openclaw message CLI: Send Messages & Channel Actions

openclaw message

A unified command to send messages and perform channel actions across Discord, Google Chat, iMessage, Matrix, Mattermost (plugin), Microsoft Teams, Signal, Slack, Telegram, and WhatsApp.

openclaw message <subcommand> [flags]

Channel selection

• When multiple channels are set up, --channel <name> becomes mandatory; if only one channel exists, that channel is used by default.
• Acceptable values: discord|googlechat|imessage|matrix|mattermost|msteams|signal|slack|telegram|whatsapp (the plugin is required for Mattermost).
• Targets prefixed with a channel, like discord:channel:123, identify the owning plugin without needing an explicit --channel.

Target formats (-t, --target)

Channel name resolution: for providers that maintain a directory (Discord, Slack, and others), names such as Help or #help are looked up from the directory cache, with a fallback to a live directory query when the cache does not contain the entry and the provider supports it.

Common flags

All actions accept these parameters: --channel <name>, --account <id>, --json, --dry-run, --verbose. Actions that require a destination also accept -t, --target <dest>.

SecretRef resolution

openclaw message resolves channel SecretRefs before executing the action, applying the narrowest possible scope:

• channel scope when --channel is provided (or inferred from a prefixed target)
• account scope when --account is also provided
• all configured channels when neither is provided

Unresolved SecretRefs on unrelated channels never block a targeted action; an unresolved SecretRef on the chosen channel or account causes the action to fail immediately.

Actions

Core

Send

openclaw message send --channel discord \
  --target channel:123 --message "hi" --reply-to 456

• --media <path-or-url>: attach an image, audio, video, or document by providing either a local path or a URL.
• --presentation <json>: a combined payload with text, context, divider, chart, table, buttons, and select blocks, adapted for each channel's capabilities. Refer to Message Presentation.
• --delivery <json>: general delivery preferences, such as {"pin": true}. When the channel supports it, --pin acts as a shortcut for pinned delivery.
• --reply-to <id>, --thread-id <id> (Telegram forum topic; Slack thread timestamp, using the same field as --reply-to).
• --force-document (Telegram, WhatsApp): send images, GIFs, or videos as documents to bypass channel compression.
• --silent (Telegram, Discord): suppress the notification for this message.
• --gif-playback (WhatsApp only): treat video media as a GIF animation.

openclaw message send --channel discord \
  --target channel:123 --message "Choose:" \
  --presentation '{"blocks":[{"type":"buttons","buttons":[{"label":"Approve","value":"approve","style":"success"},{"label":"Decline","value":"decline","style":"danger"}]}]}'

openclaw message send --channel telegram --target @mychat --message "Choose:" \
  --presentation '{"blocks":[{"type":"buttons","buttons":[{"label":"Yes","value":"cmd:yes"},{"label":"No","value":"cmd:no"}]}]}'

Slack renders supported chart blocks natively; on all other channels the same data is presented as readable text:

openclaw message send --channel slack --target channel:C123 \
  --presentation '{"blocks":[{"type":"chart","chartType":"bar","title":"Quarterly revenue","categories":["Q1","Q2"],"series":[{"name":"Revenue","values":[120,145]}],"xLabel":"Quarter"}]}'

Slack also renders explicit table blocks natively. On other channels the caption and each row are displayed as deterministic text:

openclaw message send --channel slack --target channel:C123 \
  --presentation '{"title":"Pipeline report","blocks":[{"type":"table","caption":"Open pipeline","headers":["Account","Stage","ARR"],"rows":[["Acme","Won",125000],["Globex","Review",82000]],"rowHeaderColumnIndex":0}]}'

Telegram Mini App buttons use webApp (web_app still parses legacy JSON) and only appear in private chats between a user and the bot:

openclaw message send --channel telegram --target 123456789 --message "Open app:" \
  --presentation '{"blocks":[{"type":"buttons","buttons":[{"label":"Launch","webApp":{"url":"https://example.com/app"}}]}]}'

openclaw message send --channel telegram --target @mychat \
  --media ./diagram.png --force-document

openclaw message send --channel msteams \
  --target conversation:19:abc@thread.tacv2 \
  --presentation '{"title":"Status update","blocks":[{"type":"text","text":"Build completed"}]}'

Poll

openclaw message poll --channel discord \
  --target channel:123 \
  --poll-question "Snack?" \
  --poll-option Pizza --poll-option Sushi \
  --poll-multi --poll-duration-hours 48

• --poll-option <choice>: repeat the action 2 to 12 times.
• --poll-multi: permit multiple selections.
• Discord: --poll-duration-hours, --silent, --message.
• Telegram: --poll-duration-seconds <n> (range 5 to 600), --silent, --poll-anonymous / --poll-public, --thread-id.

openclaw message poll --channel telegram \
  --target @mychat \
  --poll-question "Lunch?" \
  --poll-option Pizza --poll-option Sushi \
  --poll-duration-seconds 120 --silent

openclaw message poll --channel msteams \
  --target conversation:19:abc@thread.tacv2 \
  --poll-question "Lunch?" \
  --poll-option Pizza --poll-option Sushi

Threads

• thread create: Discord channels. Mandatory fields: --thread-name, --target (channel id). Optional fields: --message-id, --message, --auto-archive-min.
• thread list: Discord channels. Mandatory field: --guild-id. Optional fields: --channel-id, --include-archived, --before, --limit.
• thread reply: Discord channels. Mandatory fields: --target (thread id), --message. Optional fields: --media, --reply-to.

Emojis

• emoji list: Discord (--guild-id), Slack (no additional flags).
• emoji upload: Discord. Mandatory fields: --guild-id, --emoji-name, --media. Optional field: --role-ids (repeat).

Stickers

• sticker send: Discord. Mandatory fields: --target, --sticker-id (repeat). Optional field: --message.
• sticker upload: Discord. Mandatory fields: --guild-id, --sticker-name, --sticker-desc, --sticker-tags, --media.

Roles, channels, voice, events (Discord)

• role info: --guild-id.
• role add / role remove: --guild-id, --user-id, --role-id.
• channel info: --target.
• channel list: --guild-id.
• voice status: --guild-id, --user-id.
• event list: --guild-id.
• event create: --guild-id, --event-name, and --start-time are mandatory; --end-time, --desc, --channel-id, --location, --event-type, and --image <url-or-path> are not.

Moderation (Discord)

• timeout: --guild-id and --user-id; optionally --duration-min or --until (leaving both out removes the timeout), --reason.
• kick: --guild-id, --user-id, and --reason.
• ban: --guild-id, --user-id, --delete-days, and --reason.

Broadcast

openclaw message broadcast --targets <target...> [--channel all] [--message <text>] [--media <url>] [--dry-run]

A single message is delivered to several destinations. --targets expects a list separated by spaces. To send to all configured providers, use --channel all.

Related

• CLI reference
• Agent send
• Message Presentation