Add Agent Swarm to Telegram

This skill adds Agent Teams (Swarm) support to an existing Telegram channel. Each subagent in a team gets its own bot identity in the Telegram group, so users can visually distinguish which agent is speaking.

Prerequisite: Telegram must already be set up via the /add-telegram skill. If src/telegram.ts does not exist or TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN is not configured, tell the user to run /add-telegram first.

How It Works

• The main bot receives messages and sends lead agent responses (already set up by /add-telegram)
• Pool bots are send-only — each gets a Grammy Api instance (no polling)
• When a subagent calls send_message with a sender parameter, the host assigns a pool bot and renames it to match the sender's role
• Messages appear in Telegram from different bot identities

Subagent calls send_message(text: "Found 3 results", sender: "Researcher")
  → MCP writes IPC file with sender field
  → Host IPC watcher picks it up
  → Assigns pool bot #2 to "Researcher" (round-robin, stable per-group)
  → Renames pool bot #2 to "Researcher" via setMyName
  → Sends message via pool bot #2's Api instance
  → Appears in Telegram from "Researcher" bot

Prerequisites

1. Create Pool Bots

Tell the user:

I need you to create 3-5 Telegram bots to use as the agent pool. These will be renamed dynamically to match agent roles.

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot for each bot:
   • Give them any placeholder name (e.g., "Bot 1", "Bot 2")
   • Usernames like myproject_swarm_1_bot, myproject_swarm_2_bot, etc.
3. Copy all the tokens
4. Add all bots to your Telegram group(s) where you want agent teams

Wait for user to provide the tokens.

2. Disable Group Privacy for Pool Bots

Tell the user:

Important: Each pool bot needs Group Privacy disabled so it can send messages in groups.

For each pool bot in @BotFather:

1. Send /mybots and select the bot
2. Go to Bot Settings > Group Privacy > Turn off

Then add all pool bots to your Telegram group(s).

Implementation

Step 1: Update Configuration

Read src/config.ts and add the bot pool config near the other Telegram exports:

export const TELEGRAM_BOT_POOL = (process.env.TELEGRAM_BOT_POOL || '')
  .split(',')
  .map((t) => t.trim())
  .filter(Boolean);

Step 2: Add Bot Pool to Telegram Module

Read src/telegram.ts and add the following:

1. Update imports — add Api to the Grammy import:

import { Api, Bot } from 'grammy';

2. Add pool state after the existing let bot declaration:

// Bot pool for agent teams: send-only Api instances (no polling)
const poolApis: Api[] = [];
// Maps "{groupFolder}:{senderName}" → pool Api index for stable assignment
const senderBotMap = new Map<string, number>();
let nextPoolIndex = 0;

3. Add pool functions — place these before the isTelegramConnected function:

/**
 * Initialize send-only Api instances for the bot pool.
 * Each pool bot can send messages but doesn't poll for updates.
 */
export async function initBotPool(tokens: string[]): Promise<void> {
  for (const token of tokens) {
    try {
      const api = new Api(token);
      const me = await api.getMe();
      poolApis.push(api);
      logger.info(
        { username: me.username, id: me.id, poolSize: poolApis.length },
        'Pool bot initialized',
      );
    } catch (err) {
      logger.error({ err }, 'Failed to initialize pool bot');
    }
  }
  if (poolApis.length > 0) {
    logger.info({ count: poolApis.length }, 'Telegram bot pool ready');
  }
}

/**
 * Send a message via a pool bot assigned to the given sender name.
 * Assigns bots round-robin on first use; subsequent messages from the
 * same sender in the same group always use the same bot.
 * On first assignment, renames the bot to match the sender's role.
 */
export async function sendPoolMessage(
  chatId: string,
  text: string,
  sender: string,
  groupFolder: string,
): Promise<void> {
  if (poolApis.length === 0) {
    // No pool bots — fall back to main bot
    await sendTelegramMessage(chatId, text);
    return;
  }

  const key = `${groupFolder}:${sender}`;
  let idx = senderBotMap.get(key);
  if (idx === undefined) {
    idx = nextPoolIndex % poolApis.length;
    nextPoolIndex++;
    senderBotMap.set(key, idx);
    // Rename the bot to match the sender's role, then wait for Telegram to propagate
    try {
      await poolApis[idx].setMyName(sender);
      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 2000));
      logger.info({ sender, groupFolder, poolIndex: idx }, 'Assigned and renamed pool bot');
    } catch (err) {
      logger.warn({ sender, err }, 'Failed to rename pool bot (sending anyway)');
    }
  }

  const api = poolApis[idx];
  try {
    const numericId = chatId.replace(/^tg:/, '');
    const MAX_LENGTH = 4096;
    if (text.length <= MAX_LENGTH) {
      await api.sendMessage(numericId, text);
    } else {
      for (let i = 0; i < text.length; i += MAX_LENGTH) {
        await api.sendMessage(numericId, text.slice(i, i + MAX_LENGTH));
      }
    }
    logger.info({ chatId, sender, poolIndex: idx, length: text.length }, 'Pool message sent');
  } catch (err) {
    logger.error({ chatId, sender, err }, 'Failed to send pool message');
  }
}

Step 3: Add sender Parameter to MCP Tool

Read container/agent-runner/src/ipc-mcp-stdio.ts and update the send_message tool to accept an optional sender parameter:

Change the tool's schema from:

{ text: z.string().describe('The message text to send') },

To:

{
  text: z.string().describe('The message text to send'),
  sender: z.string().optional().describe('Your role/identity name (e.g. "Researcher"). When set, messages appear from a dedicated bot in Telegram.'),
},

And update the handler to include sender in the IPC data:

async (args) => {
    const data: Record<string, string | undefined> = {
      type: 'message',
      chatJid,
      text: args.text,
      sender: args.sender || undefined,
      groupFolder,
      timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
    };

    writeIpcFile(MESSAGES_DIR, data);

    return { content: [{ type: 'text' as const, text: 'Message sent.' }] };
  },

Step 4: Update Host IPC Routing

Read src/ipc.ts and make these changes:

1. Add imports — add sendPoolMessage and initBotPool from the Telegram swarm module, and TELEGRAM_BOT_POOL from config.

2. Update IPC message routing — in src/ipc.ts, find where the sendMessage dependency is called to deliver IPC messages (inside processIpcFiles). The sendMessage is passed in via the IpcDeps parameter. Wrap it to route Telegram swarm messages through the bot pool:

if (data.sender && data.chatJid.startsWith('tg:')) {
  await sendPoolMessage(
    data.chatJid,
    data.text,
    data.sender,
    sourceGroup,
  );
} else {
  await deps.sendMessage(data.chatJid, data.text);
}

Note: The assistant name prefix is handled by formatOutbound() in the router — Telegram channels have prefixAssistantName = false so no prefix is added for tg: JIDs.

3. Initialize pool in main() in src/index.ts — after creating the Telegram channel, add:

if (TELEGRAM_BOT_POOL.length > 0) {
  await initBotPool(TELEGRAM_BOT_POOL);
}

Step 5: Update CLAUDE.md Files

5a. Add global message formatting rules

Read groups/global/CLAUDE.md and add a Message Formatting section:

## Message Formatting

NEVER use markdown. Only use WhatsApp/Telegram formatting:
- *single asterisks* for bold (NEVER **double asterisks**)
- _underscores_ for italic
- • bullet points
- ```triple backticks``` for code

No ## headings. No [links](url). No **double stars**.

5b. Update existing group CLAUDE.md headings

In any group CLAUDE.md that has a "WhatsApp Formatting" section (e.g. groups/main/CLAUDE.md), rename the heading to reflect multi-channel support:

## WhatsApp Formatting (and other messaging apps)

5c. Add Agent Teams instructions to Telegram groups

For each Telegram group that will use agent teams, create or update its groups/{folder}/CLAUDE.md with these instructions. Read the existing CLAUDE.md first (or groups/global/CLAUDE.md as a base) and add the Agent Teams section:

## Agent Teams

When creating a team to tackle a complex task, follow these rules:

### CRITICAL: Follow the user's prompt exactly

Create *exactly* the team the user asked for — same number of agents, same roles, same names. Do NOT add extra agents, rename roles, or use generic names like "Researcher 1". If the user says "a marine biologist, a physicist, and Alexander Hamilton", create exactly those three agents with those exact names.

### Team member instructions

Each team member MUST be instructed to:

1. *Share progress in the group* via `mcp__nanoclaw__send_message` with a `sender` parameter matching their exact role/character name (e.g., `sender: "Marine Biologist"` or `sender: "Alexander Hamilton"`). This makes their messages appear from a dedicated bot in the Telegram group.
2. *Also communicate with teammates* via `SendMessage` as normal for coordination.
3. Keep group messages *short* — 2-4 sentences max per message. Break longer content into multiple `send_message` calls. No walls of text.
4. Use the `sender` parameter consistently — always the same name so the bot identity stays stable.
5. NEVER use markdown formatting. Use ONLY WhatsApp/Telegram formatting: single *asterisks* for bold (NOT **double**), _underscores_ for italic, • for bullets, ```backticks``` for code. No ## headings, no [links](url), no **double asterisks**.

### Example team creation prompt

When creating a teammate, include instructions like:

\```
You are the Marine Biologist. When you have findings or updates for the user, send them to the group using mcp__nanoclaw__send_message with sender set to "Marine Biologist". Keep each message short (2-4 sentences max). Use emojis for strong reactions. ONLY use single *asterisks* for bold (never **double**), _underscores_ for italic, • for bullets. No markdown. Also communicate with teammates via SendMessage.
\```

### Lead agent behavior

As the lead agent who created the team:

- You do NOT need to react to or relay every teammate message. The user sees those directly from the teammate bots.
- Send your own messages only to comment, share thoughts, synthesize, or direct the team.
- When processing an internal update from a teammate that doesn't need a user-facing response, wrap your *entire* output in `<internal>` tags.
- Focus on high-level coordination and the final synthesis.

Step 6: Update Environment

Add pool tokens to .env:

TELEGRAM_BOT_POOL=TOKEN1,TOKEN2,TOKEN3,...

Important: Sync to all required locations:

cp .env data/env/env

Also add TELEGRAM_BOT_POOL to the launchd plist (~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist) in the EnvironmentVariables dict if using launchd.

Step 7: Rebuild and Restart

npm run build
./container/build.sh  # Required — MCP tool changed
# macOS:
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist
# Linux:
# systemctl --user restart nanoclaw

Must use unload/load (macOS) or restart (Linux) because the service env vars changed.

Step 8: Test

Tell the user:

Send a message in your Telegram group asking for a multi-agent task, e.g.: "Assemble a team of a researcher and a coder to build me a hello world app"

You should see:

• The lead agent (main bot) acknowledging and creating the team
• Each subagent messaging from a different bot, renamed to their role
• Short, scannable messages from each agent

Check logs: tail -f logs/nanoclaw.log | grep -i pool

Architecture Notes

• Pool bots use Grammy's Api class — lightweight, no polling, just send
• Bot names are set via setMyName — changes are global to the bot, not per-chat
• A 2-second delay after setMyName allows Telegram to propagate the name change before the first message
• Sender→bot mapping is stable within a group (keyed as {groupFolder}:{senderName})
• Mapping resets on service restart — pool bots get reassigned fresh
• If pool runs out, bots are reused (round-robin wraps)

Troubleshooting

Pool bots not sending messages

1. Verify tokens: curl -s "https://api.telegram.org/botTOKEN/getMe"
2. Check pool initialized: grep "Pool bot" logs/nanoclaw.log
3. Ensure all pool bots are members of the Telegram group
4. Check Group Privacy is disabled for each pool bot

Bot names not updating

Telegram caches bot names client-side. The 2-second delay after setMyName helps, but users may need to restart their Telegram client to see updated names immediately.

Subagents not using send_message

Check the group's CLAUDE.md has the Agent Teams instructions. The lead agent reads this when creating teammates and must include the send_message + sender instructions in each teammate's prompt.

Removal

To remove Agent Swarm support while keeping basic Telegram:

1. Remove TELEGRAM_BOT_POOL from src/config.ts
2. Remove pool code from src/telegram.ts (poolApis, senderBotMap, initBotPool, sendPoolMessage)
3. Remove pool routing from IPC handler in src/index.ts (revert to plain sendMessage)
4. Remove initBotPool call from main()
5. Remove sender param from MCP tool in container/agent-runner/src/ipc-mcp-stdio.ts
6. Remove Agent Teams section from group CLAUDE.md files
7. Remove TELEGRAM_BOT_POOL from .env, data/env/env, and launchd plist/systemd unit
8. Rebuild: npm run build && ./container/build.sh && launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist && launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist (macOS) or npm run build && ./container/build.sh && systemctl --user restart nanoclaw (Linux)