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The ironclaw pairing command manages direct message (DM) pairing requests for messaging channels like Telegram and Slack. Pairing allows you to approve or deny incoming messages from unknown senders.

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Usage

ironclaw pairing <subcommand>

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Subcommands

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list

List pending pairing requests for a channel. 
ironclaw pairing list <channel> [OPTIONS]
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channel
string
required
Channel name (e.g., telegram, slack)
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--json
boolean
Output results in JSON format
Example: 
# List Telegram pairing requests
ironclaw pairing list telegram

# Output as JSON
ironclaw pairing list telegram --json
Example output: 
Pending pairing requests for telegram:

  Code: ABC12345
  From: @john_doe (User ID: 123456789)
  Received: 2025-03-04 10:30:42
  Message: "Hi, I'd like to connect with IronClaw"

  Code: XYZ67890
  From: @jane_smith (User ID: 987654321)
  Received: 2025-03-04 11:15:18
  Message: "Hello!"

Use 'ironclaw pairing approve <channel> <code>' to approve a request.

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approve

Approve a pairing request by code. 
ironclaw pairing approve <channel> <code>
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channel
string
required
Channel name (e.g., telegram, slack)
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code
string
required
Pairing code to approve (e.g., ABC12345)
Example: 
# Approve a Telegram pairing request
ironclaw pairing approve telegram ABC12345

# Approve a Slack pairing request
ironclaw pairing approve slack XYZ67890
Example output: 
✓ Approved pairing request ABC12345 for telegram
  From: @john_doe (123456789)
  
The user can now send direct messages to your IronClaw agent.

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How DM Pairing Works

IronClaw’s DM pairing system protects you from unsolicited messages while allowing approved users to communicate with your agent.
1

Pairing request initiated

When an unknown user sends a message to your IronClaw agent through a channel (Telegram, Slack, etc.), the message is queued and a pairing code is generated.
2

User receives pairing code

The sender receives a message with a unique pairing code and instructions to wait for approval:
Your message has been queued for approval.
Pairing code: ABC12345

Please wait for the agent owner to approve your request.
3

Owner lists pending requests

The IronClaw owner runs ironclaw pairing list <channel> to see pending requests with codes, user information, and original messages.
4

Owner approves or ignores

The owner can:
  • Approve: Run ironclaw pairing approve <channel> <code> to allow future messages
  • Ignore: Leave the request pending (it will expire after a configurable timeout)
5

User can now communicate

Once approved, the user can freely send messages to the IronClaw agent. The queued message is also delivered.

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Pairing Policies

Channels can be configured with different pairing policies:

Strict (default)

All unknown senders must be explicitly approved via pairing codes

Allow all

Accept messages from anyone without pairing (not recommended for privacy)

Allowlist only

Only accept messages from a pre-configured list of user IDs

Denylist

Accept all messages except from blocked user IDs
Pairing policies are configured per-channel in the onboarding wizard or via environment variables. See the channel configuration guide for details.

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Pairing Expiration

Pairing requests expire after a configurable timeout (default: 24 hours). Expired requests are automatically removed from the pending list. To adjust expiration: 
# Set expiration to 48 hours (in seconds)
export TELEGRAM_PAIRING_EXPIRATION_SECS=172800

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Examples

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Approve a Telegram DM request

# List pending requests
ironclaw pairing list telegram

# Output:
#   Code: ABC12345
#   From: @alice (123456789)
#   Message: "Hi! I need help with my code"

# Approve the request
ironclaw pairing approve telegram ABC12345

# Alice can now send messages freely

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Monitor pairing requests in JSON

# Export pending requests to JSON
ironclaw pairing list telegram --json > pending.json

# Process with jq
ironclaw pairing list telegram --json | jq '.[] | {code, user_id, message}'

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Batch approval workflow

#!/bin/bash
# List all pending Telegram requests
codes=$(ironclaw pairing list telegram --json | jq -r '.[].code')

# Review and approve each
for code in $codes; do
  echo "Approve $code? (y/n)"
  read -r response
  if [ "$response" = "y" ]; then
    ironclaw pairing approve telegram "$code"
  fi
done

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Troubleshooting

If ironclaw pairing list shows no requests:
  • Ensure the channel is running and connected
  • Verify the channel is configured with pairing enabled (not allow_all policy)
  • Check if requests have expired (default: 24 hours)
  • Ensure messages are being sent to the correct bot/channel
If approval fails with “code not found”:
  • Verify the code is correct (codes are case-sensitive)
  • The request may have expired (default: 24 hours)
  • List current requests again: ironclaw pairing list <channel>
If messages are still blocked after approval:
  1. Restart the IronClaw agent to reload pairing state
  2. Verify the channel is running: ironclaw status
  3. Check the channel policy: ironclaw config get channels.<channel>.pairing_policy
  4. Ensure no denylist is blocking the user ID
To disable pairing and accept all messages (not recommended):
# For Telegram
export TELEGRAM_PAIRING_POLICY=allow_all

# Restart IronClaw
ironclaw service restart
Or reconfigure during onboarding:
ironclaw onboard --channels-only

Telegram setup

Configure Telegram channel with pairing

Channels overview

Learn about IronClaw’s multi-channel architecture

ironclaw status

Check channel connection status

Configuration

Channel environment variables