diff --git a/src/telegram/bot.test.ts b/src/telegram/bot.test.ts
index c578f8fc4..aeafdae3c 100644
--- a/src/telegram/bot.test.ts
+++ b/src/telegram/bot.test.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,19 @@
 import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import * as replyModule from "../auto-reply/reply.js";
+import { createTelegramBot } from "./bot.js";
 
 const useSpy = vi.fn();
 const onSpy = vi.fn();
 const stopSpy = vi.fn();
-type ApiStub = { config: { use: (arg: unknown) => void } };
-const apiStub: ApiStub = { config: { use: useSpy } };
+const sendChatActionSpy = vi.fn();
+type ApiStub = {
+  config: { use: (arg: unknown) => void };
+  sendChatAction: typeof sendChatActionSpy;
+};
+const apiStub: ApiStub = {
+  config: { use: useSpy },
+  sendChatAction: sendChatActionSpy,
+};
 
 vi.mock("grammy", () => ({
   Bot: class {
@@ -24,13 +33,13 @@ vi.mock("@grammyjs/transformer-throttler", () => ({
 }));
 
 vi.mock("../auto-reply/reply.js", () => {
-  const replySpy = vi.fn();
+  const replySpy = vi.fn(async (_ctx, opts) => {
+    await opts?.onReplyStart?.();
+    return undefined;
+  });
   return { getReplyFromConfig: replySpy, __replySpy: replySpy };
 });
 
-import { createTelegramBot } from "./bot.js";
-import * as replyModule from "../auto-reply/reply.js";
-
 describe("createTelegramBot", () => {
   it("installs grammY throttler", () => {
     createTelegramBot({ token: "tok" });
@@ -47,7 +56,9 @@ describe("createTelegramBot", () => {
 
     createTelegramBot({ token: "tok" });
     expect(onSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith("message", expect.any(Function));
-    const handler = onSpy.mock.calls[0][1] as (ctx: any) => Promise<void>;
+    const handler = onSpy.mock.calls[0][1] as (
+      ctx: Record<string, unknown>,
+    ) => Promise<void>;
 
     const message = {
       chat: { id: 1234, type: "private" },
@@ -72,4 +83,21 @@ describe("createTelegramBot", () => {
     );
     expect(payload.Body).toContain("hello world");
   });
+
+  it("triggers typing cue via onReplyStart", async () => {
+    onSpy.mockReset();
+    sendChatActionSpy.mockReset();
+
+    createTelegramBot({ token: "tok" });
+    const handler = onSpy.mock.calls[0][1] as (
+      ctx: Record<string, unknown>,
+    ) => Promise<void>;
+    await handler({
+      message: { chat: { id: 42, type: "private" }, text: "hi" },
+      me: { username: "clawdis_bot" },
+      getFile: async () => ({ download: async () => new Uint8Array() }),
+    });
+
+    expect(sendChatActionSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(42, "typing");
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/telegram/bot.ts b/src/telegram/bot.ts
index 3bc0b0394..19a94fb08 100644
--- a/src/telegram/bot.ts
+++ b/src/telegram/bot.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 // @ts-nocheck
 import { Buffer } from "node:buffer";
+
 import { apiThrottler } from "@grammyjs/transformer-throttler";
 import type { ApiClientOptions, Message } from "grammy";
 import { Bot, InputFile, webhookCallback } from "grammy";
 
 import { chunkText } from "../auto-reply/chunk.js";
+import { formatAgentEnvelope } from "../auto-reply/envelope.js";
 import { getReplyFromConfig } from "../auto-reply/reply.js";
 import type { ReplyPayload } from "../auto-reply/types.js";
-import { formatAgentEnvelope } from "../auto-reply/envelope.js";
 import { loadConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { danger, logVerbose } from "../globals.js";
 import { getChildLogger } from "../logging.js";
@@ -70,6 +71,16 @@ export function createTelegramBot(opts: TelegramBotOptions) {
       const isGroup =
         msg.chat.type === "group" || msg.chat.type === "supergroup";
 
+      const sendTyping = async () => {
+        try {
+          await bot.api.sendChatAction(chatId, "typing");
+        } catch (err) {
+          logVerbose(
+            `telegram typing cue failed for chat ${chatId}: ${String(err)}`,
+          );
+        }
+      };
+
       // allowFrom for direct chats
       if (!isGroup && Array.isArray(allowFrom) && allowFrom.length > 0) {
         const candidate = String(chatId);
@@ -99,7 +110,12 @@ export function createTelegramBot(opts: TelegramBotOptions) {
       }
 
       const media = await resolveMedia(ctx, mediaMaxBytes);
-      const rawBody = (msg.text ?? msg.caption ?? media?.placeholder ?? "").trim();
+      const rawBody = (
+        msg.text ??
+        msg.caption ??
+        media?.placeholder ??
+        ""
+      ).trim();
       if (!rawBody) return;
 
       const body = formatAgentEnvelope({
@@ -126,7 +142,11 @@ export function createTelegramBot(opts: TelegramBotOptions) {
         MediaUrl: media?.path,
       };
 
-      const replyResult = await getReplyFromConfig(ctxPayload, {}, cfg);
+      const replyResult = await getReplyFromConfig(
+        ctxPayload,
+        { onReplyStart: sendTyping },
+        cfg,
+      );
       const replies = replyResult
         ? Array.isArray(replyResult)
           ? replyResult