Connect OpenClaw to Telegram

Can OpenClaw post to Telegram?

Postgale is the secure layer for AI agents on social media. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard that lets AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor use outside tools. An MCP server is what they connect to. OpenClaw does not reach Telegram on its own; with Postgale connected it gets tools for the Telegram accounts you connected and nothing else.

What do you need?

• A Telegram channel or group where you are an admin who can add other admins.
• A Postgale workspace, and a sign-in or an API key for the agent.
• Optional media on a public HTTPS URL (upload it with upload_media): photos up to 10 MB, videos and documents up to 50 MB.
• OpenClaw, set up as below (A remote MCP server or a skill that calls the REST API, with an API key).

Step 1: connect your Telegram channel or group

1. Create a Postgale workspace and open Dashboard → Accounts → Telegram. You get a one-time code that is valid for 15 minutes.
2. In Telegram, add Postgale’s bot to your channel or group as an admin with the right to post messages.
3. Post /connect followed by the code in the chat. The channel or group appears in Postgale within seconds.
4. Connect your AI tool: add https://postgale.com/mcp in ChatGPT, Claude or Cursor and sign in to Postgale, or create a key under Dashboard → API keys for n8n or your own code.

An agent can also start the connection itself: the connect_account tool (or POST /api/v1/connect/telegram) returns the code and the steps for the person who runs the chat. The agent never gets a token.

Step 2: connect OpenClaw to Postgale

1. In Postgale, open Dashboard → API keys, create a key and copy it (it starts with sk_ and is shown once). Connect the social accounts the agent may use under Dashboard → Accounts.
2. An agent that runs on its own, on a schedule or from a chat app, should use a key with approval required: create the key, then turn on approval for it under Dashboard → API keys. Everything it wants to publish, reply or send then waits for a person.
3. Store the key where OpenClaw reads secrets, for example an environment variable POSTGALE_API_KEY on the machine it runs on. Do not paste it into a chat.

Step 2a: add Postgale as an MCP server

Add a remote MCP server in OpenClaw’s configuration with these values. Field names and file locations depend on your OpenClaw version and setup; check its documentation for where MCP servers are declared.

URL:        https://postgale.com/mcp
Transport:  Streamable HTTP
Header:     Authorization: Bearer sk_…

Clients that take the common mcpServers JSON shape accept it like this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgale": {
      "url": "https://postgale.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer sk_…"
      }
    }
  }
}

What can I ask OpenClaw to do on Telegram?

Check the connection first: “Which Telegram accounts are connected in Postgale?” Then, in plain language:

Ask your agent“Post this week’s changelog to our Telegram channel with the two screenshots as an album, silently.”

Ask your agent“Schedule a Telegram post for Friday at 5pm with the opening hours in bold (HTML formatting).”

Ask your agent“Fix the typo in the caption of this morning’s Telegram post.”

{
  "content": "<b>This week</b>: faster sync, dark mode and 12 fixes.",
  "platforms": [
    {
      "accountId": "acc_tg",
      "platformSpecificData": {
        "mediaUrls": [
          "https://media.example.com/sync.png",
          "https://media.example.com/dark.png"
        ],
        "parseMode": "HTML",
        "disableNotification": true
      }
    }
  ],
  "scheduledFor": "2026-11-06T17:00:00Z"
}

Which Telegram rules does Postgale enforce?

• Text is limited to 4096 characters and captions to 1024, counted after formatting markup; a longer post is refused before it reaches Telegram.
• Albums have 2 to 10 items, and documents cannot share an album with photos or videos.
• Files are uploaded by Postgale within Telegram’s bot limits: 10 MB per photo, 50 MB per video or document.
• When Telegram asks to slow down, Postgale waits the time Telegram gives before retrying.
• If the bot is removed or loses the right to post, the account is marked as needing reconnection and your webhook hears about it.

How do I keep a person in the loop?

• Approval: tick “Hold posts from this app for approval” when you sign in, or in the Postgale dashboard require approval for the API key the agent uses (or for the whole workspace, or one account). Posts then wait as pending approval; comment replies and moderation, direct messages, WhatsApp sends and edits to live posts wait in the same queue. A person approves, edits or rejects each one in Dashboard → Approvals; the agent’s own key or sign-in cannot approve.
• Tool annotations: every Postgale tool declares whether it only reads, writes, or publishes or sends live, deletes or spends. Clients that honour annotations ask before destructive tools run.
• Audit log: every write the agent makes is recorded with the key or the connected app, the action and the time.
• Revoking: each sign-in appears under Dashboard → Connected apps and each key under Dashboard → API keys; either can be revoked at any time.

What can’t an agent do on Telegram through Postgale?

• Post to personal chats or to chats where the bot is not an admin.
• Read views or reactions per post. The Bot API does not give them to bots.
• Delete messages older than 48 hours. Telegram does not allow it.

Common questions