Telegram Group Chat - Smart Reply Logic#

This skill provides intelligent reply judgment for Telegram group chats. The goal: be helpful without spamming — reply when valuable, stay silent when unnecessary.

Core Principle#

Quality > Quantity. If you wouldn't send it in a real group chat with friends, don't send it.

Reply Judgment Rules#

✅ Respond When (ANY one)#

1. @mentioned — Must reply when @mentioned by username

2. Questions detected — Message contains ? ？ or question words:

   • Chinese: 什么/怎么/为什么/如何/哪里/谁
   • English: what/how/why/where/who/which/when

3. Called by name — Message contains your name (e.g., "Echo")

4. Technical topics — You can help with: code, api, config, error, bug, deploy, bot, openclaw, telegram, webhook, token

5. Priority user — Messages from configured priority users (e.g., your human)

❌ Skip Reply When (ANY one)#

1. Other bots — from.is_bot == true (avoids bot infinite loops)
2. Only emoji — No text content, just emoji
3. Too short — <3 Chinese characters OR <1 English word
4. Small talk — Without @: 早安/晚安/吃了吗/hello/hi/hey/good morning
5. Cooldown active — Same topic replied within 5 minutes

Implementation: NO_REPLY Mechanism#

When skipping a reply, respond with ONLY:

text

NO_REPLY

OpenClaw treats this as a silent ack — the message is processed but not sent to the chat.

Important: NO_REPLY must be your ENTIRE response. Never append it to actual replies.

Configuration Template#

Add to your AGENTS.md or workspace config:

markdown

### 💬 Group Chat Reply Rules (Telegram: YOUR_GROUP_ID)

**Respond when (any one):**
- @mentioned (must reply)
- Message contains questions (`?` `？` or 什么/怎么/为什么/how/what/why)
- Called by name: "YourName"
- Technical topics (code, api, config, error, bug, bot, openclaw, telegram)
- Messages from priority user `USER_ID`

**Skip reply when (any one):**
- From other bots (`from.is_bot == true`)
- Only emoji, no text
- Too short (<3 Chinese chars or <1 English word)
- Small talk without @ (早安/晚安/吃了吗/hello/hi)
- Same topic replied within 5 minutes (cooldown)

**Silent reply:** When skipping, respond with ONLY `NO_REPLY`

Example Scenarios#

MessageShould Reply?Reason"@Echo 怎么配置 Telegram bot?"✅ Yes@mention + question"有人知道 API 怎么调吗？"✅ YesQuestion + technical"Echo 你觉得呢？"✅ YesCalled by name"早安大家"❌ NoSmall talk without @"👍"❌ NoOnly emoji"好"❌ NoToo short(Bot message) "Welcome!"❌ NoFrom other bot"刚才那个问题还有人吗？"❌ NoReplied 3min ago (cooldown)

Multi-Bot Groups#

When multiple OpenClaw bots are in the same group:

1. Each bot needs independent config — Same rules, different instances
2. Avoid bot loops — Never reply to other bots' messages
3. Use @ for directed questions — "@BotA 和 @BotB 你们觉得呢？"
4. Stagger responses — If multiple bots could reply, let the most relevant one respond

Testing Checklist#

• @mention triggers reply
• Questions trigger reply
• Emoji-only messages skipped
• Other bot messages skipped
• Cooldown prevents spam
• NO_REPLY not sent to chat

Related#

• OpenClaw Telegram channel docs: ~/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/docs/channels/telegram.md
• NO_REPLY pattern: Built into OpenClaw gateway