Telegram

Create a Telegram bot, paste the token into Beach, and start chatting with your agent.

What this is

Telegram is the channel you can connect today. You'll create a Telegram bot using @BotFather, copy its token, and paste it into Beach. After that, your agent will reply to messages you send the bot from any Telegram client.

Beach stores the bot token in an encrypted vault, scoped to your account. OpenClaw — running on your instance — uses that token to connect to Telegram and handle messages.

Step 1: Create a bot with BotFather

  1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather.
  2. Send /newbot and follow BotFather's prompts: pick a name (the display name) and a username (must end in bot, e.g. my_assistant_bot).
  3. BotFather will reply with a message containing your bot token. It looks like 123456789:ABCdefGHI-jklMNO_pqrSTU.
  4. Copy the token. Don't share it anywhere — it's the equivalent of a password for the bot.

Step 2: Connect it in Beach

  1. Open the Channels page in Beach.
  2. Click Connect on the Telegram card. The "Create a Telegram Bot" wizard opens with a recap of the BotFather steps.
  3. Click Next to reach the Enter Bot Token step.
  4. Paste your token into the Bot Token field. Beach validates the format (digits:alphanumeric) before you can submit.
  5. Click Save Telegram. Beach stores the token in your encrypted vault.
  6. Restart your instance to activate the channel — the success screen will remind you.

Once your instance is back up, send a message to your bot in Telegram. Your agent should reply.

Common pitfalls

  • Whitespace when pasting. A trailing space or newline will make the token invalid. Beach trims whitespace, but double-check if the format error appears.
  • Reusing a token across multiple bots. Each Telegram bot has exactly one token. If you regenerate the token in BotFather (via /revoke), the old one stops working — paste the new one into Beach to rotate.
  • Privacy mode in groups. By default, Telegram bots only see messages addressed directly to them in groups (not every message). If you want your agent to read all group messages, talk to BotFather: /setprivacy → choose your bot → Disable.
  • Bot doesn't reply. Check that your instance is running. If it is, see A channel went offline and My agent isn't replying.

Rotating the token

If you need to replace the token (e.g., you regenerated it in BotFather), open the Channels page, find the Telegram card, and use Rotate token. Beach replaces the stored token without removing your bot or your conversation history.

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