fix: handle Telegram General topic thread params (#848) (thanks @azade-c)

Telegram General topic (id=1) has inconsistent API behavior:
- sendMessage: rejects explicit message_thread_id=1
- sendChatAction: requires message_thread_id=1 for typing to show

Split into two helper functions:
- buildTelegramThreadParams: excludes General topic for messages
- buildTypingThreadParams: includes General topic for typing

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 - Browser: extension mode recovers when only one tab is attached (stale targetId fallback).
 - Browser: fix `tab not found` for extension relay snapshots/actions when Playwright blocks `newCDPSession` (use the single available Page).
 - Telegram: add bidirectional reaction support with configurable notifications and agent guidance. (#964) — thanks @bohdanpodvirnyi.
+- Telegram: skip `message_thread_id=1` for General topic sends while keeping typing indicators. (#848) — thanks @azade-c.
 - Discord: allow allowlisted guilds without channel lists to receive messages when `groupPolicy="allowlist"`. — thanks @thewilloftheshadow.
 
 ## 2026.1.14-1

docs/channels/telegram.md

@@ -188,6 +188,7 @@ Disable with:
 Telegram forum topics include a `message_thread_id` per message. Clawdbot:
 - Appends `:topic:<threadId>` to the Telegram group session key so each topic is isolated.
 - Sends typing indicators and replies with `message_thread_id` so responses stay in the topic.
+- General topic (thread id `1`) is special: message sends omit `message_thread_id` (Telegram rejects it), but typing indicators still include it.
 - Exposes `MessageThreadId` + `IsForum` in template context for routing/templating.
 - Topic-specific configuration is available under `channels.telegram.groups.<chatId>.topics.<threadId>` (skills, allowlists, auto-reply, system prompts, disable).
 

src/telegram/bot-message-context.ts

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import {
   buildSenderName,
   buildTelegramGroupFrom,
   buildTelegramGroupPeerId,
-  buildTelegramThreadParams,
+  buildTypingThreadParams,
   describeReplyTarget,
   extractTelegramLocation,
   hasBotMention,
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ export const buildTelegramMessageContext = async ({
 
   const sendTyping = async () => {
     try {
-      await bot.api.sendChatAction(chatId, "typing", buildTelegramThreadParams(resolvedThreadId));
+      await bot.api.sendChatAction(chatId, "typing", buildTypingThreadParams(resolvedThreadId));
     } catch (err) {
       logVerbose(`telegram typing cue failed for chat ${chatId}: ${String(err)}`);
     }

src/telegram/bot.create-telegram-bot.matches-tg-prefixed-allowfrom-entries-case-insensitively.test.ts

@@ -352,10 +352,8 @@ describe("createTelegramBot", () => {
       getFile: async () => ({ download: async () => new Uint8Array() }),
     });
 
-    expect(sendMessageSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+    expect(sendMessageSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-      "-1001234567890",
+    const sendParams = sendMessageSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[2] as { message_thread_id?: number };
-      expect.any(String),
+    expect(sendParams?.message_thread_id).toBeUndefined();
-      expect.objectContaining({ message_thread_id: 1 }),
-    );
   });
 });

src/telegram/bot.test.ts

@@ -1710,11 +1710,9 @@ describe("createTelegramBot", () => {
       getFile: async () => ({ download: async () => new Uint8Array() }),
     });
 
-    expect(sendMessageSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+    expect(sendMessageSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-      "-1001234567890",
+    const sendParams = sendMessageSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[2] as { message_thread_id?: number };
-      expect.any(String),
+    expect(sendParams?.message_thread_id).toBeUndefined();
-      expect.objectContaining({ message_thread_id: 1 }),
-    );
   });
 
   it("applies topic skill filters and system prompts", async () => {

src/telegram/bot/helpers.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { buildTelegramThreadParams, buildTypingThreadParams } from "./helpers.js";
+
+describe("buildTelegramThreadParams", () => {
+  it("omits General topic thread id for message sends", () => {
+    expect(buildTelegramThreadParams(1)).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it("includes non-General topic thread ids", () => {
+    expect(buildTelegramThreadParams(99)).toEqual({ message_thread_id: 99 });
+  });
+
+  it("normalizes thread ids to integers", () => {
+    expect(buildTelegramThreadParams(42.9)).toEqual({ message_thread_id: 42 });
+  });
+});
+
+describe("buildTypingThreadParams", () => {
+  it("returns undefined when no thread id is provided", () => {
+    expect(buildTypingThreadParams(undefined)).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it("includes General topic thread id for typing indicators", () => {
+    expect(buildTypingThreadParams(1)).toEqual({ message_thread_id: 1 });
+  });
+
+  it("normalizes thread ids to integers", () => {
+    expect(buildTypingThreadParams(42.9)).toEqual({ message_thread_id: 42 });
+  });
+});

src/telegram/bot/helpers.ts

@@ -19,8 +19,31 @@ export function resolveTelegramForumThreadId(params: {
   return params.messageThreadId ?? undefined;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Build thread params for Telegram API calls (messages, media).
+ * General forum topic (id=1) must be treated like a regular supergroup send:
+ * Telegram rejects sendMessage/sendMedia with message_thread_id=1 ("thread not found").
+ */
 export function buildTelegramThreadParams(messageThreadId?: number) {
-  return messageThreadId != null ? { message_thread_id: messageThreadId } : undefined;
+  if (messageThreadId == null) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  const normalized = Math.trunc(messageThreadId);
+  if (normalized === TELEGRAM_GENERAL_TOPIC_ID) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  return { message_thread_id: normalized };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build thread params for typing indicators (sendChatAction).
+ * Empirically, General topic (id=1) needs message_thread_id for typing to appear.
+ */
+export function buildTypingThreadParams(messageThreadId?: number) {
+  if (messageThreadId == null) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  return { message_thread_id: Math.trunc(messageThreadId) };
 }
 
 export function resolveTelegramStreamMode(

src/telegram/send.ts

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import { markdownToTelegramHtml } from "./format.js";
 import { recordSentMessage } from "./sent-message-cache.js";
 import { parseTelegramTarget, stripTelegramInternalPrefixes } from "./targets.js";
 import { resolveTelegramVoiceSend } from "./voice.js";
+import { buildTelegramThreadParams } from "./bot/helpers.js";
 
 type TelegramSendOpts = {
   token?: string;
@@ -166,12 +167,10 @@ export async function sendMessageTelegram(
 
   // Build optional params for forum topics and reply threading.
   // Only include these if actually provided to keep API calls clean.
-  const threadParams: Record<string, number> = {};
   const messageThreadId =
     opts.messageThreadId != null ? opts.messageThreadId : target.messageThreadId;
-  if (messageThreadId != null) {
+  const threadIdParams = buildTelegramThreadParams(messageThreadId);
-    threadParams.message_thread_id = Math.trunc(messageThreadId);
+  const threadParams: Record<string, number> = threadIdParams ? { ...threadIdParams } : {};
-  }
   if (opts.replyToMessageId != null) {
     threadParams.reply_to_message_id = Math.trunc(opts.replyToMessageId);
   }