add-telegram

name	add-telegram
description	Adds a Telegram bot channel to PicoClaw using the go-telegram-bot-api library. Creates channels/telegram.go with a TelegramChannel struct using long-polling, registers it in main.go, and runs in its own goroutine. Compiles to a single static binary — no external dependencies at runtime. Requires a bot token from @BotFather.

add-telegram

Telegram integration for PicoClaw: pure Go, static binary, goroutine-per-connection, zero runtime deps.

Usage

/add-telegram

Files Created

channels/telegram.go            # TelegramChannel using go-telegram-bot-api

Files Modified

main.go                         # Start TelegramChannel goroutine in main
config/config.go                # Add TelegramBotToken field
go.mod                          # Add github.com/go-telegram-bot-api/telegram-bot-api/v5

Environment Variables

TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your_bot_token_from_botfather
PICOCLAW_TRIGGER=@PicoClaw      # Default trigger word

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

1. Message @BotFather → /newbot → copy token
2. Run /add-telegram
3. Set TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN in .env or as an env var
4. Build: go build -o picoclaw .
5. Deploy: scp picoclaw pi@raspberry:/usr/local/bin/ (3MB binary, no other files needed)
6. Run: TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=xxx ./picoclaw

Code Sample

// channels/telegram.go (generated)
package channels

import (
	"strings"
	tgbotapi "github.com/go-telegram-bot-api/telegram-bot-api/v5"
)

type TelegramChannel struct {
	bot     *tgbotapi.BotAPI
	trigger string
}

func NewTelegramChannel(token, trigger string) (*TelegramChannel, error) {
	bot, err := tgbotapi.NewBotAPI(token)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	return &TelegramChannel{bot: bot, trigger: trigger}, nil
}

func (c *TelegramChannel) Listen(handler func(string) string) {
	u := tgbotapi.NewUpdate(0)
	u.Timeout = 60
	updates := c.bot.GetUpdatesChan(u)
	for update := range updates {
		if update.Message == nil { continue }
		text := update.Message.Text
		if !strings.Contains(text, c.trigger) { continue }
		reply := handler(text)
		msg := tgbotapi.NewMessage(update.Message.Chat.ID, reply)
		c.bot.Send(msg)
	}
}

Philosophy

PicoClaw deploys as a single static binary. The Telegram channel fits neatly in one goroutine — no threads, no locks, no runtime allocation beyond the message queue.