Telegram Compose

Rich, scannable Telegram messages via direct API with HTML formatting.

Credentials

Bot tokens: Stored in Clawdbot config at channels.telegram.accounts.<name>.botToken

# Get token from config
BOT_TOKEN=$(jq -r '.channels.telegram.accounts.alerts.botToken' ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json)
# Or for main bot:
BOT_TOKEN=$(jq -r '.channels.telegram.accounts.main.botToken' ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json)

Chat IDs: See TOOLS.md → Telegram section for configured chat IDs.

Direct API Call

# Get token and send
BOT_TOKEN=$(jq -r '.channels.telegram.accounts.alerts.botToken' ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json)
CHAT_ID="TARGET_CHAT_ID"  # See TOOLS.md

curl -s -X POST "https://api.telegram.org/bot${BOT_TOKEN}/sendMessage" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$(jq -n --arg chat "$CHAT_ID" --arg text "$MESSAGE" '{
    chat_id: $chat,
    text: $text,
    parse_mode: "HTML"
  }')"

HTML Tags

<b>bold</b>  <i>italic</i>  <u>underline</u>  <s>strike</s>
<code>mono</code>  <pre>code block</pre>
<tg-spoiler>hidden until tapped</tg-spoiler>
<blockquote>quote</blockquote>
<blockquote expandable>collapsed by default</blockquote>
<a href="url">link</a>
<a href="tg://user?id=123">mention by ID</a>

Escape in text: < → < > → > & → &

Structure Pattern

EMOJI <b>HEADING IN CAPS</b>

<b>Label:</b> Value
<b>Label:</b> Value

<b>SECTION</b>

• Bullet point
• Another point

<blockquote>Key quote or summary</blockquote>

<blockquote expandable><b>Details</b>

Hidden content here...
Long details go in expandable blocks.</blockquote>

<a href="https://...">Action Link →</a>

Examples

Status update:

📋 <b>TASK COMPLETE</b>

<b>Task:</b> Deploy v2.3
<b>Status:</b> ✅ Done
<b>Duration:</b> 12 min

<blockquote>All health checks passing.</blockquote>

Alert:

⚠️ <b>ATTENTION NEEDED</b>

<b>Issue:</b> API rate limit at 90%
<b>Action:</b> Review usage

<a href="https://dashboard.example.com">View Dashboard →</a>

List:

✅ <b>PRIORITIES</b>

• <s>Review PR #234</s> — done
• <b>Finish docs</b> — in progress
• Deploy staging

<i>2 of 3 complete</i>

Style Rules

Faux headings: EMOJI <b>CAPS TITLE</b> with blank line after
Emojis: 1-3 per message as visual anchors, not decoration
Whitespace: Blank lines between sections
Long content: Use <blockquote expandable>
Links: Own line, with arrow: Link Text →

Limits

Message: 4,096 chars
Caption: 1,024 chars

When to Use Direct API vs Clawdbot

Direct API	Clawdbot message tool
Structured messages	Quick acknowledgments
Status/alerts/reports	Simple replies
Need underline/spoiler/expandable	Basic formatting sufficient
Visual hierarchy matters	Throwaway messages

telegram-compose