Bug Description

Plugin approval buttons on Telegram appear correctly but clicking them has no effect. The approval times out after 300s. The button clicks are processed after the timeout, arriving at the gateway too late.

This is a sequentializer deadlock in the Grammy runner. It was not fixed by #57838 (channel approval refactor). That PR fixed handler subscription and routing — the callback resolution code is correct — but the callback_query never reaches the handler because it's queued behind the blocked agent turn.

Root Cause

getTelegramSequentialKey() in extensions/telegram/src/sequential-key.ts returns the same key for:

• The user message that starts the agent turn (telegram:<chatId>)
• The approval callback_query from clicking the button (telegram:<chatId>)

The @grammyjs/runner sequentializer processes updates with the same key sequentially. When the agent turn is blocked on plugin.approval.waitDecision, the callback_query is queued behind it. The callback can't run because the lane is held; the lane can't release because it's waiting for the callback.

Abort requests already have a fix for this exact pattern — getTelegramSequentialKey returns telegram:<chatId>:control for abort messages (line 38-46), giving them a separate lane. Approval callbacks need the same treatment.

Evidence (OpenClaw 2026.4.10, post #57838)

Gateway logs — approval times out, then resolve attempts arrive late

2026-04-11T11:55:05.276 [ws] ⇄ res ✓ plugin.approval.waitDecision 299961ms conn=6a5f...
2026-04-11T11:55:12.827 [ws] ⇄ res ✗ plugin.approval.resolve 0ms errorCode=INVALID_REQUEST
    errorMessage=unknown or expired approval id conn=a4a6...
2026-04-11T11:55:13.819 [ws] ⇄ res ✗ plugin.approval.resolve 1ms errorCode=INVALID_REQUEST
    errorMessage=unknown or expired approval id conn=c197...

waitDecision blocks for exactly 300s (the plugin's timeoutMs), then times out. The resolve calls arrive 7-8 seconds after expiry — the button clicks were queued behind the blocked turn in the sequentializer and only processed after the timeout released the lane. By then the approval record is gone.

Audit log — confirms timeout

{"timestamp":"2026-04-11T18:50:05.191Z","decision":"approval_required",
 "params":{"guardrailId":"gr_e75ea794f9b1","guardrailAction":"require_approval",
 "identityKey":"https://apnews.com"}}

{"timestamp":"2026-04-11T18:55:05.278Z","decision":"block",
 "userResponse":"denied","params":{"guardrailId":"gr_e75ea794f9b1","resolution":"timeout"}}

Approval requested at 18:50:05, timed out at 18:55:05 — exactly 5 minutes. Button clicks never reached the handler during that window.

Proposed Fix

In extensions/telegram/src/sequential-key.ts, detect approval callback_queries and return a separate sequential key, same pattern as abort requests:

// After the abort request check (line ~46), before the general path:
const callbackData = ctx.update?.callback_query?.data;
if (callbackData && parseExecApprovalCommandText(callbackData) !== null) {
  if (typeof chatId === "number") {
    return `telegram:${chatId}:approval`;
  }
  return "telegram:approval";
}

This gives approval callbacks their own lane so they bypass the blocked agent turn, exactly like telegram:<chatId>:control does for abort requests.

This was commit 3 in #57340 (which addressed the same bug). The handler and routing fixes from that PR were superseded by #57838, but the sequentializer bypass was not included in the upstream refactor.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install a plugin that returns requireApproval from before_tool_call
2. Trigger a tool call that hits the approval guardrail via Telegram
3. Approval prompt appears with buttons
4. Click "Allow Once"
5. Nothing happens — agent hangs for 300s then times out

Environment

• OpenClaw: 2026.4.10 (44e5b62) — includes #57838
• Channel: Telegram (Bot API, Grammy + @grammyjs/runner)
• Plugin: ClawLens (returns requireApproval from before_tool_call guardrails)

Related

• #57339 — original bug report (closed as resolved by #57838, but sequentializer issue persists)
• #57340 — our PR with the sequentializer fix (commit 3) that was not merged