Summary

Raw API error JSON is forwarded to messaging surfaces (Telegram) instead of being handled gracefully.

Steps to reproduce

1. Configure clawdbot with Telegram provider
2. Set up a cron job with --deliver --channel telegram
3. Wait for Claude API to return an overloaded_error (or trigger during peak load)

Expected behavior

• Automatic retry with backoff, OR
• Friendly error message to user ("Service busy, try again"), OR
• Error suppressed entirely with logging for telemetry

Actual behavior

Raw JSON error forwarded to Telegram:
{"type":"error","error":{"details":null,"type":"overloaded_error","message":"Overloaded"},"request_id":"req_011CX7DwS7tSvggaNHmefwWg"}
User sees cryptic JSON instead of a handled error.

Environment

• Clawdbot version: 2026.1.5-3
• OS: Linux 6.8.0-1039-aws (Ubuntu 22.04, x86_64)
• Node: v22.21.0
• Install method: pnpm

Logs or screenshots

Observed on:

• 2026-01-12 ~13:00 UTC (cron job delivery)
• 2026-01-14 ~20:08 UTC (user message)

Additional context

• Hooks system doesn't have an api_error event to intercept these
• Error occurs below the agent loop in the API client layer
• Feature request: either built-in retry/backoff or an api_error hook for custom handling