Telegram Setup

Telegram is the recommended starting point for MakerClaw. It offers the simplest setup process and works great for personal use and small teams.

Works with both PicoClaw and Moltis.

What You'll Need

• A Telegram account
• ~5 minutes for setup

Step 1: Create Your Bot

Open BotFather

1. Open Telegram on your phone or desktop
2. Search for @BotFather (the official Telegram bot for creating bots)
3. Start a conversation with BotFather

Create New Bot

1. Send the command /newbot

1. BotFather will ask for a name for your bot (this is the display name)
2. Enter a name like "My Assistant" or "Support Bot"
3. BotFather will ask for a username (must end in "bot")
4. Enter a unique username like "mycompany_support_bot"

Copy Your Token

BotFather will respond with your bot's token. It looks like this:

123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz

Important: Keep this token secret! Anyone with this token can control your bot.

Step 2: Get Your User ID (PicoClaw)

To restrict who can talk to your employee on PicoClaw, you need your Telegram user ID.

Using @userinfobot

1. Search for @userinfobot in Telegram
2. Start a conversation
3. The bot will reply with your user ID (a number like 123456789)
4. Copy this number

Tip: You can add multiple user IDs to allow team members to interact with your employee.

Step 3: Configure in MakersFuel

Configuration fields differ depending on your claw type.

PicoClaw Fields

Moltis Fields

DM Policy (Moltis)

Setup Steps

1. Go to your employee's configuration page
2. Find the Channels section
3. Click Add Channel or enable Telegram
4. Fill in the fields for your claw type
5. Click Save to apply the configuration

Step 4: Start Chatting

Find Your Bot

1. In Telegram, search for your bot's username
2. Click on your bot in the search results
3. Click Start or send any message

Test It Out

Send a test message to confirm everything is working:

• "Hello, are you there?"
• "What can you help me with?"
• "Tell me about yourself"

Features

Commands

Commands are automatically registered when your employee starts. Users can see available commands by typing / in the chat.

Message Types

Group Chats

Your bot can work in group chats:

1. Add your bot to a group
2. Make sure the bot has permission to read messages
3. Users can @mention the bot or use commands

Note: In groups, configure whether the bot responds to all messages or only mentions.

Configuration Reference

PicoClaw Access Control

PicoClaw uses the allow_from field:

Moltis Access Control

Moltis uses the dm_policy and allowlist fields. Set dm_policy to allowlist and populate the allowlist with Telegram user IDs to restrict access.

Bot Settings in BotFather

You can customize your bot further:

Troubleshooting

"Bot not responding"

1. Check token -- Ensure the full token is copied correctly
2. Check access control -- Verify you are in allow_from (PicoClaw) or allowlist (Moltis)
3. Check employee status -- Must be "Running"
4. Restart employee -- Try pausing and resuming

"Invalid token" error

• Make sure you copied the complete token
• Token format: numbers:letters
• Generate a new token via /token command in BotFather

"User not allowed"

• PicoClaw: verify your user ID is in the allow_from field
• Moltis: verify dm_policy is open or your user ID is in the allowlist
• User IDs are numbers only, no @ symbol

Messages not delivering

1. Ensure you clicked "Start" on the bot
2. Check if the bot was blocked accidentally
3. Verify employee is running

Best Practices

Next Steps

• Employee Channels Overview -- Learn about other channels
• Discord Setup -- Add Discord channel
• Tools & Skills -- Extend capabilities