solution channel high linux macos windows telegram

Telegram: configured but '(plugin disabled)' / 'plugin not available'

Fix Telegram showing as configured but disabled by verifying `channels.telegram.enabled`, config precedence, and forcing a gateway restart (plus update/rollback guidance).

By CoClaw Team •

Symptoms

  • You configured a Telegram bot token, but the gateway/UI reports Telegram as:
    • configured (plugin disabled), or
    • plugin not available
  • Restarting the UI does not help (because the gateway process is what loads the channel).

Cause

This almost always means one of:

  1. channels.telegram.enabled is false (or missing) in the config the gateway is actually reading.
  2. You edited the wrong config file (config precedence / service environment differs from your shell).
  3. The gateway did not reload the channel (restart required), or you are running a stale service binary after an update.

Fix

1) Confirm the live config values (gateway host)

openclaw config get channels.telegram.enabled
openclaw config get channels.telegram.botToken
openclaw doctor

If channels.telegram.enabled is not true, set it:

openclaw config set channels.telegram.enabled true

2) Restart the gateway (forces channel initialization)

openclaw gateway restart

3) If you suspect config precedence / wrong file

Use the configuration guide’s precedence section to confirm what the running service is using:

4) If this started after an update

Update to the latest version, or temporarily roll back/pin to a known-good version while you investigate:

Verify

  • openclaw channels status --probe shows Telegram as enabled/healthy.
  • Sending a DM to the bot produces logs (and ideally a response).

If Telegram is enabled but messages never arrive, continue here:

Verification & references

  • Reviewed by:CoClaw Code Team
  • Last reviewed:March 14, 2026
  • Verified on: Linux · macOS · Windows

References

Official docs

  1. OpenClaw docs: /channels/telegram
  2. OpenClaw docs: /gateway/configuration
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