openclaw/docs/channels/telegram-user.md

summary
Connect a Telegram user account via MTProto (DM-only)

Telegram User

Telegram User connects Clawdbot to a personal Telegram account using MTProto. Use this when you need user-level DMs or want to message from your own account.

Requirements

• Telegram API ID + API hash from my.telegram.org.
• The telegram-user plugin installed.

Install the plugin

If the plugin is not bundled, install it:

clawdbot plugins install @clawdbot/telegram-user

Configure

You can store credentials in config or use env vars.

Option A: env vars (default account only)

export TELEGRAM_USER_API_ID="123456"
export TELEGRAM_USER_API_HASH="your_api_hash"
clawdbot channels add --channel telegram-user --use-env

Option B: config

clawdbot channels add --channel telegram-user --api-id 123456 --api-hash your_api_hash

Login (QR or phone code)

QR login (default):

clawdbot channels login --channel telegram-user

Phone login:

export TELEGRAM_USER_PHONE="+15551234567"
clawdbot channels login --channel telegram-user

Optional env helpers:

• TELEGRAM_USER_CODE (one-time code)
• TELEGRAM_USER_PASSWORD (2FA password)

Security (DM policy)

By default, DMs are protected with pairing. Approve requests with:

clawdbot pairing approve telegram-user <code>

See Pairing for details.

Limitations

• DM-only (no groups or channels yet).
• Calls are not supported.