Connect OpenClaw to Slack, Telegram & More: Integration Guide

Why Connect Your Agent to Channels?

An AI agent running in a terminal is useful, but an agent you can reach from your phone, your team's Slack workspace, or a Discord server is dramatically more valuable. Channels are the communication endpoints that make your agents accessible from wherever you already work.

Imagine asking your project manager agent for a status update while commuting — through Telegram on your phone. Or having your content writer agent post drafts directly into a Slack channel where your team can review them in real time. Or running a community support agent in Discord that answers questions 24/7 without anyone on your team lifting a finger.

OpenClaw's channel system makes all of this possible with a single configuration command per channel. You do not need to write code, set up webhooks manually, or deploy separate services. The OpenClaw gateway handles all the protocol translation, message routing, and session management for you.

Supported Channels

OpenClaw supports five channel types out of the box. Each channel has its own strengths, and you can enable as many as you need for a single agent.

Channel	Status	Best For
Telegram	Full support	Mobile access, personal use, on-the-go interaction
Slack	Full support	Team collaboration, workspace integration
Discord	Supported	Community management, gaming teams, public servers
Email	Supported	Async communication, formal interactions
Web UI	Built-in	Dashboard access, browser-based chat

The Web UI is available automatically when you start the OpenClaw gateway — no configuration needed. It runs on localhost:18789 by default. Telegram, Slack, and Discord require a one-time setup to connect your bot tokens.

Telegram Integration

Telegram is the most popular channel for OpenClaw agents, especially for solopreneurs who want to chat with their agents from a phone. The setup takes about two minutes.

Step 1: Create a Telegram Bot

Open Telegram and search for @BotFather. Start a conversation and send the /newbot command. BotFather will ask you for a name and username for your bot. Once created, it gives you a bot token — a long string that looks like 123456789:ABCDefGHIJKlmnopQRSTuvwxyz. Copy this token.

Step 2: Configure OpenClaw

Run the following command to store your Telegram bot token in your OpenClaw project configuration:

openclaw config set channels.telegram.bottoken YOUR_TOKEN

Replace YOUR_TOKEN with the actual token from BotFather. OpenClaw stores this securely in your local configuration file.

Step 3: Restart the Gateway

After setting the token, restart the OpenClaw gateway so it picks up the new channel configuration:

openclaw gateway restart

You should see a log line confirming the Telegram channel is active: [channel:telegram] connected.

Step 4: Start Chatting

Open Telegram, find your bot by searching for its username, and send a message. Your OpenClaw agent will respond just as it would in the terminal or web UI. The full conversation context is maintained per chat, so your agent remembers previous messages in the same session.

You can also add your bot to Telegram group chats. By default, OpenClaw listens for all messages in group chats where the bot is a member. If you want the agent to respond only when mentioned, set privacy mode on your bot through BotFather using the /setprivacy command.

Slack Integration

Slack is ideal for teams that want to interact with their OpenClaw agents inside their existing workspace. Your agent appears as a Slack app that team members can mention in channels, send direct messages to, and interact with in threads.

Step 1: Create a Slack App

Go to api.slack.com/apps and click "Create New App." Choose "From scratch," give it a name (e.g., your agent's name), and select the workspace where you want to install it.

Step 2: Configure Bot Permissions

Navigate to "OAuth & Permissions" in the sidebar. Under "Bot Token Scopes," add the following permissions:

chat:write          # Send messages
app_mentions:read   # Respond when @mentioned
channels:history    # Read channel messages
im:history          # Read direct messages
im:write            # Send direct messages

These scopes give your agent the minimum permissions needed to receive and respond to messages in channels and DMs.

Step 3: Enable Event Subscriptions

Go to "Event Subscriptions" and toggle it on. Set the Request URL to your OpenClaw gateway's public endpoint. If you are running locally, use a tunneling service like ngrok to expose your gateway:

# Expose your local gateway
ngrok http 18789

# Use the generated URL as your Request URL:
# https://abc123.ngrok.io/channels/slack/events

Subscribe to the bot events: app_mention and message.im. Save your changes.

Step 4: Install and Configure

Install the app to your workspace (OAuth & Permissions > Install to Workspace). Copy the "Bot User OAuth Token" that starts with xoxb-. Then configure OpenClaw:

openclaw config set channels.slack.bottoken xoxb-YOUR-TOKEN
openclaw gateway restart

Step 5: Start Using Your Agent in Slack

Invite your agent to a channel using /invite @YourAgentName and then mention it to start a conversation: @YourAgentName what is the status of our blog calendar?. Your agent responds in the channel thread, keeping conversations organized.

Discord Integration

Discord is a strong choice for community-facing agents or teams that use Discord as their primary communication tool. The setup follows a similar pattern to Slack.

Step 1: Create a Discord Application

Go to the Discord Developer Portal, click "New Application," and give it a name. Navigate to the "Bot" section and click "Add Bot." Copy the bot token — you will need this for OpenClaw's configuration.

Step 2: Configure and Connect

Under "Bot," enable the "Message Content Intent" toggle so your bot can read messages. Then generate an invite link under "OAuth2 > URL Generator" with the bot scope and Send Messages permission. Use that link to add the bot to your server.

openclaw config set channels.discord.bottoken YOUR_DISCORD_TOKEN
openclaw gateway restart

Your agent will now respond to messages in any Discord channel where the bot has been added. You can configure it to respond only to mentions or to all messages in specific channels.

Multiple Channels at Once

One of OpenClaw's most practical features is running a single agent across multiple channels simultaneously. Your agent does not need separate instances for each channel — one gateway handles all of them.

Connect an agent to Telegram + Slack + Discord

# Set up all three channels
openclaw config set channels.telegram.bottoken TG_TOKEN
openclaw config set channels.slack.bottoken xoxb-SLACK_TOKEN
openclaw config set channels.discord.bottoken DISCORD_TOKEN

# One restart activates all channels
openclaw gateway restart

# Verify channels are connected
openclaw channels status

Each channel maintains its own conversation context. A conversation happening on Telegram is separate from one on Slack. However, the agent's knowledge base, tools, and SOUL.md configuration remain the same across all channels. This means your agent behaves consistently regardless of where a user reaches it.

This is particularly useful for teams: the project manager can check in through Slack at the office, get a quick update via Telegram during a commute, and the same agent handles both interactions with full awareness of its role and tasks.

Channel-Specific Tips

Each channel has its own strengths and quirks. Here are practical tips to get the most out of each integration:

Use inline keyboards for agent actions like 'Approve Draft' or 'Run Report.' Set up privacy mode in group chats so the agent only responds when directly mentioned. Telegram's markdown support makes formatted agent responses look clean on mobile.

Slack

Leverage thread support for organized conversations — agents can reply in threads to keep channels clean. Use Slack's slash commands alongside your agent for quick actions. Pin important agent responses for team reference.

Discord

Register slash commands through the Discord Developer Portal for clean interactions like /ask or /report. Use Discord's channel permissions to control where the agent can respond. Embed-style responses work well for structured data.

All Channels

Be mindful of rate limits — each platform has API rate limits that OpenClaw respects automatically. For high-traffic scenarios, consider spreading agents across multiple channels rather than overloading one. Monitor response times through the gateway logs.

Troubleshooting

Channel integrations are usually straightforward, but here are the most common issues and how to fix them:

Bot not responding in Telegram

Verify your bot token is correct with 'openclaw config get channels.telegram.bottoken'. Make sure the gateway is running ('openclaw gateway status'). If the token is correct and the gateway is running, restart with 'openclaw gateway restart' to force a reconnection.

Slack messages not received

Check that Event Subscriptions are enabled in your Slack app settings and the Request URL is verified (green checkmark). Confirm the bot has been invited to the channels where you expect it to respond. Review bot token scopes — you need at least 'app_mentions:read' and 'channels:history'.

Agent responds but very slowly

Response latency usually comes from the model provider, not the channel. Check your model provider's API status page. If using Ollama locally, ensure your machine has enough RAM for the model. Try switching to a faster model temporarily to isolate the issue.

Webhook connection errors

If running locally, you need a tunneling service (ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel) to expose your gateway to the internet. Slack and Discord require a publicly accessible URL for event subscriptions. Telegram uses long polling by default, so it works without a public URL.

Bot works in DMs but not in channels

The bot needs to be explicitly invited to each channel. In Slack, use '/invite @BotName'. In Discord, check that the bot has 'View Channel' and 'Send Messages' permissions for the target channel. In Telegram groups, make sure the bot is added as a member.

CrewClaw: All Channels in One Dashboard

Managing channel integrations from the command line works well for a single agent. But when you are running multiple agents across multiple channels — say three OpenClaw agents on Telegram and Slack, plus a CrewAI agent on Discord — it becomes difficult to track what is connected where, which agents are active, and what conversations are happening.

CrewClaw provides a unified dashboard that shows all your agents and their channel connections in one view. You can see which channels each agent is connected to, monitor conversation activity across all channels, add or remove channel integrations visually without touching the command line, and manage agents from any framework — not just OpenClaw.

For teams that are serious about multi-agent operations, having a single pane of glass across all channels saves time and reduces the chance of misconfiguration. Instead of SSH-ing into a server to check if a Telegram bot is connected, you open CrewClaw and see the status instantly.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I connect OpenClaw to Telegram?

Create a bot using @BotFather on Telegram to get a bot token. Then run 'openclaw config set channels.telegram.bottoken YOUR_TOKEN' in your terminal and restart the gateway with 'openclaw gateway restart'. Your agent will immediately start responding to messages sent to your Telegram bot. You can also add the bot to group chats for team-wide access.

Can one OpenClaw agent be on multiple channels at once?

Yes. A single OpenClaw agent can be connected to Telegram, Slack, Discord, and the web UI simultaneously. Each channel is configured independently in your project settings, and the agent maintains separate conversation contexts per channel. There is no limit to how many channels one agent can serve at the same time.

Does OpenClaw support WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is not officially supported as a built-in channel in OpenClaw yet. However, you can integrate WhatsApp through third-party bridges like the WhatsApp Business API connected to OpenClaw's REST API endpoint. The community has also built custom channel plugins for WhatsApp using Twilio and similar services. Check the OpenClaw GitHub discussions for community-maintained integrations.

How do I set up OpenClaw Slack integration?

Go to api.slack.com/apps and create a new Slack app. Under OAuth & Permissions, add bot scopes: chat:write, app_mentions:read, channels:history, and im:history. Install the app to your workspace and copy the Bot User OAuth Token. Then run 'openclaw config set channels.slack.bottoken xoxb-YOUR-TOKEN' and restart the gateway. Your agent will respond when mentioned in any channel the app is added to.

Can I use OpenClaw without any channel, CLI only?

Yes. OpenClaw works perfectly in CLI-only mode without any channel integrations. When you start the gateway with 'openclaw gateway start', you can interact with your agent directly in the terminal. The web UI at localhost:18789 is also available by default. Channels like Telegram and Slack are optional add-ons that extend where your agent is accessible — they are not required for the agent to function.

Manage all your agent channels from one dashboard

Connect your OpenClaw agents to Telegram, Slack, Discord, and more — then monitor and manage everything from CrewClaw's unified dashboard.

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