fix: messaging UX — silence doctor, fix groupPolicy, drop early WhatsApp pairing (#2607)

* fix: messaging UX — silence doctor, fix groupPolicy, remove early WhatsApp pairing

- Set groupPolicy to "open" for both Telegram and WhatsApp (was
  "allowlist" with empty allowFrom, causing doctor warnings)
- Suppress doctor warning spam by redirecting openclaw config set
  stdout to /dev/null
- Remove WhatsApp pairing prompt (appeared immediately after QR scan
  before user could message the bot — now just tells them the command)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix: improve Telegram/WhatsApp pairing instructions

Add step-by-step instructions for Telegram pairing so users know to
search for their bot in Telegram and message it. Improve WhatsApp
post-link instructions to explain how contacts pair.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* feat: pre-select Telegram in setup options as recommended channel

Telegram has the smoothest setup UX (bot token + pairing code) compared
to WhatsApp (QR scan + separate device). Pre-select it alongside Chrome
in the multiselect and label it as "recommended" in the hint.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

packages/cli/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@openrouter/spawn",
-  "version": "0.17.16",
+  "version": "0.17.17",
   "type": "module",
   "bin": {
     "spawn": "cli.js"

packages/cli/src/commands/interactive.ts

@@ -176,12 +176,15 @@ async function promptSetupOptions(agentName: string): Promise<Set<string> | unde
   // 1. Arrow keys work immediately (multiple items to navigate)
   // 2. Users can explicitly skip all steps without pressing Enter on an empty list
   // 3. Users who accidentally select another option can deselect it and choose None
-  const hasBrowserDefault = filteredSteps.some((s) => s.value === "browser");
-  const defaultValues = hasBrowserDefault
-    ? filteredSteps.filter((s) => s.value === "browser").map((s) => s.value)
-    : [
-        NONE_STEP,
-      ];
+  // Pre-select browser + telegram by default (telegram has the smoothest setup UX)
+  const recommendedDefaults = [
+    "browser",
+    "telegram",
+  ];
+  const defaultValues = filteredSteps.filter((s) => recommendedDefaults.includes(s.value)).map((s) => s.value);
+  if (defaultValues.length === 0) {
+    defaultValues.push(NONE_STEP);
+  }
 
   const selected = await p.multiselect({
     message: "Setup options (↑/↓ navigate, space to select, enter to confirm)",

packages/cli/src/shared/agent-setup.ts

@@ -374,6 +374,7 @@ async function setupOpenclawConfig(
       enabled: true,
       botToken: telegramBotToken,
       dmPolicy: "pairing",
+      groupPolicy: "open",
       groups: {
         "*": {
           requireMention: true,
@@ -386,7 +387,7 @@ async function setupOpenclawConfig(
   if (enabledSteps?.has("whatsapp")) {
     channels.whatsapp = {
       dmPolicy: "pairing",
-      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
+      groupPolicy: "open",
       sendReadReceipts: true,
     };
   }
@@ -399,14 +400,14 @@ async function setupOpenclawConfig(
   await uploadConfigFile(runner, config, "$HOME/.openclaw/openclaw.json");
 
   // Configure browser via CLI (openclaw config set) — the supported way to set
-  // browser options. Writing JSON directly may not be picked up by all versions.
+  // browser options. Redirect stdout to suppress doctor warnings on each call.
   const browserResult = await asyncTryCatchIf(isOperationalError, () =>
     runner.runServer(
       "export PATH=$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$HOME/.bun/bin:$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH; " +
-        "openclaw config set browser.executablePath /usr/bin/google-chrome-stable; " +
-        "openclaw config set browser.noSandbox true; " +
-        "openclaw config set browser.headless true; " +
-        "openclaw config set browser.defaultProfile openclaw",
+        "openclaw config set browser.executablePath /usr/bin/google-chrome-stable >/dev/null; " +
+        "openclaw config set browser.noSandbox true >/dev/null; " +
+        "openclaw config set browser.headless true >/dev/null; " +
+        "openclaw config set browser.defaultProfile openclaw >/dev/null",
     ),
   );
   if (!browserResult.ok) {
@@ -419,7 +420,7 @@ async function setupOpenclawConfig(
   const gatewayTokenResult = await asyncTryCatchIf(isOperationalError, () =>
     runner.runServer(
       "export PATH=$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$HOME/.bun/bin:$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH; " +
-        `openclaw config set gateway.auth.token ${shellQuote(gatewayToken)}`,
+        `openclaw config set gateway.auth.token ${shellQuote(gatewayToken)} >/dev/null`,
     ),
   );
   if (!gatewayTokenResult.ok) {

packages/cli/src/shared/agents.ts

@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ const AGENT_EXTRA_STEPS: Record<string, OptionalStep[]> = {
     {
       value: "telegram",
       label: "Telegram",
-      hint: "connect via bot token from @BotFather",
+      hint: "recommended — connect via bot token from @BotFather",
       dataEnvVar: "TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN",
     },
     {

packages/cli/src/shared/orchestrate.ts

@@ -298,8 +298,12 @@ export async function runOrchestration(
 
   if (enabledSteps?.has("telegram")) {
     logStep("Telegram pairing...");
-    logInfo("DM your Telegram bot to get a pairing code, then enter it below.");
-    logInfo("Waiting for pairing code...");
+    logInfo("To pair your Telegram account:");
+    logInfo("  1. Open Telegram on your phone");
+    logInfo("  2. Search for the bot you created with @BotFather");
+    logInfo('  3. Send it any message (e.g. "hello")');
+    logInfo("  4. The bot will reply with a pairing code");
+    logInfo("  5. Enter the code below");
     process.stderr.write("\n");
     const pairingCode = (await prompt("Telegram pairing code: ")).trim();
     if (pairingCode) {
@@ -320,34 +324,16 @@ export async function runOrchestration(
   }
 
   if (enabledSteps?.has("whatsapp")) {
-    // Step 1: QR code scan to link the WhatsApp device
     logStep("Linking WhatsApp — scan the QR code with your phone...");
     logInfo("Open WhatsApp > Settings > Linked Devices > Link a Device");
     process.stderr.write("\n");
     const whatsappCmd = `source ~/.spawnrc 2>/dev/null; ${ocPath}; openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp`;
     prepareStdinForHandoff();
     await cloud.interactiveSession(whatsappCmd);
-
-    // Step 2: Pairing — approve your own number so the bot responds to you
-    logStep("WhatsApp pairing...");
-    logInfo("Send a message to your bot on WhatsApp to get a pairing code, then enter it below.");
-    process.stderr.write("\n");
-    const pairingCode = (await prompt("WhatsApp pairing code: ")).trim();
-    if (pairingCode) {
-      const escaped = shellQuote(pairingCode);
-      const result = await asyncTryCatchIf(isOperationalError, () =>
-        cloud.runner.runServer(
-          `source ~/.spawnrc 2>/dev/null; ${ocPath}; openclaw pairing approve whatsapp ${escaped}`,
-        ),
-      );
-      if (result.ok) {
-        logInfo("WhatsApp paired successfully");
-      } else {
-        logWarn("Pairing failed — you can pair later via: openclaw pairing approve whatsapp <CODE>");
-      }
-    } else {
-      logInfo("No code entered — pair later via: openclaw pairing approve whatsapp <CODE>");
-    }
+    logInfo("WhatsApp linked! To pair a contact:");
+    logInfo("  1. Have someone message your WhatsApp number");
+    logInfo("  2. They'll get a pairing code from the bot");
+    logInfo("  3. Approve via: openclaw pairing approve whatsapp <CODE>");
   }
 
   // 11d. Agent-specific pre-launch tip (e.g. channel setup ordering hint)