Connect Telegram channel to gateway

[bgorzelic]

Goal

Route Telegram messages through the OpenClaw gateway on the Pixel 10a, so you can chat with your AI assistant from any Telegram client.

What's needed

1. Create a Telegram bot via @Botfather
2. Configure OpenClaw's Telegram channel connector with the bot token
3. Test message routing: Telegram → gateway → OpenRouter → Telegram reply
4. Document the setup in the install guide or a dedicated doc

Architecture

Telegram App → Telegram Bot API → OpenClaw Gateway (Pixel) → OpenRouter → Response → Telegram

The gateway uses long-polling or webhooks to receive messages from Telegram's Bot API. All processing happens on the phone; inference happens in the cloud.

Questions

• Does OpenClaw's Telegram connector support long-polling (better for phone) or only webhooks (needs public URL)?
• If webhooks: can Tailscale Funnel provide the public URL?
• What's the Telegram Bot API rate limit and does it affect responsiveness?

Related

• ROADMAP.md Phase 3: Channel Integrations
• docs/use-cases.md: 24/7 Personal AI Assistant