Telegram Inline Buttons

Telegram 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).