add-telegram

name	add-telegram
description	Add Telegram as a channel. Can replace WhatsApp entirely or run alongside it. Also configurable as a control-only channel (triggers actions) or passive channel (receives notifications only).

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)