Add Telegram Channel

This skill adds Telegram support to MatClaw using the skills engine for deterministic code changes, then walks through interactive setup.

Phase 1: Pre-flight

Check if already applied

Read .matclaw/state.yaml. If telegram is in applied_skills, skip to Phase 3 (Setup). The code changes are already in place.

Ask the user

Use AskUserQuestion to collect configuration:

AskUserQuestion: Do you have a Telegram bot token, or do you need to create one?

If they have one, collect it now. If not, we'll create one in Phase 3.

Phase 2: Apply Code Changes

Run the skills engine to apply this skill's code package. The package files are in this directory alongside this SKILL.md.

Initialize skills system (if needed)

If .matclaw/ directory doesn't exist yet:

npx tsx scripts/apply-skill.ts --init

Or call initSkillsSystem() from skills-engine/migrate.ts.

Apply the skill

npx tsx scripts/apply-skill.ts .claude/skills/add-telegram

This deterministically:

• Adds src/channels/telegram.ts (TelegramChannel class with self-registration via registerChannel)
• Adds src/channels/telegram.test.ts (46 unit tests)
• Appends import './telegram.js' to the channel barrel file src/channels/index.ts
• Installs the grammy npm dependency
• Updates .env.example with TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN
• Records the application in .matclaw/state.yaml

If the apply reports merge conflicts, read the intent file:

• modify/src/channels/index.ts.intent.md — what changed and invariants

Validate code changes

npm test
npm run build

All tests must pass (including the new telegram tests) and build must be clean before proceeding.

Phase 3: Setup

Create Telegram Bot (if needed)

If the user doesn't have a bot token, tell them:

I need you to create a Telegram bot:

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot and follow prompts:
   • Bot name: Something friendly (e.g., "Andy Assistant")
   • Bot username: Must end with "bot" (e.g., "andy_ai_bot")
3. Copy the bot token (looks like 123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11)

Wait for the user to provide the token.

Configure environment

Add to .env:

TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=<their-token>

Channels auto-enable when their credentials are present — no extra configuration needed.

Sync to container environment:

mkdir -p data/env && cp .env data/env/env

The container reads environment from data/env/env, not .env directly.

Disable Group Privacy (for group chats)

Tell the user:

Important for group chats: By default, Telegram bots only see @mentions and commands in groups. To let the bot see all messages:

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Send /mybots and select your bot
3. Go to Bot Settings > Group Privacy > Turn off

This is optional if you only want trigger-based responses via @mentioning the bot.

Build and restart

npm run build
launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.matclaw  # macOS
# Linux: systemctl --user restart matclaw

Phase 4: Registration

Get Chat ID

Tell the user:

1. Open your bot in Telegram (search for its username)
2. Send /chatid — it will reply with the chat ID
3. For groups: add the bot to the group first, then send /chatid in the group

Wait for the user to provide the chat ID (format: tg:123456789 or tg:-1001234567890).

Register the chat

Use the IPC register flow or register directly. The chat ID, name, and folder name are needed.

For a main chat (responds to all messages):

registerGroup("tg:<chat-id>", {
  name: "<chat-name>",
  folder: "telegram_main",
  trigger: `@${ASSISTANT_NAME}`,
  added_at: new Date().toISOString(),
  requiresTrigger: false,
  isMain: true,
});

For additional chats (trigger-only):

registerGroup("tg:<chat-id>", {
  name: "<chat-name>",
  folder: "telegram_<group-name>",
  trigger: `@${ASSISTANT_NAME}`,
  added_at: new Date().toISOString(),
  requiresTrigger: true,
});

Phase 5: Verify

Test the connection

Tell the user:

Send a message to your registered Telegram chat:

• For main chat: Any message works
• For non-main: @Andy hello or @mention the bot

The bot should respond within a few seconds.

Check logs if needed

tail -f logs/matclaw.log

Troubleshooting

Bot not responding

Check:

1. TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN is set in .env AND synced to data/env/env
2. Chat is registered in SQLite (check with: sqlite3 store/messages.db "SELECT * FROM registered_groups WHERE jid LIKE 'tg:%'")
3. For non-main chats: message includes trigger pattern
4. Service is running: launchctl list | grep matclaw (macOS) or systemctl --user status matclaw (Linux)

Bot only responds to @mentions in groups

Group Privacy is enabled (default). Fix:

1. @BotFather > /mybots > select bot > Bot Settings > Group Privacy > Turn off
2. Remove and re-add the bot to the group (required for the change to take effect)

Getting chat ID

If /chatid doesn't work:

• Verify token: curl -s "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}/getMe"
• Check bot is started: tail -f logs/matclaw.log

After Setup

If running npm run dev while the service is active:

# macOS:
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.matclaw.plist
npm run dev
# When done testing:
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.matclaw.plist
# Linux:
# systemctl --user stop matclaw
# npm run dev
# systemctl --user start matclaw

Agent Swarms (Teams)

After completing the Telegram setup, use AskUserQuestion:

AskUserQuestion: Would you like to add Agent Swarm support? Without it, Agent Teams still work — they just operate behind the scenes. With Swarm support, each subagent appears as a different bot in the Telegram group so you can see who's saying what and have interactive team sessions.

If they say yes, invoke the /add-telegram-swarm skill.

Removal

To remove Telegram integration:

1. Delete src/channels/telegram.ts and src/channels/telegram.test.ts
2. Remove import './telegram.js' from src/channels/index.ts
3. Remove TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN from .env
4. Remove Telegram registrations from SQLite: sqlite3 store/messages.db "DELETE FROM registered_groups WHERE jid LIKE 'tg:%'"
5. Uninstall: npm uninstall grammy
6. Rebuild: npm run build && launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.matclaw (macOS) or npm run build && systemctl --user restart matclaw (Linux)