Telegram Bot Settings

Use the bundled Python CLI to inspect and update Telegram Bot API account-level settings.

This skill is runtime-neutral: it works from Codex, Claude Code, OpenClaw, or any other agent that can read local files and run python3.

Quick start

Run a full snapshot first:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py status

Token resolution

The CLI resolves the bot token in this order:

1. --token
2. TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN, BOT_TOKEN, or TG_BOT_TOKEN
3. --token-file
4. TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN_FILE, BOT_TOKEN_FILE, TG_BOT_TOKEN_FILE, or OPENCLAW_TELEGRAM_TOKEN_FILE
5. Common secret files and dotenv-style files such as ./secrets/telegram-bot-settings.env, ./.env.local, ./.env, or ~/.config/telegram-bot-settings/bot.token

If you want a simple default, store the token in one of those secret locations and run the commands without passing --token each time.

Common tasks

Inspect current settings

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py status
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py get-name
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py get-description
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py get-short-description

Change public identity

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py set-name --text "Northline Utility Bot"
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py set-description --text "Workflow and automation bot for Telegram-based operations."
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py set-short-description --text "Telegram bot settings helper"
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py set-photo ./avatar.png
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py remove-photo

Notes:

• set-photo auto-converts static non-JPEG images to JPEG when Pillow is available.
• Add --animated --main-frame-timestamp 0.0 for MPEG4 animated avatars.
• Add --language-code uk (or another code) for localized name/description fields.

Manage commands

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py get-commands
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py set-commands --commands @commands.json
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py delete-commands

Manage menu button

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py get-menu-button
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py set-menu-button --button '{"type":"commands"}'

Manage default admin rights

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py get-default-admin-rights
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py set-default-admin-rights --rights @rights.json
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py set-default-admin-rights --clear

Raw method escape hatch

Use raw when Telegram adds a method before this wrapper is updated:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py raw getMe
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/telegram_bot_settings.py raw setMyCommands --data @payload.json

For file uploads, pass --file field=/path/to/file and reference it via attach://field inside --data.

Guardrails

• Run status before large edits so you have a clean baseline.
• Prefer @file.json for long payloads instead of fragile shell escaping.
• Do not assume every BotFather setting exists in Bot API.
• If the request is about exact method coverage, JSON payload shapes, or what is still BotFather-only, read references/bot-api-settings.md.