Telegram Inline Buttons

---

name: telegram-inline-buttons description: Use inline buttons when communicating with Rahul on Telegram (message tool) to reduce typing and force crisp decisions. Trigger when drafting Telegram messages that ask for confirmation, choices (A/B, Y/N), scheduling, approvals, or next-step selection; also when the user asks to "use 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).

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).