest:
  language: "en"
  max_tokens_per_channel: 200  # Ultra-concise for quick scanning
  format: "text"  # Plain text for SMS/Telegram compatibility
  group_by: "channel"  # Group by source for attribution
  min_messages_for_summary: 1  # Even single important message triggers alert

▶️ Usage Examples

Run a Manual Check

# Check all configured channels
openclaw skills exec tg-news-digest-lite/run_digest_cycle

# Override channels for one-off check
openclaw skills exec tg-news-digest-lite/run_digest_cycle \
  --args '{"channels": ["durov", "https://t.me/s/roem"]}'

# Force re-fetch even if messages seem "seen" (debugging)
openclaw skills exec tg-news-digest-lite/run_digest_cycle \
  --args '{"force": true}'

Manage Channel List Dynamically

# Add new channels
openclaw skills exec tg-news-digest-lite/configure_channels \
  --args '{"add": ["techcrunch", "wired"]}'

# Remove channels you no longer care about
openclaw skills exec tg-news-digest-lite/configure_channels \
  --args '{"remove": ["old-channel"]}'

# View current configuration
openclaw skills exec tg-news-digest-lite/get_status

Example output of get_status:

{
  "tracked_channels": 7,
  "channels": ["durov", "telegram", "tjournal", "roem", "coindesk", "techcrunch", "wired"],
  "cache_entries": 342,
  "rate_limit_ms": 2000
}

Sample Digest Output

When new messages are detected, you'll receive a formatted digest like:

📰 **Telegram News Digest**
🕒 2026-04-28 14:30:00 UTC

🔹 **@durov** (3 msg)
• Telegram announces new bot API features for group management
• Privacy update: end-to-end encryption now available for group calls
• Q2 2026 roadmap teaser: "Something big coming in July"
🏷 privacy, api, roadmap

🔹 **@coindesk** (5 msg)
• Bitcoin holds $67K amid ETF inflow reports
• SEC delays decision on Ethereum futures ETF again
• New DeFi protocol raises $12M seed round
🏷 bitcoin, etf, defi, regulation

🔹 **@tjournal** (2 msg)
• Russian tech startups face new compliance requirements
• Yandex announces AI assistant integration across products
🏷 russia, startups, ai

🔄 Automation: Run on Schedule

Option 1: OpenClaw Cron (Recommended)

Add to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "cron": [
    {
      "id": "tg-digest-morning",
      "schedule": "0 9 * * *",
      "tool": "tg-news-digest-lite/run_digest_cycle",
      "isolate": true,
      "description": "Morning news digest at 9 AM"
    },
    {
      "id": "tg-digest-evening",
      "schedule": "0 18 * * *",
      "tool": "tg-news-digest-lite/run_digest_cycle",
      "isolate": true,
      "description": "Evening recap at 6 PM"
    }
  ]
}

Option 2: Heartbeat Integration

Create ~/workspace/HEARTBEAT.md:

## Telegram News Check
- Run `tg-news-digest-lite/run_digest_cycle` every 30 minutes
- Only send digest if new messages detected
- Use `qwen3.5-35b` for summarization, `gpt-4o-mini` for routing

Then configure heartbeat in openclaw.json:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "heartbeat": {
        "every": "30m",
        "lightContext": true,
        "isolatedSession": true
      }
    }
  }
}

⚠️ Limitations & Edge Cases (Be Aware)

What Works ✅

• Public channels with https://t.me/s/{username} accessible in browser
• Text-only messages (including formatted text: bold, italic, links)
• Channels with 1–1000+ messages (pagination handled internally)
• Multi-language content (LLM handles translation if configured)

What Doesn't Work ❌

• Private channels or groups (require authentication — use tg-news-digest Pro version)
• Messages with only media (no text) — skipped silently
• Channels that block scrapers via Cloudflare (rare, but possible)
• Very high-frequency channels (>100 msgs/hour) — may hit rate limits

Known Quirks 🔧

🛡️ Security & Privacy Considerations

Data Flow Transparency

Your machine 
  → HTTPS GET to t.me/s/{channel} (public webpage)
  → Local text extraction + hashing
  → LLM API call (only message text, no metadata)
  → Digest sent to your configured channel

No data leaves your control except:

1. Public Telegram webpage requests (same as opening in browser)
2. Message text sent to your chosen LLM provider (configurable)

Best Practices

• ✅ Run on trusted infrastructure (your laptop, private server)
• ✅ Use isolate: true in cron jobs to contain context growth
• ✅ Rotate OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN periodically if using remote gateway
• ✅ Monitor state/seen_messages.json size (auto-truncated to 100 hashes/channel)

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• ❌ Does not store Telegram credentials (none required)
• ❌ Does not forward raw messages to third parties
• ❌ Does not modify Telegram content in any way
• ❌ Does not interact with Telegram APIs (only public web pages)

📊 Performance Characteristics

Resource Usage (Typical Run)

Cost Estimate (Using OpenRouter)

Assuming qwen/qwen3.5-35b at $1.30/1M output tokens:

10 channels × 300 tokens × $1.30/1M = $0.0039 per run
Hourly execution (24×) = ~$0.09/day = ~$2.70/month

💡 Tip: Use cheaper models (gpt-4o-mini, qwen2.5-7b) for summarization if cost-sensitive.

🐛 Troubleshooting Guide

Error: Skill execution failed: Network timeout

# Check your internet connection
ping t.me

# Increase timeout in config.yaml
monitoring:
  rate_limit_ms: 5000  # More conservative

# Test scraper directly
node -e "
  import('./src/scraper.js').then(m => {
    const s = new m.TelegramWebScraper({rate_limit_ms: 1000}, console);
    s.fetchChannelMessages('durov', 5).then(console.log);
  });
"

Error: LLM response parse failed

# Check which model is being used
openclaw config get agents.defaults.model.primary

# Test LLM connectivity manually
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"qwen/qwen3.5-35b","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"test"}]}' \
  https://your-gateway/v1/chat/completions

# Fallback: switch to a model known to support JSON mode
# Update ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:
{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": { "primary": "anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet" }
    }
  }
}

Debug Mode: See Internal Logs

# Enable verbose logging
export DEBUG=tg-news:*
openclaw skills exec tg-news-digest-lite/run_digest_cycle --args '{"channels":["durov"]}'

# Or check OpenClaw logs
openclaw logs --grep "tg-news" --tail 50

Reset State (Start Fresh)

# Backup then delete state
mv ~/.openclaw/skills/tg-news-digest-lite/state/seen_messages.json \
   ~/.openclaw/skills/tg-news-digest-lite/state/seen_messages.json.bak

# Next run will treat all messages as "new"

🔄 Upgrading from Older Versions

v0.x → v1.0.0 Breaking Changes

• State file format changed: now uses SHA256 hashes instead of raw text
• Migration: automatic on first run (old entries marked as "seen")
• Config key renamed: telegram_channels → monitoring.channels

Upgrade Steps

# 1. Backup your config
cp ~/.openclaw/skills/tg-news-digest-lite/config.yaml ~/backup-config.yaml

# 2. Update the skill
openclaw skills update tg-news-digest-lite

# 3. Verify config structure
openclaw skills exec tg-news-digest-lite/get_status

# 4. (Optional) Migrate channel list format if needed

🤝 Contributing & Feedback

Found a bug? Have a feature request?

1. Check existing issues: https://github.com/your-org/tg-news-digest-lite/issues
2. For HTML parsing issues: include the raw HTML snippet (use --debug flag)
3. For LLM issues: specify your model provider and version
4. Submit PRs with tests for new channel formats

📜 License

MIT License — use freely in personal and commercial projects.
See LICENSE for details.

Built with ❤️ for the OpenClaw community.
Questions? Open an issue or ping @your-handle on Discord.