openclaw message

Single outbound command for sending messages and channel actions (Discord/Google Chat/Slack/Mattermost (plugin)/Telegram/WhatsApp/Signal/iMessage/MS Teams).

Usage

openclaw message <subcommand> [flags]

Channel selection:

  • --channel required if more than one channel is configured.
  • If exactly one channel is configured, it becomes the default.
  • Values: whatsapp|telegram|discord|googlechat|slack|mattermost|signal|imessage|msteams (Mattermost requires plugin)

Target formats (--target):

  • WhatsApp: E.164 or group JID
  • Telegram: chat id or @username
  • Discord: channel:<id> or user:<id> (or <@id> mention; raw numeric ids are treated as channels)
  • Google Chat: spaces/<spaceId> or users/<userId>
  • Slack: channel:<id> or user:<id> (raw channel id is accepted)
  • Mattermost (plugin): channel:<id>, user:<id>, or @username (bare ids are treated as channels)
  • Signal: +E.164, group:<id>, signal:+E.164, signal:group:<id>, or username:<name>/u:<name>
  • iMessage: handle, chat_id:<id>, chat_guid:<guid>, or chat_identifier:<id>
  • MS Teams: conversation id (19:[email protected]) or conversation:<id> or user:<aad-object-id>

Name lookup:

  • For supported providers (Discord/Slack/etc), channel names like Help or #help are resolved via the directory cache.
  • On cache miss, OpenClaw will attempt a live directory lookup when the provider supports it.

Common flags

  • --channel <name>
  • --account <id>
  • --target <dest> (target channel or user for send/poll/read/etc)
  • --targets <name> (repeat; broadcast only)
  • --json
  • --dry-run
  • --verbose

Actions

Core

  • send

    • Channels: WhatsApp/Telegram/Discord/Google Chat/Slack/Mattermost (plugin)/Signal/iMessage/MS Teams
    • Required: --target, plus --message or --media
    • Optional: --media, --reply-to, --thread-id, --gif-playback
    • Telegram only: --buttons (requires channels.telegram.capabilities.inlineButtons to allow it)
    • Telegram only: --thread-id (forum topic id)
    • Slack only: --thread-id (thread timestamp; --reply-to uses the same field)
    • WhatsApp only: --gif-playback

  • poll

    • Channels: WhatsApp/Discord/MS Teams
    • Required: --target, --poll-question, --poll-option (repeat)
    • Optional: --poll-multi
    • Discord only: --poll-duration-hours, --message

  • react

    • Channels: Discord/Google Chat/Slack/Telegram/WhatsApp/Signal
    • Required: --message-id, --target
    • Optional: --emoji, --remove, --participant, --from-me, --target-author, --target-author-uuid
    • Note: --remove requires --emoji (omit --emoji to clear own reactions where supported; see /tools/reactions)
    • WhatsApp only: --participant, --from-me
    • Signal group reactions: --target-author or --target-author-uuid required

  • reactions

    • Channels: Discord/Google Chat/Slack
    • Required: --message-id, --target
    • Optional: --limit

  • read

    • Channels: Discord/Slack
    • Required: --target
    • Optional: --limit, --before, --after
    • Discord only: --around

  • edit

    • Channels: Discord/Slack
    • Required: --message-id, --message, --target

  • delete

    • Channels: Discord/Slack/Telegram
    • Required: --message-id, --target

  • pin / unpin

    • Channels: Discord/Slack
    • Required: --message-id, --target

  • pins (list)

    • Channels: Discord/Slack
    • Required: --target

  • permissions

    • Channels: Discord
    • Required: --target

  • search

    • Channels: Discord
    • Required: --guild-id, --query
    • Optional: --channel-id, --channel-ids (repeat), --author-id, --author-ids (repeat), --limit

Threads

  • thread create

    • Channels: Discord
    • Required: --thread-name, --target (channel id)
    • Optional: --message-id, --auto-archive-min

  • thread list

    • Channels: Discord
    • Required: --guild-id
    • Optional: --channel-id, --include-archived, --before, --limit

  • thread reply

    • Channels: Discord
    • Required: --target (thread id), --message
    • Optional: --media, --reply-to

Emojis

  • emoji list

    • Discord: --guild-id
    • Slack: no extra flags

  • emoji upload

    • Channels: Discord
    • Required: --guild-id, --emoji-name, --media
    • Optional: --role-ids (repeat)

Stickers

  • sticker send

    • Channels: Discord
    • Required: --target, --sticker-id (repeat)
    • Optional: --message

  • sticker upload

    • Channels: Discord
    • Required: --guild-id, --sticker-name, --sticker-desc, --sticker-tags, --media

Roles / Channels / Members / Voice

  • role info (Discord): --guild-id
  • role add / role remove (Discord): --guild-id, --user-id, --role-id
  • channel info (Discord): --target
  • channel list (Discord): --guild-id
  • member info (Discord/Slack): --user-id (+ --guild-id for Discord)
  • voice status (Discord): --guild-id, --user-id

Events

  • event list (Discord): --guild-id
  • event create (Discord): --guild-id, --event-name, --start-time
    • Optional: --end-time, --desc, --channel-id, --location, --event-type

Moderation (Discord)

  • timeout: --guild-id, --user-id (optional --duration-min or --until; omit both to clear timeout)
  • kick: --guild-id, --user-id (+ --reason)
  • ban: --guild-id, --user-id (+ --delete-days, --reason)
    • timeout also supports --reason

Broadcast

  • broadcast
    • Channels: any configured channel; use --channel all to target all providers
    • Required: --targets (repeat)
    • Optional: --message, --media, --dry-run

Examples

Send a Discord reply:

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

Create a Discord poll:

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

Send a Teams proactive message:

openclaw message send --channel msteams \
  --target conversation:19:[email protected] --message "hi"

Create a Teams poll:

openclaw message poll --channel msteams \
  --target conversation:19:[email protected] \
  --poll-question "Lunch?" \
  --poll-option Pizza --poll-option Sushi

React in Slack:

openclaw message react --channel slack \
  --target C123 --message-id 456 --emoji "✅"

React in a Signal group:

openclaw message react --channel signal \
  --target signal:group:abc123 --message-id 1737630212345 \
  --emoji "✅" --target-author-uuid 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000

Send Telegram inline buttons:

openclaw message send --channel telegram --target @mychat --message "Choose:" \
  --buttons '[ [{"text":"Yes","callback_data":"cmd:yes"}], [{"text":"No","callback_data":"cmd:no"}] ]'
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