Ack reactions: add per-channel config overrides

Different messaging platforms expect different emoji formats for reactions:
- Slack: shortcodes (e.g., "eyes")
- Telegram: unicode emoji (e.g., "👀")
- Discord: unicode or custom emoji names

This change adds channel-level ackReaction overrides, following the same
pattern as responsePrefix. Resolution order:
1. Channel account level (channels.{channel}.accounts.{id}.ackReaction)
2. Channel level (channels.{channel}.ackReaction)
3. Global messages level (messages.ackReaction)
4. Agent identity emoji fallback

Changes:
- Add ackReaction to SlackAccountConfig, TelegramAccountConfig, DiscordAccountConfig
- Update resolveAckReaction() to accept channel/accountId options
- Update callers in Telegram, Slack, Discord message handlers

Example config:
```json5
{
  messages: { ackReaction: "👀" },  // global fallback
  channels: {
    slack: { ackReaction: "eyes" },  // Slack-specific
    telegram: { ackReaction: "👀" }  // Telegram-specific
  }
}
```

Fixes #14325

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 ### Changes
 
 - Subagents: nested sub-agents (sub-sub-agents) with configurable depth. Set `agents.defaults.subagents.maxSpawnDepth: 2` to allow sub-agents to spawn their own children. Includes `maxChildrenPerAgent` limit (default 5), depth-aware tool policy, and proper announce chain routing. (#14447) Thanks @tyler6204.
+- Slack/Discord/Telegram: add per-channel ack reaction overrides (account/channel-level) to support platform-specific emoji formats. Thanks @zerone0x and @thewilloftheshadow.
 
 ### Fixes
 

docs/channels/discord.md

@@ -313,6 +313,23 @@ See [Slash commands](/tools/slash-commands) for command catalog and behavior.
 
   </Accordion>
 
+  <Accordion title="Ack reactions">
+    `ackReaction` sends an acknowledgement emoji while OpenClaw is processing an inbound message.
+
+    Resolution order:
+
+    - `channels.discord.accounts.<accountId>.ackReaction`
+    - `channels.discord.ackReaction`
+    - `messages.ackReaction`
+    - agent identity emoji fallback (`agents.list[].identity.emoji`, else "👀")
+
+    Notes:
+
+    - Discord accepts unicode emoji or custom emoji names.
+    - Use `""` to disable the reaction for a channel or account.
+
+  </Accordion>
+
   <Accordion title="Config writes">
     Channel-initiated config writes are enabled by default.
 

docs/channels/slack.md

@@ -287,6 +287,22 @@ Available action groups in current Slack tooling:
 - `channel_id_changed` can migrate channel config keys when `configWrites` is enabled.
 - Channel topic/purpose metadata is treated as untrusted context and can be injected into routing context.
 
+## Ack reactions
+
+`ackReaction` sends an acknowledgement emoji while OpenClaw is processing an inbound message.
+
+Resolution order:
+
+- `channels.slack.accounts.<accountId>.ackReaction`
+- `channels.slack.ackReaction`
+- `messages.ackReaction`
+- agent identity emoji fallback (`agents.list[].identity.emoji`, else "👀")
+
+Notes:
+
+- Slack expects shortcodes (for example `"eyes"`).
+- Use `""` to disable the reaction for a channel or account.
+
 ## Manifest and scope checklist
 
 <AccordionGroup>

docs/channels/telegram.md

@@ -570,6 +570,23 @@ curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot<bot_token>/getUpdates"
 
   </Accordion>
 
+  <Accordion title="Ack reactions">
+    `ackReaction` sends an acknowledgement emoji while OpenClaw is processing an inbound message.
+
+    Resolution order:
+
+    - `channels.telegram.accounts.<accountId>.ackReaction`
+    - `channels.telegram.ackReaction`
+    - `messages.ackReaction`
+    - agent identity emoji fallback (`agents.list[].identity.emoji`, else "👀")
+
+    Notes:
+
+    - Telegram expects unicode emoji (for example "👀").
+    - Use `""` to disable the reaction for a channel or account.
+
+  </Accordion>
+
   <Accordion title="Config writes from Telegram events and commands">
     Channel config writes are enabled by default (`configWrites !== false`).
 

docs/gateway/configuration-reference.md

@@ -1232,6 +1232,8 @@ Variables are case-insensitive. `{think}` is an alias for `{thinkingLevel}`.
 ### Ack reaction
 
 - Defaults to active agent's `identity.emoji`, otherwise `"👀"`. Set `""` to disable.
+- Per-channel overrides: `channels.<channel>.ackReaction`, `channels.<channel>.accounts.<id>.ackReaction`.
+- Resolution order: account → channel → `messages.ackReaction` → identity fallback.
 - Scope: `group-mentions` (default), `group-all`, `direct`, `all`.
 - `removeAckAfterReply`: removes ack after reply (Slack/Discord/Telegram/Google Chat only).
 

src/agents/identity.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import { resolveAckReaction } from "./identity.js";
+
+describe("resolveAckReaction", () => {
+  it("prefers account-level overrides", () => {
+    const cfg: OpenClawConfig = {
+      messages: { ackReaction: "👀" },
+      agents: { list: [{ id: "main", identity: { emoji: "✅" } }] },
+      channels: {
+        slack: {
+          ackReaction: "eyes",
+          accounts: {
+            acct1: { ackReaction: " party_parrot " },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    expect(resolveAckReaction(cfg, "main", { channel: "slack", accountId: "acct1" })).toBe(
+      "party_parrot",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to channel-level overrides", () => {
+    const cfg: OpenClawConfig = {
+      messages: { ackReaction: "👀" },
+      agents: { list: [{ id: "main", identity: { emoji: "✅" } }] },
+      channels: {
+        slack: {
+          ackReaction: "eyes",
+          accounts: {
+            acct1: { ackReaction: "party_parrot" },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    expect(resolveAckReaction(cfg, "main", { channel: "slack", accountId: "missing" })).toBe(
+      "eyes",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("uses the global ackReaction when channel overrides are missing", () => {
+    const cfg: OpenClawConfig = {
+      messages: { ackReaction: "✅" },
+      agents: { list: [{ id: "main", identity: { emoji: "😺" } }] },
+    };
+
+    expect(resolveAckReaction(cfg, "main", { channel: "discord" })).toBe("✅");
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to the agent identity emoji when global config is unset", () => {
+    const cfg: OpenClawConfig = {
+      agents: { list: [{ id: "main", identity: { emoji: "🔥" } }] },
+    };
+
+    expect(resolveAckReaction(cfg, "main", { channel: "discord" })).toBe("🔥");
+  });
+
+  it("returns the default emoji when no config is present", () => {
+    const cfg: OpenClawConfig = {};
+
+    expect(resolveAckReaction(cfg, "main")).toBe("👀");
+  });
+
+  it("allows empty strings to disable reactions", () => {
+    const cfg: OpenClawConfig = {
+      messages: { ackReaction: "👀" },
+      channels: {
+        telegram: {
+          ackReaction: "",
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    expect(resolveAckReaction(cfg, "main", { channel: "telegram" })).toBe("");
+  });
+});

src/agents/identity.ts

@@ -10,11 +10,37 @@ export function resolveAgentIdentity(
   return resolveAgentConfig(cfg, agentId)?.identity;
 }
 
-export function resolveAckReaction(cfg: OpenClawConfig, agentId: string): string {
+export function resolveAckReaction(
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig,
+  agentId: string,
+  opts?: { channel?: string; accountId?: string },
+): string {
+  // L1: Channel account level
+  if (opts?.channel && opts?.accountId) {
+    const channelCfg = getChannelConfig(cfg, opts.channel);
+    const accounts = channelCfg?.accounts as Record<string, Record<string, unknown>> | undefined;
+    const accountReaction = accounts?.[opts.accountId]?.ackReaction as string | undefined;
+    if (accountReaction !== undefined) {
+      return accountReaction.trim();
+    }
+  }
+
+  // L2: Channel level
+  if (opts?.channel) {
+    const channelCfg = getChannelConfig(cfg, opts.channel);
+    const channelReaction = channelCfg?.ackReaction as string | undefined;
+    if (channelReaction !== undefined) {
+      return channelReaction.trim();
+    }
+  }
+
+  // L3: Global messages level
   const configured = cfg.messages?.ackReaction;
   if (configured !== undefined) {
     return configured.trim();
   }
+
+  // L4: Agent identity emoji fallback
   const emoji = resolveAgentIdentity(cfg, agentId)?.emoji?.trim();
   return emoji || DEFAULT_ACK_REACTION;
 }

src/config/types.discord.ts

@@ -189,6 +189,11 @@ export type DiscordAccountConfig = {
   pluralkit?: DiscordPluralKitConfig;
   /** Outbound response prefix override for this channel/account. */
   responsePrefix?: string;
+  /**
+   * Per-channel ack reaction override.
+   * Discord supports both unicode emoji and custom emoji names.
+   */
+  ackReaction?: string;
   /** Bot activity status text (e.g. "Watching X"). */
   activity?: string;
   /** Bot status (online|dnd|idle|invisible). Defaults to online when presence is configured. */

src/config/types.slack.ts

@@ -156,6 +156,11 @@ export type SlackAccountConfig = {
   heartbeat?: ChannelHeartbeatVisibilityConfig;
   /** Outbound response prefix override for this channel/account. */
   responsePrefix?: string;
+  /**
+   * Per-channel ack reaction override.
+   * Slack uses shortcodes (e.g., "eyes") rather than unicode emoji.
+   */
+  ackReaction?: string;
 };
 
 export type SlackConfig = {

src/config/types.telegram.ts

@@ -141,6 +141,11 @@ export type TelegramAccountConfig = {
    * Use `"auto"` to derive `[{identity.name}]` from the routed agent.
    */
   responsePrefix?: string;
+  /**
+   * Per-channel ack reaction override.
+   * Telegram expects unicode emoji (e.g., "👀") rather than shortcodes.
+   */
+  ackReaction?: string;
 };
 
 export type TelegramTopicConfig = {

src/config/zod-schema.providers-core.ts

@@ -142,6 +142,7 @@ export const TelegramAccountSchemaBase = z
     heartbeat: ChannelHeartbeatVisibilitySchema,
     linkPreview: z.boolean().optional(),
     responsePrefix: z.string().optional(),
+    ackReaction: z.string().optional(),
   })
   .strict();
 
@@ -327,6 +328,7 @@ export const DiscordAccountSchema = z
       .strict()
       .optional(),
     responsePrefix: z.string().optional(),
+    ackReaction: z.string().optional(),
     activity: z.string().optional(),
     status: z.enum(["online", "dnd", "idle", "invisible"]).optional(),
     activityType: z
@@ -558,6 +560,7 @@ export const SlackAccountSchema = z
     channels: z.record(z.string(), SlackChannelSchema.optional()).optional(),
     heartbeat: ChannelHeartbeatVisibilitySchema,
     responsePrefix: z.string().optional(),
+    ackReaction: z.string().optional(),
   })
   .strict()
   .superRefine((value, ctx) => {

src/discord/monitor/message-handler.process.ts

@@ -88,7 +88,10 @@ export async function processDiscordMessage(ctx: DiscordMessagePreflightContext)
     logVerbose(`discord: drop message ${message.id} (empty content)`);
     return;
   }
-  const ackReaction = resolveAckReaction(cfg, route.agentId);
+  const ackReaction = resolveAckReaction(cfg, route.agentId, {
+    channel: "discord",
+    accountId,
+  });
   const removeAckAfterReply = cfg.messages?.removeAckAfterReply ?? false;
   const shouldAckReaction = () =>
     Boolean(

src/slack/monitor/message-handler/prepare.ts

@@ -348,7 +348,10 @@ export async function prepareSlackMessage(params: {
     return null;
   }
 
-  const ackReaction = resolveAckReaction(cfg, route.agentId);
+  const ackReaction = resolveAckReaction(cfg, route.agentId, {
+    channel: "slack",
+    accountId: account.accountId,
+  });
   const ackReactionValue = ackReaction ?? "";
 
   const shouldAckReaction = () =>

src/telegram/bot-message-context.ts

@@ -502,7 +502,10 @@ export const buildTelegramMessageContext = async ({
   }
 
   // ACK reactions
-  const ackReaction = resolveAckReaction(cfg, route.agentId);
+  const ackReaction = resolveAckReaction(cfg, route.agentId, {
+    channel: "telegram",
+    accountId: account.accountId,
+  });
   const removeAckAfterReply = cfg.messages?.removeAckAfterReply ?? false;
   const shouldAckReaction = () =>
     Boolean(