Telegram Bridge

This bridge lets a Telegram chat control a local codewhale serve --http runtime from a phone. It uses Telegram Bot API long polling, so the first version does not need a public webhook URL or inbound port.

Security model:

codewhale serve --http stays bound to 127.0.0.1.
/v1/* runtime calls use CODEWHALE_RUNTIME_TOKEN. Legacy DEEPSEEK_RUNTIME_TOKEN is accepted only as a compatibility fallback.
Telegram chats must be allowlisted unless TELEGRAM_ALLOW_UNLISTED=true is set for first pairing.
Direct messages are the intended MVP control surface. Group chat control is disabled unless TELEGRAM_ALLOW_GROUPS=true.
Tool approvals are text commands: /allow <approval_id> or /deny <approval_id>.
The bridge also sends inline button controls for common actions. Text commands remain the fallback.

Setup

Create a bot with Telegram's @BotFather, then configure the bridge:

cd /opt/codewhale/telegram-bridge
npm install --omit=dev
cp .env.example /etc/codewhale/telegram-bridge.env
sudoedit /etc/codewhale/telegram-bridge.env
node src/index.mjs

Validate env files before starting the service:

npm run validate:config -- \
  --env /etc/codewhale/telegram-bridge.env \
  --runtime-env /etc/codewhale/runtime.env \
  --workspace-root /opt/whalebro \
  --check-filesystem

For first pairing, temporarily set TELEGRAM_ALLOW_UNLISTED=true, send the bot /status, copy the returned chat_id or user_id into TELEGRAM_CHAT_ALLOWLIST, then turn TELEGRAM_ALLOW_UNLISTED=false.

Commands

/menu
/status
/threads
/new
/resume <thread_id>
/model <name|default>
/interrupt
/compact
/allow <approval_id> [remember]
/deny <approval_id>

Anything else is sent as a prompt. If group control is explicitly enabled, messages must start with /cw by default, for example:

/cw check git status and tell me what is dirty

The /menu, /status, /threads, active-turn, and approval messages include tap targets for common actions. Approval buttons map to the same runtime API as /allow and /deny; they do not enable blanket auto-approval unless you tap the explicit "Allow + remember" button.