diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 595e0b9fd..978155aa2 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 ### Breaking
 - **BREAKING:** iOS minimum version is now 18.0 to support Textual markdown rendering in native chat. (#702)
 - **BREAKING:** Microsoft Teams is now a plugin; install `@clawdbot/msteams` via `clawdbot plugins install @clawdbot/msteams`.
+- **BREAKING:** Discord/Telegram channel tokens now prefer config over env (env is fallback only).
 
 ### Changes
 - CLI: set process titles to `clawdbot-<command>` for clearer process listings.
diff --git a/docs/channels/discord.md b/docs/channels/discord.md
index 3ded9f374..90052d403 100644
--- a/docs/channels/discord.md
+++ b/docs/channels/discord.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ Status: ready for DM and guild text channels via the official Discord bot gatewa
 2) Set the token for Clawdbot:
    - Env: `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=...`
    - Or config: `channels.discord.token: "..."`.
+   - If both are set, config wins; env is fallback.
 3) Invite the bot to your server with message permissions.
 4) Start the gateway.
 5) DM access is pairing by default; approve the pairing code on first contact.
@@ -39,8 +40,8 @@ Minimal config:
 1. Create a Discord application → Bot, enable the intents you need (DMs + guild messages + message content), and grab the bot token.
 2. Invite the bot to your server with the permissions required to read/send messages where you want to use it.
 3. Configure Clawdbot with `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN` (or `channels.discord.token` in `~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json`).
-4. Run the gateway; it auto-starts the Discord channel when a token is available (env or config) and `channels.discord.enabled` is not `false`.
-   - If you prefer env vars, set `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN` (a config block is optional).
+4. Run the gateway; it auto-starts the Discord channel when a token is available (config first, env fallback) and `channels.discord.enabled` is not `false`.
+   - If you prefer env vars, set `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN` (and omit config).
 5. Direct chats: use `user:<id>` (or a `<@id>` mention) when delivering; all turns land in the shared `main` session. Bare numeric IDs are ambiguous and rejected.
 6. Guild channels: use `channel:<channelId>` for delivery. Mentions are required by default and can be set per guild or per channel.
 7. Direct chats: secure by default via `channels.discord.dm.policy` (default: `"pairing"`). Unknown senders get a pairing code (expires after 1 hour); approve via `clawdbot pairing approve discord <code>`.
diff --git a/docs/channels/telegram.md b/docs/channels/telegram.md
index e50285aac..a7064d1e7 100644
--- a/docs/channels/telegram.md
+++ b/docs/channels/telegram.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ Status: production-ready for bot DMs + groups via grammY. Long-polling by defaul
 2) Set the token:
    - Env: `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...`
    - Or config: `channels.telegram.botToken: "..."`.
+   - If both are set, config wins; env is fallback.
 3) Start the gateway.
 4) DM access is pairing by default; approve the pairing code on first contact.
 
@@ -60,11 +61,11 @@ Example:
 }
 ```
 
-Env option: `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...` (works for the default account).
+Env option: `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...` (works for the default account; used only when config is missing).
 
 Multi-account support: use `channels.telegram.accounts` with per-account tokens and optional `name`. See [`gateway/configuration`](/gateway/configuration#telegramaccounts--discordaccounts--slackaccounts--signalaccounts--imessageaccounts) for the shared pattern.
 
-3) Start the gateway. Telegram starts when a token is resolved (env or config).
+3) Start the gateway. Telegram starts when a token is resolved (config first, env fallback).
 4) DM access defaults to pairing. Approve the code when the bot is first contacted.
 5) For groups: add the bot, decide privacy/admin behavior (below), then set `channels.telegram.groups` to control mention gating + allowlists.
 
diff --git a/src/discord/token.test.ts b/src/discord/token.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..40968b2ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/discord/token.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+import type { ClawdbotConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import { resolveDiscordToken } from "./token.js";
+
+describe("resolveDiscordToken", () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.unstubAllEnvs();
+  });
+
+  it("prefers config token over env", () => {
+    vi.stubEnv("DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN", "env-token");
+    const cfg = {
+      channels: { discord: { token: "cfg-token" } },
+    } as ClawdbotConfig;
+    const res = resolveDiscordToken(cfg);
+    expect(res.token).toBe("cfg-token");
+    expect(res.source).toBe("config");
+  });
+
+  it("uses env token when config is missing", () => {
+    vi.stubEnv("DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN", "env-token");
+    const cfg = {
+      channels: { discord: {} },
+    } as ClawdbotConfig;
+    const res = resolveDiscordToken(cfg);
+    expect(res.token).toBe("env-token");
+    expect(res.source).toBe("env");
+  });
+
+  it("prefers account token for non-default accounts", () => {
+    vi.stubEnv("DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN", "env-token");
+    const cfg = {
+      channels: {
+        discord: {
+          token: "base-token",
+          accounts: {
+            work: { token: "acct-token" },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    } as ClawdbotConfig;
+    const res = resolveDiscordToken(cfg, { accountId: "work" });
+    expect(res.token).toBe("acct-token");
+    expect(res.source).toBe("config");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/discord/token.ts b/src/discord/token.ts
index d7e013f87..752e98ff8 100644
--- a/src/discord/token.ts
+++ b/src/discord/token.ts
@@ -29,13 +29,13 @@ export function resolveDiscordToken(
   if (accountToken) return { token: accountToken, source: "config" };
 
   const allowEnv = accountId === DEFAULT_ACCOUNT_ID;
+  const configToken = allowEnv ? normalizeDiscordToken(discordCfg?.token ?? undefined) : undefined;
+  if (configToken) return { token: configToken, source: "config" };
+
   const envToken = allowEnv
     ? normalizeDiscordToken(opts.envToken ?? process.env.DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN)
     : undefined;
   if (envToken) return { token: envToken, source: "env" };
 
-  const configToken = allowEnv ? normalizeDiscordToken(discordCfg?.token ?? undefined) : undefined;
-  if (configToken) return { token: configToken, source: "config" };
-
   return { token: "", source: "none" };
 }
diff --git a/src/telegram/token.test.ts b/src/telegram/token.test.ts
index 41252eb49..13c46172f 100644
--- a/src/telegram/token.test.ts
+++ b/src/telegram/token.test.ts
@@ -16,12 +16,22 @@ describe("resolveTelegramToken", () => {
     vi.unstubAllEnvs();
   });
 
-  it("prefers env token over config", () => {
+  it("prefers config token over env", () => {
     vi.stubEnv("TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN", "env-token");
     const cfg = {
       channels: { telegram: { botToken: "cfg-token" } },
     } as ClawdbotConfig;
     const res = resolveTelegramToken(cfg);
+    expect(res.token).toBe("cfg-token");
+    expect(res.source).toBe("config");
+  });
+
+  it("uses env token when config is missing", () => {
+    vi.stubEnv("TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN", "env-token");
+    const cfg = {
+      channels: { telegram: {} },
+    } as ClawdbotConfig;
+    const res = resolveTelegramToken(cfg);
     expect(res.token).toBe("env-token");
     expect(res.source).toBe("env");
   });
diff --git a/src/telegram/token.ts b/src/telegram/token.ts
index 1804cdef9..33103584a 100644
--- a/src/telegram/token.ts
+++ b/src/telegram/token.ts
@@ -54,11 +54,6 @@ export function resolveTelegramToken(
   }
 
   const allowEnv = accountId === DEFAULT_ACCOUNT_ID;
-  const envToken = allowEnv ? (opts.envToken ?? process.env.TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN)?.trim() : "";
-  if (envToken) {
-    return { token: envToken, source: "env" };
-  }
-
   const tokenFile = telegramCfg?.tokenFile?.trim();
   if (tokenFile && allowEnv) {
     if (!fs.existsSync(tokenFile)) {
@@ -81,5 +76,10 @@ export function resolveTelegramToken(
     return { token: configToken, source: "config" };
   }
 
+  const envToken = allowEnv ? (opts.envToken ?? process.env.TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN)?.trim() : "";
+  if (envToken) {
+    return { token: envToken, source: "env" };
+  }
+
   return { token: "", source: "none" };
 }