From e4816aae8043432c7f1476f2b37424a6966bc781 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Sam Padilla <padilla.samuelk@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2026 22:53:25 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] feat(telegram): add channel_post support for bot-to-bot
 communication
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Telegram bots cannot see messages from other bots in groups — this is a
hard platform limitation. However, bots CAN see other bot messages in
Telegram channels (broadcast channels).

This patch:
- Adds 'channel_post' to the allowed Telegram update types
- Registers a channel_post handler that normalizes channel posts into
  the existing message pipeline via synthetic message/context objects
- Enables bot-to-bot wake signals via private Telegram channels

Use case: external services (APIs, CRMs) can send wake/trigger signals
to an OpenClaw bot through a dedicated Telegram channel using a second
bot, without exposing the gateway.
---
 src/telegram/allowed-updates.ts |  3 ++
 src/telegram/bot-handlers.ts    | 71 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 74 insertions(+)

diff --git a/src/telegram/allowed-updates.ts b/src/telegram/allowed-updates.ts
index e32fefd096f..a081373e810 100644
--- a/src/telegram/allowed-updates.ts
+++ b/src/telegram/allowed-updates.ts
@@ -7,5 +7,8 @@ export function resolveTelegramAllowedUpdates(): ReadonlyArray<TelegramUpdateTyp
   if (!updates.includes("message_reaction")) {
     updates.push("message_reaction");
   }
+  if (!updates.includes("channel_post")) {
+    updates.push("channel_post");
+  }
   return updates;
 }
diff --git a/src/telegram/bot-handlers.ts b/src/telegram/bot-handlers.ts
index 6a40bd8bbbd..758167b650d 100644
--- a/src/telegram/bot-handlers.ts
+++ b/src/telegram/bot-handlers.ts
@@ -1065,4 +1065,75 @@ export const registerTelegramHandlers = ({
       runtime.error?.(danger(`handler failed: ${String(err)}`));
     }
   });
+
+  // Handle channel posts — enables bot-to-bot communication via Telegram channels.
+  // Telegram bots cannot see other bot messages in groups, but CAN in channels.
+  // This handler normalizes channel_post updates into the standard message pipeline.
+  bot.on("channel_post", async (ctx) => {
+    try {
+      const post = ctx.channelPost;
+      if (!post) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const chatId = post.chat.id;
+
+      // Check group allowlist (channels use the same groups config)
+      const groupAllowlist = resolveGroupPolicy(chatId);
+      if (groupAllowlist.allowlistEnabled && !groupAllowlist.allowed) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const { groupConfig } = resolveTelegramGroupConfig(chatId, undefined);
+      if (!groupConfig || groupConfig.enabled === false) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      // Build a synthetic `from` field since channel posts may not have one.
+      // Use sender_chat (the bot/user that posted) if available.
+      const syntheticFrom = post.sender_chat
+        ? {
+            id: post.sender_chat.id,
+            is_bot: true as const,
+            first_name: post.sender_chat.title || "Channel",
+            username: post.sender_chat.username,
+          }
+        : {
+            id: chatId,
+            is_bot: true as const,
+            first_name: post.chat.title || "Channel",
+            username: post.chat.username,
+          };
+
+      const syntheticMsg: Message = {
+        ...post,
+        from: post.from ?? syntheticFrom,
+        chat: {
+          ...post.chat,
+          type: "supergroup" as const,
+        },
+      } as Message;
+
+      const syntheticCtx = Object.create(ctx, {
+        message: { value: syntheticMsg, writable: true, enumerable: true },
+      });
+
+      const storeAllowFrom = await readChannelAllowFromStore(
+        "telegram",
+        process.env,
+        accountId,
+      ).catch(() => []);
+
+      await inboundDebouncer.enqueue({
+        ctx: syntheticCtx,
+        msg: syntheticMsg,
+        allMedia: [],
+        storeAllowFrom,
+        debounceKey: null,
+        botUsername: ctx.me?.username,
+      });
+    } catch (err) {
+      runtime.error?.(danger(`channel_post handler failed: ${String(err)}`));
+    }
+  });
 };