fix: scope Telegram pairing code blocks (#52784) (thanks @sumukhj1219)

* Telegram: format pairing challenge for easier copy

* test: restore Telegram pairing chatId assertion

* fix: scope Telegram pairing code blocks (#52784) (thanks @sumukhj1219)

---------

Co-authored-by: Ayaan Zaidi <hi@obviy.us>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Feishu/startup: keep `requireMention` enforcement strict when bot identity startup probes fail, raise the startup bot-info timeout to 30s, and add cancellable background identity recovery so mention-gated groups recover without noisy fallback. (#43788) Thanks @lefarcen.
 - Plugins: enforce terminal hook decision semantics for tool/message guards (#54241) Thanks @joshavant.
 - Telegram/outbound errors: preserve actionable 403 membership/block/kick details and treat `bot not a member` as a permanent delivery failure so Telegram sends stop retrying doomed chats. (#53635) Thanks @w-sss.
+- Telegram/pairing: render pairing codes and approval commands as Telegram-only code blocks while keeping shared pairing replies plain text for other channels. (#52784) Thanks @sumukhj1219.
 
 ## 2026.3.23
 

extensions/telegram/src/bot.create-telegram-bot.test.ts

@@ -500,10 +500,10 @@ describe("createTelegramBot", () => {
         const pairingText = String(sendMessageSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[1]);
         expect(pairingText, testCase.name).toContain(`Your Telegram user id: ${senderId}`);
         expect(pairingText, testCase.name).toContain("Pairing code:");
-        const code = pairingText.match(/Pairing code:\s*([A-Z2-9]{8})/)?.[1];
-        expect(code, testCase.name).toBeDefined();
-        expect(pairingText, testCase.name).toContain(`openclaw pairing approve telegram ${code}`);
-        expect(pairingText, testCase.name).not.toContain("<code>");
+        expect(pairingText, testCase.name).toContain("openclaw pairing approve telegram");
+        expect(sendMessageSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[2], testCase.name).toEqual(
+          expect.objectContaining({ parse_mode: "HTML" }),
+        );
       }
     });
   });
@@ -546,7 +546,12 @@ describe("createTelegramBot", () => {
         expect(getFileSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
         expect(fetchSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
         expect(sendMessageSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-        expect(String(sendMessageSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[1])).toContain("Pairing code:");
+        const pairingText = String(sendMessageSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[1]);
+        expect(pairingText).toContain("Pairing code:");
+        expect(pairingText).toContain("<pre><code>");
+        expect(sendMessageSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[2]).toEqual(
+          expect.objectContaining({ parse_mode: "HTML" }),
+        );
         expect(replySpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
       } finally {
         fetchSpy.mockRestore();
@@ -633,7 +638,12 @@ describe("createTelegramBot", () => {
         expect(getFileSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
         expect(fetchSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
         expect(sendMessageSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-        expect(String(sendMessageSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[1])).toContain("Pairing code:");
+        const pairingText = String(sendMessageSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[1]);
+        expect(pairingText).toContain("Pairing code:");
+        expect(pairingText).toContain("<pre><code>");
+        expect(sendMessageSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[2]).toEqual(
+          expect.objectContaining({ parse_mode: "HTML" }),
+        );
         expect(replySpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
       } finally {
         fetchSpy.mockRestore();

extensions/telegram/src/dm-access.test.ts

@@ -119,8 +119,12 @@ describe("enforceTelegramDmAccess", () => {
     });
 
     expect(allowed).toBe(false);
-    expect(createChannelPairingChallengeIssuerMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    expect(sendMessage).toHaveBeenCalledWith(42, "Pairing code: 123456");
+    expect(sendMessage).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    const [firstCall] = sendMessage.mock.calls as Array<unknown[]>;
+    expect(firstCall?.[0]).toBe(42);
+    const sentText = String(firstCall?.[1] ?? "");
+    expect(sentText).toContain("Pairing code:");
+    expect(firstCall?.[2]).toEqual(expect.objectContaining({ parse_mode: "HTML" }));
     expect(logger.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       expect.objectContaining({
         chatId: "42",

extensions/telegram/src/dm-access.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { upsertChannelPairingRequest } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/conversation-ru
 import { logVerbose } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-env";
 import { withTelegramApiErrorLogging } from "./api-logging.js";
 import { resolveSenderAllowMatch, type NormalizedAllowFrom } from "./bot-access.js";
+import { renderTelegramHtmlText } from "./format.js";
 
 type TelegramDmAccessLogger = {
   info: (obj: Record<string, unknown>, msg: string) => void;
@@ -113,9 +114,10 @@ export async function enforceTelegramDmAccess(params: {
           );
         },
         sendPairingReply: async (text) => {
+          const html = renderTelegramHtmlText(text);
           await withTelegramApiErrorLogging({
             operation: "sendMessage",
-            fn: () => bot.api.sendMessage(chatId, text),
+            fn: () => bot.api.sendMessage(chatId, html, { parse_mode: "HTML" }),
           });
         },
         onReplyError: (err) => {

src/pairing/pairing-messages.test.ts

@@ -52,12 +52,14 @@ describe("buildPairingReply", () => {
     it(`formats pairing reply for ${testCase.channel}`, () => {
       const text = buildPairingReply(testCase);
       expect(text).toContain(testCase.idLine);
-      expect(text).toContain(`Pairing code: ${testCase.code}`);
+      expect(text).toContain("Pairing code:");
+      expect(text).toContain(`\n\`\`\`\n${testCase.code}\n\`\`\`\n`);
       // CLI commands should respect OPENCLAW_PROFILE when set (most tests run with isolated profile)
       const commandRe = new RegExp(
         `(?:openclaw|openclaw) --profile isolated pairing approve ${testCase.channel} ${testCase.code}`,
       );
       expect(text).toMatch(commandRe);
+      expect(text).toContain("\n```\n");
     });
   }
 });

src/pairing/pairing-messages.ts

@@ -7,14 +7,20 @@ export function buildPairingReply(params: {
   code: string;
 }): string {
   const { channel, idLine, code } = params;
+  const approveCommand = formatCliCommand(`openclaw pairing approve ${channel} ${code}`);
   return [
     "OpenClaw: access not configured.",
     "",
     idLine,
-    "",
-    `Pairing code: ${code}`,
+    "Pairing code:",
+    "```",
+    code,
+    "```",
     "",
     "Ask the bot owner to approve with:",
     formatCliCommand(`openclaw pairing approve ${channel} ${code}`),
+    "```",
+    approveCommand,
+    "```",
   ].join("\n");
 }