Beginner's Guide to Setting Up a Telegram Bot for OpenClaw

So you want your own AI assistant on Telegram. You've signed up for MyClaw, you've got your API keys ready, and now there's one more thing you need: a Telegram bot token.

Don't worry — this is the easiest part of the entire process. You don't need to write any code, install anything, or understand any technical concepts. You just need to have a chat with a bot called BotFather.

This guide will walk you through every single click.

What you'll need

• A Telegram account (the app on your phone or desktop)
• About 3 minutes of your time

That's it. Seriously.

What is a Telegram bot, anyway?

A Telegram bot is like a special Telegram account that's controlled by software instead of a human. When you create a bot, Telegram gives you a token — a long string of characters that acts as a password for that bot.

When you give this token to MyClaw, your OpenClaw AI agent takes over the bot and starts responding to messages. You chat with the bot on Telegram, and your AI agent replies.

Step 1: Open Telegram and find BotFather

Open Telegram on your phone or computer. Tap the search bar at the top and type BotFather.

You'll see a result with a blue checkmark — that's the official bot. Tap on it to open a chat.

You can also just click this link: t.me/BotFather

Step 2: Start a conversation

Once you're in the BotFather chat, tap the Start button at the bottom (or type /start). BotFather will reply with a list of commands it supports. You only need one of them.

Step 3: Create your bot with /newbot

Now type (or tap) this command:

/newbot

BotFather will ask you two simple questions. Here's exactly what to expect and what to type:

Question 1: "What name do you want for your bot?"

This is the display name people see in chat. Pick anything you want: - My AI Assistant - Personal Claw - Almas's Helper - Whatever you like — you can change it later

Question 2: "Choose a username for your bot"

This must be unique and must end in bot. Some examples: - my_personal_claw_bot - almas_ai_bot - myclaw_assistant_bot

Step 4: Copy your bot token

After you pick a username, BotFather sends a success message with your bot token. It looks like this:

7123456789:AAHdqTcvCH1vGWJxfSeofSAs0K5PALDsaw

This long string is what MyClaw needs. Tap and hold on the token to copy it, or use the copy button if your Telegram app shows one.

Step 5: Paste the token into MyClaw

Now head over to your MyClaw dashboard. During the setup wizard (or in your instance settings), you'll see a field labeled Telegram Bot Token.

Paste your token there and continue with the setup.

MyClaw takes it from here. Within about 60 seconds, your bot will come alive on Telegram and send you a greeting message.

Step 6: Say hello to your AI agent!

Open Telegram, find your bot (search for the username you chose), and send it a message. Your OpenClaw-powered AI assistant will reply.

That's it. You now have a personal AI assistant living on Telegram.

Quick reference cheat sheet

Here's the entire process on one card for easy reference:

Troubleshooting

"The username is already taken" Try a different username. Add your name, numbers, or underscores. There are millions of bots on Telegram, so common names are taken.

"The bot doesn't respond after deploying" Give it a minute — MyClaw needs up to 60 seconds to fully set up your server. If it still doesn't respond after 2 minutes, check your instance status in the MyClaw dashboard.

"I lost my token" No problem. Open BotFather again, send /mybots, select your bot, then tap API Token to see it again. You can also tap Revoke token to generate a fresh one (don't forget to update it in MyClaw).

"Can I use one bot for multiple things?" Each MyClaw instance needs its own bot token. If you want multiple AI agents, create multiple bots with BotFather — it's free and takes seconds.

Optional: make your bot look nice

After creating your bot, you can customize its profile in BotFather:

These are totally optional but make your bot feel more polished and personal.