Users commonly place `require_mention: true` at the top level of
config.yaml alongside `group_sessions_per_user`, expecting it to gate
Telegram group messages. The key was silently ignored because the
config loader only checked `yaml_cfg["telegram"]["require_mention"]`.
When `require_mention` is found at the top level and no telegram-specific
value is set, the fix now:
- adds it to platforms_data["telegram"]["extra"] so _telegram_require_mention()
picks it up via the primary config.extra path
- sets TELEGRAM_REQUIRE_MENTION env var for the secondary fallback path
A telegram-specific value (telegram.require_mention) still takes
precedence over the top-level shorthand.
Also corrects telegram.md: bare /cmd without @botname is rejected when
require_mention is enabled; only /cmd@botname (bot-menu form) passes.
Fixes#3979
Telegram groups emit a single bot_command entity covering the whole
/cmd@botname span with no accompanying mention entity, so the existing
mention gate in _message_mentions_bot dropped slash commands sent via
the bot-menu autocomplete whenever require_mention is enabled.
Recognise bot_command entities whose @botname suffix matches the bot
username (case-insensitive) as a direct mention, and keep rejecting
commands addressed at other bots. Fixes#15415.
Current main's _message_mentions_bot() uses MessageEntity-only detection
(commit e330112a), so the test for '/status@hermes_bot' needs to include
a MENTION entity. Real Telegram always emits one for /cmd@botname — the
bot menu and CommandHandler rely on this mechanism.
When require_mention is enabled, slash commands no longer bypass
mention checks. Bare /command without @mention is filtered in groups,
while /command@botname (bot menu) and @botname /command still pass.
Commands still pass unconditionally when require_mention is disabled,
preserving backward compatibility.
Closes#6033
Adds Discord-style mention gating for Telegram groups:
- telegram.require_mention: gate group messages (default: false)
- telegram.mention_patterns: regex wake-word triggers
- telegram.free_response_chats: bypass gating for specific chats
When require_mention is enabled, group messages are accepted only for:
- slash commands
- replies to the bot
- @botusername mentions
- regex wake-word pattern matches
DMs remain unrestricted. @mention text is stripped before passing to
the agent. Invalid regex patterns are ignored with a warning.
Config bridges follow the existing Discord pattern (yaml → env vars).
Cherry-picked and adapted from PR #1977 by mcleay. Fixed ChatType
comparison to work without python-telegram-bot installed (uses string
matching instead of enum, consistent with other entity_type checks).
Co-authored-by: mcleay <mcleay@users.noreply.github.com>