Add Carapace to Telegram (webhook mode)

Outcome

Connect Carapace to Telegram for inbound and outbound bot messaging using a webhook endpoint.

Prerequisites

• cara installed.
• ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY.
• Telegram bot token from BotFather (TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN).
• Public HTTPS URL that can reach your Carapace server.
• Webhook secret token (TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_SECRET).

1) Create config

Generate a gateway token:

export CARAPACE_GATEWAY_TOKEN="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"

Windows (PowerShell) alternative:

$bytes = [byte[]]::new(32)
[System.Security.Cryptography.RandomNumberGenerator]::Fill($bytes)
$env:CARAPACE_GATEWAY_TOKEN = [System.BitConverter]::ToString($bytes).Replace('-', '').ToLower()

{
  "gateway": {
    "bind": "all",
    "port": 18789,
    "auth": {
      "mode": "token",
      "token": "${CARAPACE_GATEWAY_TOKEN}"
    }
  },
  "anthropic": {
    "apiKey": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}"
  },
  "telegram": {
    "botToken": "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}",
    "webhookSecret": "${TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_SECRET}"
  }
}

2) Run commands

Start Carapace:

CARAPACE_CONFIG_PATH=./carapace.json5 cara

Optional local auth check:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ${CARAPACE_GATEWAY_TOKEN}" http://127.0.0.1:18789/health

Register webhook with Telegram:

curl -sS \
  -X POST "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}/setWebhook" \
  -d "url=https://YOUR_PUBLIC_HOST/channels/telegram/webhook" \
  -d "secret_token=${TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_SECRET}"

Check webhook status:

curl -sS "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}/getWebhookInfo"

3) Verify

1. Send a message to your bot in Telegram.
2. Confirm Carapace receives it and returns a reply.

Common failures and fixes

• Symptom: Telegram webhook set succeeds, but inbound messages do not arrive.
  • Fix: Verify public HTTPS reachability to /channels/telegram/webhook.
• Symptom: Inbound requests return unauthorized/ignored.
  • Fix: Ensure webhookSecret matches Telegram secret_token.
• Symptom: Local status or health checks return 401 Unauthorized.
  • Fix: Use Authorization: Bearer ${CARAPACE_GATEWAY_TOKEN} and confirm it matches gateway.auth.token.
• Symptom: Telegram shows webhook error status.
  • Fix: Check getWebhookInfo last error message and Carapace logs.

Note

Current Telegram inbound support is webhook-based. Local-only inbound without a public webhook requires long-polling support, which is planned. When gateway.bind is all, keep gateway.auth enabled and use a strong token.