Telegram Inline Buttons

Use inline buttons when communicating with Rahul on Telegram (message tool) to reduce typing and force crisp decisions. Trigger when drafting Telegram messages that ask for confirmation, choices (A/B, Y/N), scheduling, approvals, or next-step selection; also when the user asks to "use inline buttons".

Default rule

When sending a proactive message or asking Rahul to choose/confirm something on Telegram, prefer inline buttons over free-text prompts.

Use buttons for:

• Y/N confirmations
• A/B (or A/B/C) choices
• “Do it now vs later”
• Selecting one of a few next actions

Do not use buttons when:

• The message is purely informational (no action required)
• The user needs to paste/enter a value (then ask for text input)
• There are >5 options (summarize + offer “Show more”)

Button design

• Keep button labels short (1–4 words)
• 2–4 buttons is ideal
• Always include a safe escape hatch when appropriate:
  • “Not now” / “Later” / “Skip”
• Map button presses to clear next actions in follow-up turns

After a button selection (automatic)

Telegram doesn’t support arbitrary text color in normal bot messages. To make the selection visually pop, do this automatically after a click:

1. Edit the original message to remove the inline keyboard
2. Append a standout selection line using emoji / symbols (chosen based on meaning)

Emoji mapping (standard)

• ✅ / 🟩 = approve / yes / proceed / confirm
• 🟥 = no / cancel / stop
• ⬛ = later / skip / defer

Do not send an extra follow-up message that repeats the selection—editing is sufficient unless there’s additional context/results to report.

Tooling rule: if you used functions.message (send/edit) as the user-visible delivery, respond in chat with NO_REPLY (unless you need to include additional results/details beyond what the edit shows).

Duplicate / stale callbacks

If a callback arrives after the message was already finalized (buttons removed / selection committed), do nothing:

• No extra message
• No additional edits
• Just silently ignore

OpenClaw message tool pattern

When using functions.message with action=send, include a buttons grid.

Recommended layouts:

2-button (binary)

Row 1: ["Yes"] ["No"]

3-button (decision + defer)

Row 1: ["Do it"] ["Not now"] Row 2: ["More info"]

A/B/C

Row 1: ["A"] ["B"] ["C"]

Copy-ready micro-templates (Telegram)

Confirm action

Text: "Want me to proceed with ?" Buttons: [Proceed] [Hold]

Pick next step

Text: "Pick the next move:" Buttons: [Option A] [Option B] [Option C] [Not now]

Scheduling

Text: "When should I remind you?" Buttons: [15m] [1h] [Tonight] [Tomorrow]

Notes

• If a button-triggered flow will branch, keep the first message short; put details in the follow-up after the click.
• Multi-step flows: (1) edit prior message to commit selection, then (2) send the next question with buttons. Don’t narrate the selection separately.
• Keep callback_data stable and unique per flow step (e.g., flow_step_choice).