fix(telegram): improve sticker vision + cache (#2548) (thanks @longjos)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ Status: unreleased.
 - Telegram: keep topic IDs in restart sentinel notifications. (#1807) Thanks @hsrvc.
 - Telegram: add optional silent send flag (disable notifications). (#2382) Thanks @Suksham-sharma.
 - Telegram: support editing sent messages via message(action="edit"). (#2394) Thanks @marcelomar21.
+- Telegram: add sticker receive/send with vision caching. (#2548) Thanks @longjos.
 - Config: apply config.env before ${VAR} substitution. (#1813) Thanks @spanishflu-est1918.
 - Slack: clear ack reaction after streamed replies. (#2044) Thanks @fancyboi999.
 - macOS: keep custom SSH usernames in remote target. (#2046) Thanks @algal.

docs/channels/telegram.md

@@ -395,10 +395,13 @@ When a user sends a sticker, Clawdbot handles it based on the sticker type:
 - **Animated stickers (TGS):** Skipped (Lottie format not supported for processing).
 - **Video stickers (WEBM):** Skipped (video format not supported for processing).
 
-Template context fields available when receiving stickers:
-- `StickerEmoji` — the emoji associated with the sticker
-- `StickerSetName` — the name of the sticker set
-- `StickerFileId` — the Telegram file ID (used for sending the same sticker back)
+Template context field available when receiving stickers:
+- `Sticker` — object with:
+  - `emoji` — emoji associated with the sticker
+  - `setName` — name of the sticker set
+  - `fileId` — Telegram file ID (send the same sticker back)
+  - `fileUniqueId` — stable ID for cache lookup
+  - `cachedDescription` — cached vision description when available
 
 ### Sticker cache
 
@@ -416,10 +419,11 @@ Stickers are processed through the AI's vision capabilities to generate descript
 ```json
 {
   "fileId": "CAACAgIAAxkBAAI...",
+  "fileUniqueId": "AgADBAADb6cxG2Y",
   "emoji": "👋",
   "setName": "CoolCats",
   "description": "A cartoon cat waving enthusiastically",
-  "addedAt": "2026-01-15T10:30:00.000Z"
+  "cachedAt": "2026-01-15T10:30:00.000Z"
 }
 ```
 
@@ -458,7 +462,7 @@ The agent can send and search stickers using the `sticker` and `sticker-search`
 ```
 
 Parameters:
-- `fileId` (required) — the Telegram file ID of the sticker. Obtain this from `StickerFileId` when receiving a sticker, or from a `sticker-search` result.
+- `fileId` (required) — the Telegram file ID of the sticker. Obtain this from `Sticker.fileId` when receiving a sticker, or from a `sticker-search` result.
 - `replyTo` (optional) — message ID to reply to.
 - `threadId` (optional) — message thread ID for forum topics.
 
@@ -543,7 +547,7 @@ Outbound Telegram API calls retry on transient network/429 errors with exponenti
 - Tool: `telegram` with `react` action (`chatId`, `messageId`, `emoji`).
 - Tool: `telegram` with `deleteMessage` action (`chatId`, `messageId`).
 - Reaction removal semantics: see [/tools/reactions](/tools/reactions).
-- Tool gating: `channels.telegram.actions.reactions`, `channels.telegram.actions.sendMessage`, `channels.telegram.actions.deleteMessage` (default: enabled).
+- Tool gating: `channels.telegram.actions.reactions`, `channels.telegram.actions.sendMessage`, `channels.telegram.actions.deleteMessage` (default: enabled), and `channels.telegram.actions.sticker` (default: disabled).
 
 ## Reaction notifications
 

src/agents/tools/telegram-actions.test.ts

@@ -8,12 +8,17 @@ const sendMessageTelegram = vi.fn(async () => ({
   messageId: "789",
   chatId: "123",
 }));
+const sendStickerTelegram = vi.fn(async () => ({
+  messageId: "456",
+  chatId: "123",
+}));
 const deleteMessageTelegram = vi.fn(async () => ({ ok: true }));
 const originalToken = process.env.TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN;
 
 vi.mock("../../telegram/send.js", () => ({
   reactMessageTelegram: (...args: unknown[]) => reactMessageTelegram(...args),
   sendMessageTelegram: (...args: unknown[]) => sendMessageTelegram(...args),
+  sendStickerTelegram: (...args: unknown[]) => sendStickerTelegram(...args),
   deleteMessageTelegram: (...args: unknown[]) => deleteMessageTelegram(...args),
 }));
 
@@ -21,6 +26,7 @@ describe("handleTelegramAction", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     reactMessageTelegram.mockClear();
     sendMessageTelegram.mockClear();
+    sendStickerTelegram.mockClear();
     deleteMessageTelegram.mockClear();
     process.env.TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN = "tok";
   });
@@ -96,6 +102,40 @@ describe("handleTelegramAction", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it("rejects sticker actions when disabled by default", async () => {
+    const cfg = { channels: { telegram: { botToken: "tok" } } } as ClawdbotConfig;
+    await expect(
+      handleTelegramAction(
+        {
+          action: "sendSticker",
+          to: "123",
+          fileId: "sticker",
+        },
+        cfg,
+      ),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/sticker actions are disabled/i);
+    expect(sendStickerTelegram).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("sends stickers when enabled", async () => {
+    const cfg = {
+      channels: { telegram: { botToken: "tok", actions: { sticker: true } } },
+    } as ClawdbotConfig;
+    await handleTelegramAction(
+      {
+        action: "sendSticker",
+        to: "123",
+        fileId: "sticker",
+      },
+      cfg,
+    );
+    expect(sendStickerTelegram).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "123",
+      "sticker",
+      expect.objectContaining({ token: "tok" }),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("removes reactions when remove flag set", async () => {
     const cfg = {
       channels: { telegram: { botToken: "tok", reactionLevel: "extensive" } },

src/agents/tools/telegram-actions.ts

@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ export async function handleTelegramAction(
   }
 
   if (action === "sendSticker") {
-    if (!isActionEnabled("sticker")) {
+    if (!isActionEnabled("sticker", false)) {
       throw new Error(
         "Telegram sticker actions are disabled. Set channels.telegram.actions.sticker to true.",
       );
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ export async function handleTelegramAction(
   }
 
   if (action === "searchSticker") {
-    if (!isActionEnabled("sticker")) {
+    if (!isActionEnabled("sticker", false)) {
       throw new Error(
         "Telegram sticker actions are disabled. Set channels.telegram.actions.sticker to true.",
       );

src/channels/plugins/actions/telegram.test.ts

@@ -10,6 +10,13 @@ vi.mock("../../../agents/tools/telegram-actions.js", () => ({
 }));
 
 describe("telegramMessageActions", () => {
+  it("excludes sticker actions when not enabled", () => {
+    const cfg = { channels: { telegram: { botToken: "tok" } } } as ClawdbotConfig;
+    const actions = telegramMessageActions.listActions({ cfg });
+    expect(actions).not.toContain("sticker");
+    expect(actions).not.toContain("sticker-search");
+  });
+
   it("allows media-only sends and passes asVoice", async () => {
     handleTelegramAction.mockClear();
     const cfg = { channels: { telegram: { botToken: "tok" } } } as ClawdbotConfig;

src/channels/plugins/actions/telegram.ts

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ export const telegramMessageActions: ChannelMessageActionAdapter = {
     if (gate("reactions")) actions.add("react");
     if (gate("deleteMessage")) actions.add("delete");
     if (gate("editMessage")) actions.add("edit");
-    if (gate("sticker")) {
+    if (gate("sticker", false)) {
       actions.add("sticker");
       actions.add("sticker-search");
     }

src/media-understanding/runner.ts

@@ -412,6 +412,39 @@ async function resolveAutoEntries(params: {
   return [];
 }
 
+export async function resolveAutoImageModel(params: {
+  cfg: ClawdbotConfig;
+  agentDir?: string;
+  activeModel?: ActiveMediaModel;
+}): Promise<ActiveMediaModel | null> {
+  const providerRegistry = buildProviderRegistry();
+  const toActive = (entry: MediaUnderstandingModelConfig | null): ActiveMediaModel | null => {
+    if (!entry || entry.type === "cli") return null;
+    const provider = entry.provider;
+    if (!provider) return null;
+    const model = entry.model ?? DEFAULT_IMAGE_MODELS[provider];
+    if (!model) return null;
+    return { provider, model };
+  };
+  const activeEntry = await resolveActiveModelEntry({
+    cfg: params.cfg,
+    agentDir: params.agentDir,
+    providerRegistry,
+    capability: "image",
+    activeModel: params.activeModel,
+  });
+  const resolvedActive = toActive(activeEntry);
+  if (resolvedActive) return resolvedActive;
+  const keyEntry = await resolveKeyEntry({
+    cfg: params.cfg,
+    agentDir: params.agentDir,
+    providerRegistry,
+    capability: "image",
+    activeModel: params.activeModel,
+  });
+  return toActive(keyEntry);
+}
+
 async function resolveActiveModelEntry(params: {
   cfg: ClawdbotConfig;
   agentDir?: string;

src/telegram/bot-message-dispatch.ts

@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ export const dispatchTelegramMessage = async ({
       imagePath: ctxPayload.MediaPath,
       cfg,
       agentDir,
+      agentId: route.agentId,
     });
     if (description) {
       // Format the description with sticker context

src/telegram/bot.media.downloads-media-file-path-no-file-download.test.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ const middlewareUseSpy = vi.fn();
 const onSpy = vi.fn();
 const stopSpy = vi.fn();
 const sendChatActionSpy = vi.fn();
+const cacheStickerSpy = vi.fn();
+const getCachedStickerSpy = vi.fn();
+const describeStickerImageSpy = vi.fn();
 
 type ApiStub = {
   config: { use: (arg: unknown) => void };
@@ -79,6 +82,12 @@ vi.mock("../config/sessions.js", async (importOriginal) => {
   };
 });
 
+vi.mock("./sticker-cache.js", () => ({
+  cacheSticker: (...args: unknown[]) => cacheStickerSpy(...args),
+  getCachedSticker: (...args: unknown[]) => getCachedStickerSpy(...args),
+  describeStickerImage: (...args: unknown[]) => describeStickerImageSpy(...args),
+}));
+
 vi.mock("./pairing-store.js", () => ({
   readTelegramAllowFromStore: vi.fn(async () => [] as string[]),
   upsertTelegramPairingRequest: vi.fn(async () => ({
@@ -408,6 +417,12 @@ describe("telegram media groups", () => {
 describe("telegram stickers", () => {
   const STICKER_TEST_TIMEOUT_MS = process.platform === "win32" ? 30_000 : 20_000;
 
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    cacheStickerSpy.mockReset();
+    getCachedStickerSpy.mockReset();
+    describeStickerImageSpy.mockReset();
+  });
+
   it(
     "downloads static sticker (WEBP) and includes sticker metadata",
     async () => {
@@ -481,6 +496,88 @@ describe("telegram stickers", () => {
     STICKER_TEST_TIMEOUT_MS,
   );
 
+  it(
+    "refreshes cached sticker metadata on cache hit",
+    async () => {
+      const { createTelegramBot } = await import("./bot.js");
+      const replyModule = await import("../auto-reply/reply.js");
+      const replySpy = replyModule.__replySpy as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
+
+      onSpy.mockReset();
+      replySpy.mockReset();
+      sendChatActionSpy.mockReset();
+
+      getCachedStickerSpy.mockReturnValue({
+        fileId: "old_file_id",
+        fileUniqueId: "sticker_unique_456",
+        emoji: "😴",
+        setName: "OldSet",
+        description: "Cached description",
+        cachedAt: "2026-01-20T10:00:00.000Z",
+      });
+
+      const runtimeError = vi.fn();
+      createTelegramBot({
+        token: "tok",
+        runtime: {
+          log: vi.fn(),
+          error: runtimeError,
+          exit: () => {
+            throw new Error("exit");
+          },
+        },
+      });
+      const handler = onSpy.mock.calls.find((call) => call[0] === "message")?.[1] as (
+        ctx: Record<string, unknown>,
+      ) => Promise<void>;
+      expect(handler).toBeDefined();
+
+      const fetchSpy = vi.spyOn(globalThis, "fetch" as never).mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: true,
+        status: 200,
+        statusText: "OK",
+        headers: { get: () => "image/webp" },
+        arrayBuffer: async () => new Uint8Array([0x52, 0x49, 0x46, 0x46]).buffer,
+      } as Response);
+
+      await handler({
+        message: {
+          message_id: 103,
+          chat: { id: 1234, type: "private" },
+          sticker: {
+            file_id: "new_file_id",
+            file_unique_id: "sticker_unique_456",
+            type: "regular",
+            width: 512,
+            height: 512,
+            is_animated: false,
+            is_video: false,
+            emoji: "🔥",
+            set_name: "NewSet",
+          },
+          date: 1736380800,
+        },
+        me: { username: "clawdbot_bot" },
+        getFile: async () => ({ file_path: "stickers/sticker.webp" }),
+      });
+
+      expect(runtimeError).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(cacheStickerSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          fileId: "new_file_id",
+          emoji: "🔥",
+          setName: "NewSet",
+        }),
+      );
+      const payload = replySpy.mock.calls[0][0];
+      expect(payload.Sticker?.fileId).toBe("new_file_id");
+      expect(payload.Sticker?.cachedDescription).toBe("Cached description");
+
+      fetchSpy.mockRestore();
+    },
+    STICKER_TEST_TIMEOUT_MS,
+  );
+
   it(
     "skips animated stickers (TGS format)",
     async () => {

src/telegram/bot/delivery.ts

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import { buildInlineKeyboard } from "../send.js";
 import { resolveTelegramVoiceSend } from "../voice.js";
 import { buildTelegramThreadParams, resolveTelegramReplyId } from "./helpers.js";
 import type { StickerMetadata, TelegramContext } from "./types.js";
-import { getCachedSticker } from "../sticker-cache.js";
+import { cacheSticker, getCachedSticker } from "../sticker-cache.js";
 
 const PARSE_ERR_RE = /can't parse entities|parse entities|find end of the entity/i;
 const VOICE_FORBIDDEN_RE = /VOICE_MESSAGES_FORBIDDEN/;
@@ -303,14 +303,26 @@ export async function resolveMedia(
       const cached = sticker.file_unique_id ? getCachedSticker(sticker.file_unique_id) : null;
       if (cached) {
         logVerbose(`telegram: sticker cache hit for ${sticker.file_unique_id}`);
+        const fileId = sticker.file_id ?? cached.fileId;
+        const emoji = sticker.emoji ?? cached.emoji;
+        const setName = sticker.set_name ?? cached.setName;
+        if (fileId !== cached.fileId || emoji !== cached.emoji || setName !== cached.setName) {
+          // Refresh cached sticker metadata on hits so sends/searches use latest file_id.
+          cacheSticker({
+            ...cached,
+            fileId,
+            emoji,
+            setName,
+          });
+        }
         return {
           path: saved.path,
           contentType: saved.contentType,
           placeholder: "<media:sticker>",
           stickerMetadata: {
-            emoji: cached.emoji,
-            setName: cached.setName,
-            fileId: cached.fileId,
+            emoji,
+            setName,
+            fileId,
             fileUniqueId: sticker.file_unique_id,
             cachedDescription: cached.description,
           },
@@ -330,7 +342,7 @@ export async function resolveMedia(
         },
       };
     } catch (err) {
-      logVerbose(`telegram: failed to process sticker: ${err}`);
+      logVerbose(`telegram: failed to process sticker: ${String(err)}`);
       return null;
     }
   }

src/telegram/sticker-cache.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,13 @@ import type { ClawdbotConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { STATE_DIR_CLAWDBOT } from "../config/paths.js";
 import { loadJsonFile, saveJsonFile } from "../infra/json-file.js";
 import { logVerbose } from "../globals.js";
-import { resolveApiKeyForProvider } from "../agents/model-auth.js";
+import {
+  findModelInCatalog,
+  loadModelCatalog,
+  modelSupportsVision,
+} from "../agents/model-catalog.js";
+import { resolveDefaultModelForAgent } from "../agents/model-selection.js";
+import { resolveAutoImageModel } from "../media-understanding/runner.js";
 
 const CACHE_FILE = path.join(STATE_DIR_CLAWDBOT, "telegram", "sticker-cache.json");
 const CACHE_VERSION = 1;
@@ -135,18 +141,11 @@ export function getCacheStats(): { count: number; oldestAt?: string; newestAt?:
 const STICKER_DESCRIPTION_PROMPT =
   "Describe this sticker image in 1-2 sentences. Focus on what the sticker depicts (character, object, action, emotion). Be concise and objective.";
 
-const VISION_PROVIDERS = ["anthropic", "openai", "google", "minimax"] as const;
-const DEFAULT_VISION_MODELS: Record<string, string> = {
-  anthropic: "claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
-  openai: "gpt-4o-mini",
-  google: "gemini-2.0-flash",
-  minimax: "MiniMax-VL-01",
-};
-
 export interface DescribeStickerParams {
   imagePath: string;
   cfg: ClawdbotConfig;
   agentDir?: string;
+  agentId?: string;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -155,26 +154,35 @@ export interface DescribeStickerParams {
  * Returns null if no vision provider is available.
  */
 export async function describeStickerImage(params: DescribeStickerParams): Promise<string | null> {
-  const { imagePath, cfg, agentDir } = params;
+  const { imagePath, cfg, agentDir, agentId } = params;
 
-  // Find a vision provider with available API key
-  let provider: string | null = null;
-  for (const p of VISION_PROVIDERS) {
-    try {
-      await resolveApiKeyForProvider({ provider: p, cfg, agentDir });
-      provider = p;
-      break;
-    } catch {
-      // No key for this provider, try next
+  const defaultModel = resolveDefaultModelForAgent({ cfg, agentId });
+  let activeModel = undefined as { provider: string; model: string } | undefined;
+  try {
+    const catalog = await loadModelCatalog({ config: cfg });
+    const entry = findModelInCatalog(catalog, defaultModel.provider, defaultModel.model);
+    if (modelSupportsVision(entry)) {
+      activeModel = { provider: defaultModel.provider, model: defaultModel.model };
     }
+  } catch {
+    // Ignore catalog failures; fall back to auto selection.
   }
 
-  if (!provider) {
+  const resolved = await resolveAutoImageModel({
+    cfg,
+    agentDir,
+    activeModel,
+  });
+  if (!resolved) {
     logVerbose("telegram: no vision provider available for sticker description");
     return null;
   }
 
-  const model = DEFAULT_VISION_MODELS[provider];
+  const { provider, model } = resolved;
+  if (!model) {
+    logVerbose(`telegram: no vision model available for ${provider}`);
+    return null;
+  }
   logVerbose(`telegram: describing sticker with ${provider}/${model}`);
 
   try {
@@ -195,7 +203,7 @@ export async function describeStickerImage(params: DescribeStickerParams): Promi
     });
     return result.text;
   } catch (err) {
-    logVerbose(`telegram: failed to describe sticker: ${err}`);
+    logVerbose(`telegram: failed to describe sticker: ${String(err)}`);
     return null;
   }
 }