OpenClaw Telegram Topic Routing:
One Group, Multiple AI Agents
OpenClaw v2026.3.7-beta introduced persistent thread binding — each Telegram forum topic runs as a completely independent agent with its own context, skills, and model. Your #sales-agent, #dev-agent, and #support-agent can each behave differently, all in one Telegram group.
What is Telegram topic routing?
Telegram Forum groups support Topics — dedicated threads inside a single group, each with its own name and history. Think of them as channels-within-a-group, similar to Slack channels.
Before OpenClaw v2026.3.7, the entire Telegram group was treated as a single agent context. All topics shared one agent, one model, and one skill configuration.
With topic routing enabled, each topic becomes its own fully independent agent. Messages in #sales-agent never bleed into #dev-agent. You can assign different models, different skills, and different system prompts to each topic — all within the same Telegram group.
Real-world use cases
Sales team Telegram group
- #lead-research
Uses Claude Sonnet for prospect analysis
- #email-drafts
Uses Claude Haiku (cheaper) for quick draft generation
- #pipeline-updates
Connects to CRM for live pipeline data
Three agents, one Telegram group.
Dev team workspace
- #code-review
Uses GPT-5 for maximum reasoning depth
- #standup-bot
Uses Haiku for quick daily summaries
- #incident-alerts
Monitors logs and pages on-call
Different models, different skills, all in one group.
Personal productivity group
- #morning-briefing
Runs a daily summary agent at 7am
- #research
On-demand research assistant
- #admin
Handles invoice and calendar tasks
Each topic is a different "mode" of your AI assistant.
Configuration example
Topic routing is configured in your OpenClaw channel config. Each topic key maps to an independent agent definition.
# OpenClaw telegram-routing.yaml
channels:
telegram:
groupId: "-1001234567890"
topicRouting: true
topics:
"lead-research":
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
skills: [web-search, crm-lookup]
"email-drafts":
model: claude-haiku-4-5
skills: [email-draft]
"pipeline-updates":
model: claude-haiku-4-5
skills: [crm-sync]Why managed hosting matters for topic routing
Topic routing stores per-thread SQLite state. On self-hosted setups, server restarts reset thread bindings — a documented issue in the OpenClaw GitHub tracker. Every restart wipes which topics are bound to which agents.
GetClaw's managed infrastructure maintains persistent state across updates and restarts. We handle graceful process reloads that preserve SQLite state, so your thread bindings survive version updates, security patches, and infrastructure maintenance.
Self-hosting topic routing means manually managing SQLite backups, coordinating restart windows, and debugging state loss — before you've even started using your agents.
Frequently asked questions
- What is OpenClaw Telegram topic routing?
- Telegram topic routing (introduced in OpenClaw v2026.3.7-beta) lets each Telegram forum topic run as an independent agent. Each topic has its own conversation context, skill configuration, and model selection. This lets you run a sales agent, dev agent, and support agent in separate topics of one Telegram group.
- Does topic routing work on all Telegram groups?
- No. Topic routing requires a Telegram Forum group (also called Supergroup with Topics enabled). Regular groups and channels do not support topics. You can convert an existing group to a Forum group in Telegram's group settings.
- Why does topic routing break on self-hosted OpenClaw?
- Topic routing stores per-thread context in a local SQLite database. When the OpenClaw process restarts (for updates, server maintenance, or crashes), thread bindings reset. GetClaw Hosting manages state persistence and graceful restarts to maintain thread bindings across updates.
Set up multi-agent Telegram routing with GetClaw
Persistent state. Automatic updates. From $29/month flat.
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