Set up your Telegram channel on Operator
Operator.io is managed OpenClaw, so connecting Telegram happens on the dashboard. You make your own bot with BotFather, because every Telegram bot is its own token, but Operator takes care of the rest: it stores the token, restarts your agent, and pairs your account by listening for your first message. No config file, no pairing code typed into a terminal.
Step 1: Create a bot with BotFather
Every Telegram bot starts with a token from Telegram's own bot, BotFather. In the Telegram app, search for @BotFather, confirm the blue verification check so you have the real one, and open the chat. Send /newbot, then answer the two prompts: a display name, which can have spaces, and a username that is unique across Telegram and ends in bot, for example myagent_helper_bot.
BotFather replies with a token that looks like 123456789:AAExampLEtoKEN. That string is the bot's credential, so keep it to yourself. If it ever leaks, open BotFather, pick your bot under /mybots, and use Revoke access token to mint a new one and kill the old.
Step 2: Paste the token into Operator
There are two places to connect, and both want the same token. New accounts land in the guided setup, which walks you straight through Telegram: paste the token, click Connect, and Operator saves it. If you are already in the dashboard, open the Channels page, click Add, pick Telegram, and paste the token there. On the Channels page you also paste your numeric Telegram user ID, which you get by messaging @userinfobot; the guided setup gets that ID for you in the next step instead.
Either way, saving the token restarts your agent so it picks up the bot. The dashboard shows the restart and settles on its own in a short while.
Step 3: Say hello and get paired
Operator handles the pairing here. Open your bot in Telegram, tap Start if the app shows it, and send any message. The guided setup is listening for that message, and the account that sends it gets paired and allowlisted, so the next thing you say gets a real reply. The first account paired becomes the one allowed to drive the agent, which is what keeps a stranger who stumbles on the bot from talking to it.
If you connected from the Channels page with your user ID already pasted, you are paired the moment the token saves, and you can just message the bot. Should the listen step ever miss your message, the dashboard lets you paste your numeric user ID from @userinfobot to finish by hand.
Step 4: Add it to a group, if you want
The Telegram panel on the Channels page has a group chat policy. Disabled keeps the bot to direct messages, open lets it respond in any group it joins, and allowlist limits it to the groups you name. To run it in a specific group, add the bot to that group, get the group's ID from a helper like @RawDataBot, and paste the ID under allowlist. Group IDs are negative numbers that start with -100.
Leave the require mention toggle on for any group with other people in it, so the bot only answers when it is tagged rather than reading every message in the room. For a group that is just your own workspace, turning it off lets the agent follow the whole conversation.
Talk to it, and where to go deeper
In a direct message you just type and the agent answers; the streaming previews, command menu, and per chat memory are covered in talking to your agent on Telegram. To give it work that reaches your other apps, connect Composio or Pipedream on the Integrations page so it can read your inbox, post to Slack, or update Notion.
If you would rather run the bot on your own machine, the self hosted Telegram setup covers the config file and the openclaw pairing approve flow, and Telegram not working collects the fixes for tokens, pairing, and group permissions that come up either way.
Frequently asked questions
How do I connect Telegram to my Operator agent?
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Create a bot with @BotFather on Telegram by sending /newbot, and copy the token it gives you. In Operator, the guided setup or the Channels page takes that token; paste it and connect. Operator saves it and restarts your agent. Then open your bot, send it a message, and Operator listens for that first hello and pairs your account automatically. There is no config file to edit and no pairing code to approve from a terminal.
Do I still need to make my own Telegram bot on Operator?
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Yes. Every Telegram bot is its own token from BotFather, so you create the bot and Operator runs it under your account. What Operator handles is everything after the token: it stores it, restarts the agent, and pairs you by listening for your first message, or by the numeric user ID you paste from @userinfobot. You never edit openclaw.json or run the gateway yourself.
How does Operator pair my Telegram account?
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The guided setup listens for the next message your bot receives, so you open the bot, send /start, and Operator pairs the account that sent it. If you connect from the Channels page instead, you paste your numeric Telegram user ID from @userinfobot alongside the token. Either way the first account paired becomes the one allowed to talk to the agent, which keeps strangers who find the bot from reaching it.
Can the Operator Telegram bot work in a group?
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Yes. On the Channels page, the Telegram panel has a group chat policy: disabled ignores all groups, open responds in any group it is added to, and allowlist limits it to the group IDs you list. Add the bot to a group, get the group ID from a bot like @RawDataBot, and add it under allowlist. Leave the require mention toggle on for a shared group so the bot only replies when tagged.
Keep reading
Set up your Discord channel on Operator
On Operator you connect Discord from the dashboard. You still make your own bot in Discord's Developer Portal, but there is no config file to edit and no terminal pairing. Paste the token, set the server policy, and your agent answers in your server.
May 31, 2026How to talk to your agent on Discord
Once your agent is connected to Discord, there are two places to reach it: a direct message and a server channel. Here is how each one behaves, the slash commands you will use, and how sessions and threads keep your conversations separate.
May 30, 2026How to talk to your agent on Telegram
In a Telegram DM you just type and the agent answers. Groups need a mention, the command menu is built into the app, and each chat keeps its own memory. Here is how to actually use your agent once the bot is connected.
May 30, 2026