hermes - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Telegram topic-enabled DM shows typing but never delivers response [1 pull requests]

Summary

Telegram topic-enabled DMs can accept/process a user message and show the bot as typing, but the assistant response never appears in the same DM topic.

This is distinct from plain Telegram DMs and group/forum topics, which can still work. The failure is specifically visible in a Telegram private chat that has been converted to/uses Direct Messages topics.

Observed behavior

• User sends a message inside a topic-converted Telegram DM.
• Hermes appears to receive/process it: Telegram shows the bot typing.
• No assistant response is delivered into that DM topic.
• Group chats still respond normally.
• Local logs show repeated warnings of the shape:

[Telegram] Thread <dm-topic-id> not found, retrying without message_thread_id

The fallback can cause replies to miss the intended DM topic/root silently from the user's perspective.

Expected behavior

For Telegram topic-enabled DMs, Hermes should send responses back into the same DM topic where the user message arrived.

In particular:

• Topic-enabled private/direct chat topics should not be sent with message_thread_id if Telegram expects direct_messages_topic_id.
• Group/forum topics should continue using message_thread_id.
• Plain DMs should suppress thread identifiers to avoid Message thread not found.
• If delivery fails, logs should make clear whether the retry delivered outside the topic or failed entirely.

Likely root cause

Telegram Bot API / python-telegram-bot now distinguish Direct Messages topic routing from group/forum topic routing. Hermes appears to store the private DM topic id in the session source/thread metadata and then send it as message_thread_id, which is only valid for forum/group topics. Telegram rejects that with Message thread not found / Thread not found.

There is already an open PR that appears to target this exact root cause:

• #21941 — fix(telegram): send Direct Messages topics with direct_messages_topic_id

Related older/nearby issues/PRs:

• #3206 — spurious Telegram DM message_thread_id causing Message thread not found
• #10371 — normalize DM threads and retry control sends
• #2598 / #3005 — private chat topics support

Reproduction sketch

1. Enable Telegram private-chat / Direct Messages topics for the bot.
2. Create or use a stable DM topic in the private bot chat.
3. Send the bot a message in that DM topic.
4. Observe that Telegram shows typing / processing, but no response appears in the same topic.
5. Check gateway logs for Thread <id> not found, retrying without message_thread_id.

Acceptance criteria

• A user message in a Telegram DM topic receives the response in that same DM topic.
• The adapter routes private Direct Messages topics with direct_messages_topic_id.
• The adapter routes group/forum topics with message_thread_id.
• Plain private DMs do not send either invalid topic field.
• Regression coverage includes the current gateway metadata shape for topic-enabled DMs.