Description

Attaching a .md file (document) in a Telegram group topic intermittently triggers:

⚠️ Failed to download media. Please try again.

The bot replies with this error instead of processing the file.

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.3.1
• Channel: Telegram
• Chat type: Group with topics (forum mode)
• File type: .md (small text file, well under 20MB bot API limit)

Expected Behavior

The file should be downloaded and processed. If it fails transiently, the retry logic (currently 3 attempts) should handle it.

Actual Behavior

The resolveMedia flow calls ctx.getFile() → downloads from https://api.telegram.org/file/bot<token>/<path> but fails, triggering the generic error message.

Analysis

Looking at the source (reply-XaR8IPbY.js):

• hasInboundMedia correctly detects msg.document
• resolveInboundMediaFileId extracts document.file_id
• retryAsync with 3 attempts, 1-4s delay with jitter
• On failure, logs "media fetch failed" at warn level but the specific error is not included in the user-facing message

Possible Causes

1. Race condition in group topics: Telegram may not make the file available via Bot API immediately in forum/topic messages
2. Insufficient retry window: 3 retries × 1-4s may not be enough for topic messages
3. Telegram API flakiness: getFile may return without file_path intermittently

Suggestions

1. Include the actual error in the user-facing message (or at least in logs) for debuggability
2. Consider increasing retry count or delay for group/topic contexts
3. Add a longer initial delay before first getFile attempt for topic messages
4. Persist the error details in gateway logs for post-mortem analysis

Reproduction

Intermittent. Send a .md file as a document in a Telegram group with topics enabled. More likely to occur than in DMs.