Telegram Direct Send

Send images to Telegram via direct Bot API using curl. Works around OpenClaw's broken image delivery pipeline (issue

Send images to Telegram using direct HTTP API calls. Bypasses OpenClaw's native Telegram channel which fails silently for images.

Quick Start

# 1. Copy example env file and edit
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your tokens

# 2. Source the env file (or add to ~/.bashrc for auto-load)
source .env

# 3. Send an image
curl -s -X POST \
  -F "chat_id=${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}" \
  -F "photo=@/path/to/image.png" \
  -F "caption=My screenshot" \
  "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}/sendPhoto"

Setup

1. Get Telegram Bot Token

1. Message @BotFather on Telegram
2. Send /newbot or /mybots for existing
3. Copy the API token (format: 123456789:ABC...)

2. Get Chat ID

For personal messages:

• Message @userinfobot
• It will reply with your ID

For groups:

• Add @RawDataBot to your group
• It will reply with the chat ID (starts with -100)

3. Configure Environment

# Option A: Export in shell (temporary)
export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN="your_token"
export TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID="your_chat_id"

# Option B: Create .env file (recommended)
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your values
source .env

Security: .env is gitignored — never commit secrets!

4. Auto-Load .env (Optional but Recommended)

For OpenClaw sessions: Add to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

# Auto-load telegram-direct-send env vars
if [ -f "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/telegram-direct-send/.env" ]; then
    source "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/telegram-direct-send/.env"
fi

For skill directory only: Create a wrapper script send-image.sh:

#!/bin/bash
# Load env vars from skill directory
SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
if [ -f "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env" ]; then
    source "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env"
fi

# Now use the vars
curl -s -X POST \
  -F "chat_id=${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}" \
  -F "photo=@$1" \
  -F "caption=${2:-Image}" \
  "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}/sendPhoto"

Then: chmod +x send-image.sh && ./send-image.sh ./photo.png "My caption"

Usage Examples

Send image with caption

curl -s -X POST \
  -F "chat_id=${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}" \
  -F "photo=@./screenshot.png" \
  -F "caption=Screenshot from $(date)" \
  "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}/sendPhoto"

Send as document (no compression)

curl -s -X POST \
  -F "chat_id=${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}" \
  -F "document=@/path/to/image.png" \
  -F "caption=Original quality" \
  "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}/sendDocument"

Send with inline keyboard

curl -s -X POST \
  -F "chat_id=${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}" \
  -F "photo=@./image.png" \
  -F "caption=Choose:" \
  -F "reply_markup={\"inline_keyboard\":[[{\"text\":\"Yes\",\"callback_data\":\"yes\"},{\"text\":\"No\",\"callback_data\":\"no\"}]]}" \
  "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}/sendPhoto"

API Reference

Endpoint	Purpose
sendPhoto	Send image (compressed)
sendDocument	Send file (no compression)
sendMessage	Text only
sendMediaGroup	Multiple images

Troubleshooting

Error	Solution
chat not found	Check TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID
bot was blocked	User must /start the bot
file too large	Use sendDocument

Why This Skill Exists

OpenClaw issue #63137: Images sent via read tool render in agent context but never reach Telegram mobile clients. This skill bypasses OpenClaw's gateway entirely.

Publishing Notes

• .env.example shows required variables
• .gitignore excludes .env
• No hardcoded secrets
• Users configure via env or .env file