diff --git a/backend/apps/telegram_bot/__init__.py b/backend/apps/telegram_bot/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/backend/apps/telegram_bot/listener.py b/backend/apps/telegram_bot/listener.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..45e3f7d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/apps/telegram_bot/listener.py
@@ -0,0 +1,314 @@
+"""Telegram-as-control-plane listener.
+
+Sister of backend.apps.telegram_mcp. Where the MCP server is the
+agent's *outbound* channel to Telegram, this listener is the
+*inbound* channel: you DM yourself in Saved Messages with a command
+prefix (/task ...), the backend dispatches it to an agent, and the
+final response comes back to the same chat.
+
+Design tenets:
+  - Only `from_users='me'` in Saved Messages is honored. Nobody else
+    can drive your agent, not even someone with your phone in their
+    contacts.
+  - The listener uses a *copy* of the Telethon session
+    (<phone>.listener.session) so it can stay connected without
+    fighting the MCP server's SQLite lock when the agent calls a
+    Telegram tool mid-task.
+  - Lifespan is a SubApp so the listener starts with the backend and
+    shuts down cleanly on Ctrl+C. If Telegram isn't connected, the
+    listener idles instead of erroring.
+  - Long-lived dispatch is poll-based (no WS subscription yet); we
+    just check session.status every 2s up to a 30-minute cap. Good
+    enough for the MVP.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+import logging
+import os
+import re
+import shutil
+from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Optional
+
+from telethon import TelegramClient, events
+
+from backend.config.Apps import SubApp
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+_SESSION_DIR = Path.home() / ".telegram_mcp" / "sessions"
+_MAX_REPLY_CHARS = 3500
+_POLL_INTERVAL_S = 2.0
+_TASK_TIMEOUT_S = 30 * 60
+
+_listener_task: Optional[asyncio.Task] = None
+_client: Optional[TelegramClient] = None
+
+
+def _connected_phone() -> Optional[str]:
+    """Read which Telegram is currently connected, from the tool config."""
+    try:
+        from backend.apps.tools_lib.tools_lib import _load_all
+        for tool in _load_all():
+            if (tool.name or "").lower() == "telegram" and tool.auth_status == "connected":
+                phone = (tool.credentials or {}).get("TELEGRAM_PHONE", "").strip()
+                if phone:
+                    return phone
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        logger.warning(f"telegram-bot: could not read tool config: {exc}")
+    return None
+
+
+def _api_creds() -> tuple[Optional[int], Optional[str]]:
+    api_id_raw = os.environ.get("OPENSWARM_TELEGRAM_API_ID", "").strip()
+    api_hash = os.environ.get("OPENSWARM_TELEGRAM_API_HASH", "").strip()
+    if not api_id_raw or not api_hash:
+        return (None, None)
+    try:
+        return (int(api_id_raw), api_hash)
+    except ValueError:
+        return (None, None)
+
+
+def _digits(phone: str) -> str:
+    return re.sub(r"\D", "", phone or "")
+
+
+def _ensure_listener_session(phone: str) -> Path:
+    """Copy the main MCP session file to a side .listener.session path so the
+    two processes don't fight over the SQLite lock. Re-copy if main is newer."""
+    _SESSION_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    main = _SESSION_DIR / f"{_digits(phone)}.session"
+    side = _SESSION_DIR / f"{_digits(phone)}.listener.session"
+    if main.exists() and (not side.exists() or main.stat().st_mtime > side.stat().st_mtime + 1):
+        try:
+            shutil.copy2(main, side)
+            logger.info(f"telegram-bot: copied main session to {side.name}")
+        except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+            logger.warning(f"telegram-bot: session copy failed: {exc}")
+    # Telethon takes the path without .session suffix.
+    return side.with_suffix("")
+
+
+HELP_TEXT = (
+    "*OpenSwarm Telegram bot*\n\n"
+    "Commands:\n"
+    "  `/task <prompt>` — run an agent task\n"
+    "  `/status` — list running sessions\n"
+    "  `/help` — this message\n\n"
+    "Messages without a `/` prefix are ignored, so you can keep using "
+    "Saved Messages normally."
+)
+
+
+async def _route(event, text: str) -> None:
+    """Dispatch a recognized command."""
+    if text.startswith("/help"):
+        await event.respond(HELP_TEXT)
+        return
+    if text.startswith("/status"):
+        await _handle_status(event)
+        return
+    if text.startswith("/task "):
+        prompt = text[len("/task "):].strip()
+        if not prompt:
+            await event.respond("Usage: `/task <prompt>`")
+            return
+        await _handle_task(event, prompt)
+        return
+    if text.startswith("/"):
+        await event.respond(f"Unknown command. /help for the list.")
+
+
+async def _handle_status(event) -> None:
+    try:
+        from backend.apps.agents.agent_manager import agent_manager
+        sessions = [s for s in agent_manager.get_all_sessions() if s.status == "running"]
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        await event.respond(f"Could not read sessions: {exc}")
+        return
+    if not sessions:
+        await event.respond("No running sessions.")
+        return
+    lines = [f"• `{s.id[:8]}` — {s.name or '(no name)'}" for s in sessions[:10]]
+    await event.respond("Running:\n" + "\n".join(lines))
+
+
+async def _handle_task(event, prompt: str) -> None:
+    """Spawn an agent, poll until it stops, send the final assistant reply."""
+    from backend.apps.agents.agent_manager import agent_manager
+    from backend.apps.agents.models import AgentConfig
+
+    config = AgentConfig(
+        name=f"telegram: {prompt[:48]}",
+        mode="agent",
+        # Default allowed_tools (Read/Edit/Write/Bash/Glob/Grep/AskUserQuestion)
+        # plus the connected MCPs so the agent can use Telegram, Instagram,
+        # LinkedIn, GitHub as needed when invoked from this entry point.
+        allowed_tools=[
+            "Read", "Edit", "Write", "Bash", "Glob", "Grep", "AskUserQuestion",
+            "mcp:Telegram", "mcp:Instagram", "mcp:LinkedIn", "mcp:GitHub",
+        ],
+    )
+    try:
+        session = await agent_manager.launch_agent(config)
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        await event.respond(f"Could not launch agent: {exc}")
+        return
+
+    await event.respond(f"⏳ Starting task — session `{session.id[:8]}`")
+
+    try:
+        await agent_manager.send_message(session.id, prompt)
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        await event.respond(f"Send failed: {exc}")
+        return
+
+    # Poll until the session reports a terminal status, with a hard cap.
+    deadline = asyncio.get_event_loop().time() + _TASK_TIMEOUT_S
+    final = None
+    while asyncio.get_event_loop().time() < deadline:
+        await asyncio.sleep(_POLL_INTERVAL_S)
+        s = agent_manager.get_session(session.id)
+        if s is None:
+            break
+        if s.status in ("completed", "stopped", "error"):
+            final = s
+            break
+
+    if final is None:
+        await event.respond(
+            f"Task `{session.id[:8]}` is still running after {_TASK_TIMEOUT_S // 60}m. "
+            f"Check OpenSwarm UI for progress."
+        )
+        return
+
+    reply = _extract_last_assistant_text(final.id) or f"Task `{session.id[:8]}` finished with no text reply."
+    if final.status == "error":
+        reply = f"❌ Task errored.\n\n{reply}"
+    await event.respond(reply[:_MAX_REPLY_CHARS])
+
+
+def _extract_last_assistant_text(session_id: str) -> str:
+    """Pull the last assistant text from the persisted session transcript.
+
+    Sessions are stored at backend/data/sessions/<id>.json. Each line of the
+    transcript is a Message; we want the last role=assistant message whose
+    content is a plain string or has a text-content block.
+    """
+    try:
+        from backend.config.paths import SESSIONS_DIR
+        import json
+        path = Path(SESSIONS_DIR) / f"{session_id}.json"
+        if not path.exists():
+            return ""
+        with open(path) as f:
+            data = json.load(f)
+        messages = data.get("messages") or data.get("transcript") or []
+        for msg in reversed(messages):
+            if msg.get("role") != "assistant":
+                continue
+            content = msg.get("content")
+            if isinstance(content, str) and content.strip():
+                return content.strip()
+            if isinstance(content, list):
+                texts = [b.get("text", "") for b in content if isinstance(b, dict) and b.get("type") == "text"]
+                joined = "\n".join(t for t in texts if t).strip()
+                if joined:
+                    return joined
+        return ""
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        logger.warning(f"telegram-bot: could not extract assistant text: {exc}")
+        return ""
+
+
+async def _listener_main() -> None:
+    """Run-forever loop. Tolerates the no-Telegram-connected case by idling."""
+    global _client
+
+    phone = _connected_phone()
+    if not phone:
+        logger.info("telegram-bot: no connected Telegram — listener idle.")
+        return
+
+    api_id, api_hash = _api_creds()
+    if api_id is None:
+        logger.warning(
+            "telegram-bot: OPENSWARM_TELEGRAM_API_ID/_API_HASH not set in backend env — listener idle."
+        )
+        return
+
+    session_base = _ensure_listener_session(phone)
+    _client = TelegramClient(str(session_base), api_id, api_hash)
+    try:
+        await _client.connect()
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        logger.warning(f"telegram-bot: connect failed, listener idle: {exc}")
+        return
+
+    if not await _client.is_user_authorized():
+        logger.warning(
+            "telegram-bot: listener session not authorized — disconnect and reconnect Telegram in OpenSwarm. Idling."
+        )
+        try: await _client.disconnect()
+        except Exception: pass
+        return
+
+    me = await _client.get_me()
+    my_id = me.id
+    logger.info(
+        f"telegram-bot: listener active for @{me.username or me.phone} (id={my_id}). "
+        f"DM yourself in Saved Messages with /help to start."
+    )
+
+    @_client.on(events.NewMessage(from_users="me"))
+    async def _on_message(event):
+        # Hard authorization: only your own Saved Messages chat. event.chat_id
+        # for Saved Messages equals your own user id, and from_users='me' is
+        # already enforced by the decorator. Defense in depth here.
+        if event.chat_id != my_id:
+            return
+        text = (event.message.message or "").strip()
+        if not text or not text.startswith("/"):
+            return
+        try:
+            await _route(event, text)
+        except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+            logger.exception(f"telegram-bot: route failed: {exc}")
+            try: await event.respond(f"Listener error: {exc}")
+            except Exception: pass
+
+    try:
+        await _client.run_until_disconnected()
+    except asyncio.CancelledError:
+        raise
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        logger.exception(f"telegram-bot: listener crashed: {exc}")
+
+
+@asynccontextmanager
+async def telegram_bot_lifespan():
+    """Boot the listener when the backend starts; tear it down on shutdown."""
+    global _listener_task
+    _listener_task = asyncio.create_task(_listener_main(), name="telegram-bot-listener")
+    try:
+        yield
+    finally:
+        if _listener_task and not _listener_task.done():
+            _listener_task.cancel()
+            try:
+                await _listener_task
+            except asyncio.CancelledError:
+                pass
+            except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+                logger.warning(f"telegram-bot: listener task error during shutdown: {exc}")
+        if _client is not None:
+            try:
+                await _client.disconnect()
+            except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+                logger.warning(f"telegram-bot: client disconnect error: {exc}")
+
+
+telegram_bot = SubApp("telegram-bot", telegram_bot_lifespan)
diff --git a/backend/apps/tools_lib/tools_lib.py b/backend/apps/tools_lib/tools_lib.py
index b1afc470..96c318fa 100644
--- a/backend/apps/tools_lib/tools_lib.py
+++ b/backend/apps/tools_lib/tools_lib.py
@@ -1520,6 +1520,21 @@ async def _tg_finalize_after_auth(tool, phone: str, client) -> None:
         pass
 
     digits = _tg_sanitize_phone(phone)
+
+    # Snapshot the freshly-authenticated SQLite session to a side path used
+    # by the long-running bot listener (backend.apps.telegram_bot). Without
+    # this copy, listener + MCP-server would fight over the same file lock
+    # whenever an agent invokes a Telegram tool mid-listener-session.
+    try:
+        import shutil as _sh
+        session_dir = _tg_session_dir()
+        main_session = session_dir / f"{digits}.session"
+        listener_session = session_dir / f"{digits}.listener.session"
+        if main_session.exists():
+            _sh.copy2(main_session, listener_session)
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        logger.warning(f"telegram: could not snapshot listener session: {exc}")
+
     if me and me.username:
         tool.connected_account_email = f"@{me.username}"
     elif me and (me.first_name or me.last_name):
diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index 1341252b..822e0fbd 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -44,11 +44,12 @@ from backend.apps.subscription.router import subscription
 from backend.apps.auth.router import auth
 from backend.apps.web.web import web
 from backend.apps.agents.anthropic_proxy import anthropic_proxy
+from backend.apps.telegram_bot.listener import telegram_bot
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 from fastapi import WebSocket, WebSocketDisconnect
 import json
 
-main_app = MainApp([health, agents, skills, tools_lib, modes, settings, mcp_registry, skill_registry, outputs, dashboards, service, subscription, auth, web, anthropic_proxy])
+main_app = MainApp([health, agents, skills, tools_lib, modes, settings, mcp_registry, skill_registry, outputs, dashboards, service, subscription, auth, web, anthropic_proxy, telegram_bot])
 app = main_app.app
 
 # Generate per-install auth token BEFORE we bind the HTTP port. By the