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feat(telegram): add allow_all_users/allowed_users to [telegram] config#1297

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feat(telegram): add allow_all_users/allowed_users to [telegram] config#1297
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feat/telegram-allowed-users

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Summary

[discord]/[slack] have had allowed_users in their first-class config
sections for a while; [telegram] never did. The only way to restrict who
can message a Telegram bot today is the shared GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS/
GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS env vars — which default to deny-all (per the
identity-trust-none ADR) and aren't Telegram-specific in name or intent.

Came up directly from deploying a real bot via oabctl — the manifest
schema has no plain (non-secret) env var field, only spec.secrets, so there
was no clean way to admit a single Telegram user ID without routing it
through Secrets Manager or opening the bot to everyone.

Change

Adds allow_all_users/allowed_users to [telegram], matching the exact
resolution convention already used for every other [telegram] field and
for [discord].allowed_users:

[telegram]
bot_token = "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}"
allowed_users = ["176096071"]
  • Config value wins → falls back to TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS/
    TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS (comma-separated) env vars → auto-detects
    allow_all_users from whether the resolved list is empty (same convention
    as [discord]/[slack]: non-empty list defaults to deny-all-except-list,
    empty list defaults to allow-all).
  • Wired into main.rs's PlatformTrustConfigs registry as a
    Telegram-specific override, right after the existing Discord override —
    same pattern, same place.
Before:
  Telegram L3 identity ── only via shared GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS /
                           GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS (deny-all by default,
                           not Telegram-specific)

After:
  [telegram].allowed_users (or TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS env)
          │
          ▼
  TelegramConfig::resolve() → ResolvedTelegram.allowed_users/allow_all_users
          │
          ▼
  main.rs: reg.insert("telegram", TrustConfig::new(..., resolved values))
          │
          ▼
  overrides the shared GATEWAY_* L3 default for the "telegram" platform only

Testing done

cargo build --features unified      # clean
cargo clippy --features unified -- -D warnings   # clean
cargo test --features unified       # openab-core: 48 passed; openab: 15 passed

5 new scenarios added to telegram_resolve_all_scenarios (the existing
consolidated env-var test, kept serialized to avoid std::env race
conditions under parallel test execution — matches the existing test's own
convention): config list wins over env, empty-list auto-detect → allow-all,
non-empty-list auto-detect → deny-all-except-list, TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS
env fallback (comma-separated + trimmed), explicit allow_all_users = false
override.

Also fixed one now-incomplete TelegramConfig struct literal in an existing
test (missing the two new fields, caught immediately by the compiler).

Verified on macmini per the project's build-offloading convention, not run
locally.

Discord and Slack have had allowed_users in their first-class config
sections for a while, but [telegram] never did - the only way to
restrict who can message a Telegram bot was the shared GATEWAY_*
env vars (GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS/GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS), which
default to deny-all (per the identity-trust-none ADR) and aren't
Telegram-specific.

Add allow_all_users/allowed_users to TelegramConfig, matching the same
resolution convention already used for every other [telegram] field
and for Discord's allowed_users: config value wins, falls back to a
TELEGRAM_* env var (TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS / TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS,
comma-separated), then auto-detects allow_all_users from whether the
resolved list is empty (same convention as [discord]/[slack]).

Wire the resolved values into main.rs's PlatformTrustConfigs registry
as a Telegram-specific override, mirroring exactly how Discord's own
block already overrides the shared GATEWAY_* L3 defaults - added
right after the existing Discord override.

Now a bot operator can write:

  [telegram]
  bot_token = "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}"
  allowed_users = ["176096071"]

instead of routing a plain user ID through spec.secrets/Secrets
Manager (oabctl's manifest has no plain env var field) or opening the
bot to allow_all_users=true just to admit one person.

Testing: cargo build/clippy -D warnings/test clean on macmini for the
whole workspace (openab-core: 48 tests incl. 5 new allowed_users
scenarios in telegram_resolve_all_scenarios; openab binary: 15 tests).
No regressions. Fixed one now-incomplete TelegramConfig struct literal
in an existing test (missing the two new fields).
@chaodu-agent chaodu-agent requested a review from thepagent as a code owner July 5, 2026 11:07
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Add the new [telegram] user access control fields to:
- Unified mode env vars table
- Full example config block
- Field precedence table
- Gateway Environment Variables table
- New 'User Access Control' section with auto-detect logic explanation
@chaodu-agent chaodu-agent force-pushed the feat/telegram-allowed-users branch from 7c45cce to e6dc557 Compare July 5, 2026 11:29
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Align [telegram] user gating with the identity-trust-none ADR:
- Empty allowed_users + no explicit flag → deny all (was: allow all)
- Users must now explicitly set allow_all_users = true or list
  specific IDs in allowed_users to admit senders
- Matches the shared GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS default (false)

This is not a breaking change for existing deployments because:
- [telegram] config section is brand new (introduced in this PR)
- Existing env-only deployments use GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS which
  already defaults to deny-all

Added Scenario 12 test: explicit allow_all_users = true opt-in.
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…verride

- F1: Resolve Telegram trust override even when [telegram] section is
  absent but TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS / TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS env vars
  are set. Previously, env-only deployments (no config.toml section)
  silently ignored these env vars and fell back to GATEWAY_* defaults.

- F2: Change TelegramConfig.allowed_users from Vec<String> (with
  #[serde(default)]) to Option<Vec<String>>. This lets serde distinguish
  omitted (None → fall back to env) from explicitly empty (Some([]) →
  deny all, config-authoritative). Fixes the case where allowed_users=[]
  in config.toml could not override a non-empty TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS
  env var.

- Add Scenario 13 test: explicit empty list overrides env var.

Addresses review findings from 法師團隊 on PR #1297.
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CHANGES REQUESTED ⚠️ — Solid feature with correct security posture, but one regression scenario and docs inconsistencies need attention before merge.

What This PR Does

Adds allow_all_users/allowed_users to [telegram] config, enabling per-platform user restriction without relying on the shared GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS/GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS env vars — solving the oabctl manifest gap where no plain env var field exists.

How It Works

  • TelegramConfig gains two new fields; resolve() applies config → env (TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS/TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS) → default (deny-all).
  • main.rs registers a Telegram-specific TrustConfig override in PlatformTrustConfigs (same pattern as Discord's existing override).
  • Pure-env deployments (no [telegram] section) handled via fallback to TelegramConfig::default().resolve() when env vars are present.

Review Panel Verdict

Reviewer Angle Verdict
Reviewer A Architecture (API contract, decision boundary, regression) LGTM ✅
Reviewer B General (correctness, architecture, security, docs, performance) LGTM ✅
Coordinator Full review (all aspects) CHANGES REQUESTED ⚠️

Consensus: 2/3 LGTM, 1 CHANGES REQUESTED on regression risk + docs.

Findings

# Severity Finding Location
1 🟡 Regression: [telegram] section present (just bot_token) + GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=true → silently overridden to deny-all src/main.rs:331-351
2 🟡 PR description claims "empty list defaults to allow-all" but implementation correctly defaults to deny-all PR body
3 🟡 Cross-platform inconsistency: Discord empty list = allow-all; Telegram empty list = deny-all — not documented docs/telegram.md
4 🟡 Deny-all default has no UX guidance (silent rejection, no log/error message documented) docs/telegram.md
5 🟡 Missing integration test for GATEWAY_* → telegram-specific override path src/main.rs:287-355
6 🟢 Identity-trust-none ADR compliant — deny-all default is correct config.rs:680
7 🟢 Config-authoritative: Some([]) explicitly denies all even when env var is set config.rs:639-647
8 🟢 Env-only deployment path handles pure-env setups gracefully main.rs:332-341
9 🟢 7 new test scenarios cover resolution matrix thoroughly config.rs:1640-1708
10 🟢 Comprehensive docs with env table, config examples, resolution order docs/telegram.md
Finding Details

🟡 F1: Regression — shared GATEWAY_* silently overridden

Problem: When config.toml has a [telegram] section (e.g. just bot_token = "...") but the operator relies on GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=true to allow all Telegram users, this PR silently switches Telegram to deny-all. cfg.telegram.is_some() triggers the first branch, which always inserts a Telegram-specific TrustConfig with allow_all_users defaulting to false.

Impact: Fail-closed regression (bot unexpectedly rejects users). Severity is 🟡 not 🔴 because security posture becomes more restrictive, not less.

Suggested fix: Only insert the override when Telegram-specific trust is actually configured:

let has_telegram_trust_config = cfg.telegram.as_ref()
    .map_or(false, |t| t.allow_all_users.is_some() || t.allowed_users.is_some())
    || std::env::var("TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS").is_ok()
    || std::env::var("TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS").is_ok();

if has_telegram_trust_config {
    let r = cfg.telegram.as_ref()
        .map(|t| t.resolve())
        .unwrap_or_else(|| config::TelegramConfig::default().resolve());
    reg.insert("telegram", TrustConfig::new(
        Some(allow_all_channels),
        allowed_channels.clone(),
        None,
        Some(r.allow_all_users),
        r.allowed_users,
    ));
}

🟡 F2: PR description / implementation mismatch

PR body states "empty list defaults to allow-all (same convention as [discord]/[slack])" but implementation correctly defaults to deny-all. Code is correct per identity-trust-none ADR; PR description should be updated.

🟡 F3: Cross-platform semantics divergence

Discord uses resolve_allow_all(flag, list) which defaults to allow-all when list is empty. Telegram defaults to deny-all. This is arguably better security, but the difference should be called out in docs for users configuring both platforms.

🟡 F4: Silent deny-all UX

A fresh deployment with default config gets deny-all — bot silently ignores all messages. Docs should mention what the user experience looks like when denied and where to look for logs.

🟡 F5: Missing integration test

The main.rs GATEWAY_* → telegram override path has no test. If the conditional override block is removed or reordered, behavior silently regresses.

Baseline Check
  • PR opened: 2026-07-05
  • Main already has: GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS/GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS env vars (shared, deny-all default); Discord-specific override via [discord].allowed_users + resolve_allow_all; Slack-specific override
  • Net-new value: Telegram-specific [telegram].allowed_users / allow_all_users config fields + TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS / TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS env fallbacks + platform override wiring + docs
What's Good (🟢)
  • Deny-all default matches identity-trust-none ADR — correct security posture
  • Config-authoritative semantics preserved: Some([]) explicitly denies all even when env var is set
  • Env var fallback with proper comma-split + trim for container deployments
  • Tests serialized to avoid std::env race conditions, matching existing convention
  • Docs comprehensive — env table, config example, resolution order, practical user-facing tips
  • Minimal diff — only touches what's necessary
  • Central trust registry approach preserves single gateway ingress choke point

- TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS="" now resolves to false (deny-all) instead
  of true. Adds .filter(|v| !v.is_empty()) before parsing to prevent
  accidental fail-open from empty env var.
- Added doc comment clarifying that allow_all_users=true bypasses the
  allowed_users list entirely.
- Marked TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS/TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS as "Unified
  binary only" in the Gateway env vars table — standalone gateway uses
  [gateway].allowed_users instead.
- Added Scenario 14 test: empty-string env var must resolve to false.
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LGTM ✅ — Clean, well-tested addition of per-platform allowed_users/allow_all_users to [telegram] config, matching the existing Discord pattern and correctly defaulting to deny-all per the identity-trust-none ADR.

What This PR Does

Adds first-class allow_all_users and allowed_users fields to the [telegram] config section, giving Telegram bots the same per-platform user access control that [discord] and [slack] already have — without requiring the shared GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS/GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS env vars.

How It Works

  1. TelegramConfig gains two new optional fields (allow_all_users: Option<bool>, allowed_users: Option<Vec<String>>)
  2. resolve() applies the standard config → env → default precedence (matching every other Telegram field)
  3. main.rs inserts a Telegram-specific TrustConfig override into the PlatformTrustConfigs registry — same slot pattern as the existing Discord override
  4. Pure-env deployments are handled: if TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS or TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS is set (even without a [telegram] section), the override activates

Findings

# Severity Finding Location
1 🟢 Correct deny-all default — unlike Discord's resolve_allow_all (which auto-detects allow-all when list is empty), this implementation defaults to false (deny-all) when neither config nor env is set. This is the correct security posture for a new feature under the identity-trust-none ADR. config.rs:685
2 🟢 Thorough test coverage — 8 new scenarios (7–14) covering config-wins-over-env, empty-string edge case, explicit empty list, comma-separated trimming, and both directions of the allow_all_users flag. The empty-string-as-unset test (Scenario 14) is particularly good for preventing accidental fail-open. config.rs:1644-1720
3 🟢 Good env-only activation — the fallback TelegramConfig::default().resolve() path in main.rs ensures pure-env deployments (no [telegram] section) still honor TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS/TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS without requiring users to add a config section. main.rs:334-342
4 🟢 Documentation is comprehensive — env var table, config example, precedence table, and a dedicated "User Access Control" section with practical guidance (including how to find your Telegram user ID). docs/telegram.md
5 🟢 Explicit empty list semantics (Some([]) overrides env) — well-documented in the struct comment and tested in Scenario 13. This prevents surprising behavior where an explicitly-empty config list would fall through to a populated env var. config.rs:1691-1700
Baseline Check
  • PR opened: 2026-07-06
  • Main already has: GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS/GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS shared env vars (deny-all default); Discord-specific allowed_users config override in main.rs
  • Net-new value: Telegram-specific allowed_users/allow_all_users fields in [telegram] config with full env fallback, resolving the oabctl deployment gap (no plain env var field in manifest schema)
What's Good (🟢)
  • Security-correct default (deny-all) without requiring explicit opt-in
  • Config-authoritative design (config value always wins over env)
  • Empty-string-as-unset convention prevents accidental fail-open from TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=""
  • Tests are serialized (no env var races) matching existing test convention
  • Code structure exactly mirrors the Discord override pattern — minimal cognitive overhead for maintainers
  • Documentation covers both config-only and env-only deployment modes

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LGTM ✅ — All review findings addressed in a19ef18.

What This PR Does

Adds allow_all_users/allowed_users to the [telegram] config section, matching the existing pattern used by [discord] and [slack]. Previously, the only way to control Telegram user access was the shared GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS/GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS env vars, which are not Telegram-specific and cannot be cleanly expressed in oabctl manifests.

How It Works

  • TelegramConfig::resolve() resolves allowed_users and allow_all_users following the standard precedence: config value → TELEGRAM_* env var → built-in default (deny-all).
  • Option<Vec<String>> distinguishes None (fall back to env) from Some([]) (config-authoritative deny-all).
  • main.rs wires the resolved values into PlatformTrustConfigs as a Telegram-specific L3 override, right after the existing Discord override.
  • Env-only deployments (no [telegram] section) also work: if TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS or TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS env vars are set, they are honored.

Findings

# Severity Finding Location Status
1 🟡 TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS="" resolved to true (fail-open) — empty string must be treated as unset config.rs:685 ✅ Fixed in a19ef18
2 🟡 allow_all_users=true supersedes allowed_users but lacked doc clarification config.rs:608 ✅ Fixed in a19ef18
3 🟡 TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS/TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS listed in Gateway env vars table but standalone gateway does not consume them docs/telegram.md:375 ✅ Fixed in a19ef18 — marked "Unified binary only"
4 🟢 Option<Vec<String>> design correctly distinguishes None vs Some([]) with full backward-compatibility config.rs:643-651
5 🟢 Registry insertion point is clean; L2 channels inherit global GATEWAY_*, L3 identity gets Telegram-specific override main.rs:316-348
6 🟢 Comprehensive test coverage: 8 new scenarios, serialized for env safety config.rs:1640-1720
7 🟢 Docs thorough and consistent — precedence rules, resolution table, user access control section all present docs/telegram.md
Finding Details

🟡 F1: Empty-string env var fail-open (FIXED)

TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS="" was parsed as true because "" != "0" and !"".eq_ignore_ascii_case("false") are both true. This violates the identity-trust-none ADR — an empty env var should not opt into allow-all.

Fix: Added .filter(|v| !v.is_empty()) before parsing, so empty string falls through to unwrap_or(false) (deny-all). New Scenario 14 test validates this.

🟡 F2: Supersede behavior undocumented (FIXED)

When allow_all_users resolves to true, the allowed_users list is bypassed entirely by the TrustConfig enforcement layer, but this was not mentioned in the config-level documentation.

Fix: Added doc comment: "When this resolves to true, the allowed_users list is bypassed entirely — all users are permitted regardless of list contents."

🟡 F3: Gateway docs scope confusion (FIXED)

The "Environment Variables (Gateway)" table included TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS and TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS, but standalone openab-gateway does not parse these vars — it uses [gateway].allowed_users. Users might deploy the gateway with these vars and believe access control is enforced when it is not.

Fix: Added "Unified binary only — standalone gateway uses [gateway].allowed_users instead" to both entries.

Baseline Check
  • PR opened: 2026-07-06
  • Main already has: allowed_users for [discord] and [slack]; shared GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS/GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS env vars
  • Net-new value: Telegram-specific allow_all_users/allowed_users in [telegram] config + TELEGRAM_* env var fallbacks, wired into PlatformTrustConfigs registry
Architecture Note: Platform Gating Boundary

Once a [telegram] section exists in config.toml (even if it only sets bot_token), it assumes full authority over Telegram L3 (identity) gating — the global GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS is overridden. This is consistent with how [discord] and [slack] already behave (authoritative platform gating boundary) and is documented in the precedence rules. Users upgrading with an existing [telegram] block who relied on GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=true must add allow_all_users = true to their [telegram] section or set TELEGRAM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=true.

What's Good (🟢)
  • Clean Option<Vec<String>> semantics with proper None vs Some([]) distinction
  • Env-only deployment path correctly handled in main.rs
  • Serialized tests avoid std::env race conditions
  • Follows established patterns from [discord]/[slack] — no new abstractions needed
  • Security-first default: deny-all unless explicitly opted in

thepagent pushed a commit that referenced this pull request Jul 6, 2026
Found while testing PR #1297 (telegram allowed_users): triggering PR
Preview Build with variant=default builds openab with its default
Cargo features (discord/slack/secrets-aws/agentcore/config-s3/
pre-seed) - telegram/line/feishu/wecom/googlechat/teams are NOT in
that list, they only compile in via the 'unified' feature. The
resulting preview image ran fine but had no webhook server at all for
any of those platforms - every request returned 503 with no logs,
since the whole #[cfg(feature = "telegram")]-gated code path was
absent from the binary. Wasted a full deploy+test cycle before
tracing it back to the Dockerfile's BUILD_MODE default.

Add 'unified' as a variant choice, resolved to the same base
Dockerfile as 'default' but with BUILD_MODE=unified passed as a
docker build-arg, matching what the real release pipeline
(build-operator.yml) uses via a different (Dockerfile.unified)
mechanism for the multi-agent-variant builds - this workflow only
supports the legacy single Dockerfile, so BUILD_MODE=unified is the
correct way to get the same Cargo-feature set here.

Produces the same ghcr.io/openabdev/openab:pr<N> tag as 'default'
(same image name/suffix, different feature set baked in) - no new
tag pattern introduced.

Not run through CI (workflow_dispatch-only, can't be exercised by
'changes'/'check' path-filter jobs) - verified by re-triggering it for
PR #1297 with variant=unified immediately after this commit and
confirming the resulting image actually starts the telegram webhook
server (see PR #1297 conversation for the live verification).

Co-authored-by: chaodu-agent <chaodu-agent@users.noreply.github.com>
@thepagent thepagent enabled auto-merge (squash) July 6, 2026 11:53
thepagent pushed a commit that referenced this pull request Jul 11, 2026
Add a [line] config section for L3 identity trust, replacing the
uniform GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS/GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS env vars for
LINE. First slice of #1355, mirroring the [telegram] pattern (#1297).

- config.rs: LineConfig { allow_all_users, allowed_users } with
  LINE_ALLOW_ALL_USERS / LINE_ALLOWED_USERS env fallbacks and deny-all
  default (identity-trust-none ADR). Trust-only by design — channel
  credentials stay on LINE_CHANNEL_SECRET / LINE_CHANNEL_ACCESS_TOKEN.
- main.rs: [line] (or LINE_* env) overrides the uniform GATEWAY_* seed
  in the trust registry, exactly like the telegram override. When LINE
  is active and still driven by the legacy GATEWAY_* env, log a Phase 1
  deprecation warning (becomes an error in Phase 2, #1356).
- docs: config.toml.example, config-reference.md ([line] section),
  line.md (User Trust section + env table).
- tests: TOML parse + all env resolution scenarios in one test fn
  (env-race safety, same pattern as telegram_resolve_all_scenarios).

Group policy (open/members) and Reply-API deny-echo are follow-ups on
the issue.

Refs #1355, umbrella #1356, ADR #1291.

Co-authored-by: chaodu-agent <chaodu-agent@users.noreply.github.com>
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