Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Summary

Outbound Telegram messaging via the message tool fails consistently with a 403 error, despite:

1. The bot token being valid and authenticated (confirmed via getMe API call)
2. Inbound messages working perfectly (we receive and respond to messages normally)
3. The bot being in the chat and receiving messages
4. All documented config settings being correct

Steps to reproduce

Steps to reproduce:

1. Configure Telegram bot with valid token in openclaw.json
2. Set dmPolicy: "allowlist" and allowFrom: ["<user_id>"]
3. Start gateway
4. Send any message via the message tool to the configured user ID
5. Observe the 403 error

Expected behavior

When calling message action with channel: "telegram" and a valid user ID, the bot should send the message to that user.

Actual behavior

All outbound sends fail with: Call to 'sendMessage' failed! (403: Forbidden: bot is not a member of the channel chat)

OpenClaw version

OpenClaw version: 2026.3.13

Operating system

macOS (Darwin 25.1.0)

Install method

npx openclaw (npm-based, local sandbox install)

Model

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001

Provider / routing chain

anthropic

Config file / key location

No response

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Whenever bot tries to send an outbound telegram:

⚠️ ✉️ Message failed

Impact and severity

No response

Additional information

No response