Issue: message tool fails with "message thread not found" after Topics/Forum mode was toggled

OpenClaw Version: 2026.2.6-3

Channel: Telegram

Description

The message tool (action: send) consistently fails with error 400: Bad Request: message thread not found when sending to a Telegram chat where Topics/Forum mode was previously enabled and then disabled.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a Telegram bot via @Botfather
2. Enable "Threaded Mode" (Forum/Topics) for the bot in @Botfather settings
3. Start OpenClaw gateway with the bot token
4. Have a conversation with the bot (DM) — some messages work, establishing session state
5. Disable "Threaded Mode" in @Botfather or in the Telegram chat
6. Restart OpenClaw gateway
7. Try to use message tool with action: send to send proactive messages (text or photo)

Expected Behavior

The message tool should successfully send messages without message_thread_id parameter when Topics/Forum mode is disabled.

Actual Behavior

• Agent replies (auto-routed to Telegram) work fine
• message tool calls fail with: Call to 'sendPhoto' failed! (400: Bad Request: message thread not found)
• Same error occurs for both sendMessage and sendPhoto
• Behavior is inconsistent: sometimes the first message after restart works, then subsequent calls fail

Error Logs

2026-02-08T01:12:57.672Z [tools] message failed: Call to 'sendPhoto' failed! (400: Bad Request: message thread not found)
2026-02-08T01:13:04.308Z [telegram] photo failed: Call to 'sendPhoto' failed! (400: Bad Request: message thread not found)
2026-02-08T01:13:10.037Z [telegram] message failed: Call to 'sendMessage' failed! (400: Bad Request: message thread not found)

Configuration

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "***",
      "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
      "allowFrom": ["80543377"],
      "groupPolicy": "allowlist",
      "streamMode": "off"
    }
  }
}

Attempted Fixes

1. ✅ Disabled streamMode: "off" — did not resolve
2. ✅ Disabled Topics/Forum mode in Telegram chat — partially works
3. ✅ Restarted OpenClaw gateway multiple times
4. ✅ Created fresh bot token (new bot) — first message works, subsequent messages fail

Root Cause Hypothesis

OpenClaw appears to track message_thread_id from incoming Telegram messages and persist it in session state or cache. When Topics/Forum mode is disabled, the tracked thread ID becomes stale/invalid, but OpenClaw continues to include it in outbound API calls.

The Telegram Bot API rejects messages with invalid message_thread_id, causing the "message thread not found" error.

Workaround

None reliable. Creating a fresh bot provides temporary relief (1-2 messages work) but the issue recurs.

Environment

• OS: macOS (Darwin 24.6.0 arm64)
• Node: v25.5.0
• OpenClaw: 2026.2.6-3
• Telegram Bot API version: Latest (via grammY)

Additional Notes

• This issue was not present in OpenClaw 2026.1.30 (unconfirmed, but suspected based on timeline)
• The issue only affects message tool proactive sends, not agent replies (which auto-route correctly)
• Forum/Topics mode was private chat Topics (not group forum), enabled briefly then disabled

Suggested Fix

1. Clear message_thread_id from session state when it becomes invalid (detect 400 error + retry without thread ID)
2. Add config option to disable thread ID tracking: channels.telegram.disableThreadTracking: true
3. Validate thread ID before including in outbound API calls (check if chat still has Topics enabled)