Create a Telegram Account and Bot

Why Telegram

Telegram is how you'll talk to your OpenClaw. It's the recommended first channel because:

• Easiest to set up — 5 minutes, no domain or public IP needed
• Works everywhere — phone, tablet, desktop, web
• Bot API is free and generous
• Supports voice, photos, files, and rich formatting
• Groups — you can add your OpenClaw to group chats later

Other channels (WhatsApp, Discord, Signal) can come later, but start with Telegram.

Step 1: Create a Telegram Account

If you don't already have Telegram:

1. Download the Telegram app on your phone (iOS / Android)
2. Sign up with your phone number
3. Set a username (Settings → Username) — you'll need this later
4. Enable two-factor authentication (Settings → Privacy and Security → Two-Step Verification)

Save this login in Bitwarden.

Step 2: Create a Telegram Bot

Bots are how OpenClaw appears in Telegram. You create one through Telegram's BotFather:

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot
3. Give your bot a display name (e.g., "My OpenClaw")
4. Give it a username — must end in bot (e.g., my_openclaw_bot)
5. BotFather will reply with a message containing your bot's token — a long string that looks like 123456789:ABCdefGHI...

Save this token in Bitwarden immediately. Create an entry called "Telegram Bot — OpenClaw" and put the token in the password field.

Step 3: Configure the Bot

Still in BotFather, set up your bot:

1. Send /setdescription — add a description like "My personal AI assistant"
2. Send /setuserpic — upload a profile picture for your bot (optional but nice)
3. Send /setprivacy — set to Disable

Step 4: Get Your Chat ID

You'll need your personal chat ID so OpenClaw knows who to respond to:

1. Send any message to your new bot in Telegram (just say "hello")
2. Open this URL in your browser (replace YOUR_BOT_TOKEN with the token from Step 2):

https://api.telegram.org/botYOUR_BOT_TOKEN/getUpdates

3. Look for "chat":{"id":123456789} — that number is your chat ID
4. Save this in Bitwarden alongside the bot token

When You're Done

• Telegram account created (or existing account ready)
• Two-factor authentication enabled
• Bot created via BotFather
• Bot token saved in Bitwarden
• Your chat ID obtained and saved
• Bot privacy set to Disabled (for future group use)