OpenClaw registers all user-invocable skills as Telegram bot commands via setMyCommands, but doesn't enforce Telegram's 100 command limit. With 52+ bundled skills plus custom agent skills, this easily exceeds the limit, causing repeated failures on every gateway startup.

Reproduction

1. Install OpenClaw with default bundled skills (52+)
2. Add a few agents with custom skills
3. Connect Telegram channel
4. Observe logs on startup:

[telegram] [default] starting provider (@jbiggles_bot)
[telegram] setMyCommands failed: Call to 'setMyCommands' failed! (400: Bad Request: BOT_COMMANDS_TOO_MUCH)

Expected Behavior

OpenClaw should either:

• Respect Telegram's 100 command limit by prioritizing/truncating commands
• Not register skills as Telegram commands by default (agent handles via natural language)
• Warn users when command count exceeds the limit

Actual Behavior

• setMyCommands fails silently (caught and ignored)
• Error repeats on every startup and config reload
• Bot menu shows no commands (or stale commands)
• No warning to user about the limit being exceeded

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.1.29
• Platform: Linux (Docker)
• Skills: 52 bundled + ~30 custom across 5 agents

Analysis

Telegram API limit: Telegram Bot API docs state setMyCommands accepts "at most 100 commands".

No limit enforcement in OpenClaw: In src/telegram/bot-native-commands.ts:325-339:

const allCommands: Array<{ command: string; description: string }> = [
  ...nativeCommands.map((command) => ({
    command: command.name,
    description: command.description,
  })),
  ...pluginCommands,
  ...customCommands,
];

if (allCommands.length > 0) {
  withTelegramApiErrorLogging({
    operation: "setMyCommands",
    runtime,
    fn: () => bot.api.setMyCommands(allCommands),  // No limit check
  }).catch(() => {});

Default registers ALL skills: listSkillCommandsForAgents() returns every skill where userInvocable !== false across all agents - no Telegram-specific filtering.

Suggested Fix

Option A: Enforce limit with prioritization

const TELEGRAM_MAX_COMMANDS = 100;

const allCommands = [
  ...nativeCommands,  // Priority 1: native commands
  ...pluginCommands,  // Priority 2: plugin commands
  ...customCommands,  // Priority 3: user custom commands
];

if (allCommands.length > TELEGRAM_MAX_COMMANDS) {
  runtime.warn?.(
    `Telegram limits bots to ${TELEGRAM_MAX_COMMANDS} commands. ` +
    `${allCommands.length} commands configured; registering first ${TELEGRAM_MAX_COMMANDS}. ` +
    `Set channels.telegram.commands.native: false to disable, or use channels.telegram.commands.skills: [] to filter.`
  );
}

const commandsToRegister = allCommands.slice(0, TELEGRAM_MAX_COMMANDS);

Option B: Don't register skills as commands by default

Add opt-in for skill command registration via SKILL.md frontmatter:

---
telegram-command: true  # Explicitly opt-in to Telegram menu
---

Most skills work perfectly via natural language - the agent reads SKILL.md and executes appropriately. Telegram command menu registration should be opt-in, not automatic.

Option C: Add config to control skill command registration

{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      commands: {
        native: true,           // existing
        skills: false,          // NEW: disable skill commands (default: true for backwards compat)
        // or whitelist:
        skills: ["weather", "canvas", "summarize"],
        maxCommands: 100,       // NEW: explicit limit with warning
      }
    }
  }
}

Workaround

Until fixed, users can disable native command registration:

{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      commands: {
        native: false
      },
      customCommands: []
    }
  }
}

This clears the command menu entirely. Agent still handles all skills via natural language.

Impact

• Severity: Medium - bot still functions, but command menu broken
• Frequency: Every startup/reload for users with many skills
• User confusion: No indication why commands aren't appearing