diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 309ba1d8f..d25924e6f 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -134,7 +134,11 @@ RUN openclaw doctor --fix > /dev/null 2>&1 || true \
 # The writable state lives in .openclaw-data, reached via the symlinks.
 # hadolint ignore=DL3002
 USER root
-RUN chown root:root /sandbox/.openclaw \
+RUN mkdir -p /sandbox/.openclaw-data/telegram \
+    && chown -R sandbox:sandbox /sandbox/.openclaw-data/telegram \
+    && rm -rf /sandbox/.openclaw/telegram \
+    && ln -sfn /sandbox/.openclaw-data/telegram /sandbox/.openclaw/telegram \
+    && chown root:root /sandbox/.openclaw \
     && find /sandbox/.openclaw -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -exec chown -h root:root {} + \
     && chmod 755 /sandbox/.openclaw \
     && chmod 444 /sandbox/.openclaw/openclaw.json
diff --git a/test/dockerfile-telegram-state.test.js b/test/dockerfile-telegram-state.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fcf148f95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/dockerfile-telegram-state.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dirname, "..");
+const DOCKERFILE = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, "Dockerfile"), "utf-8");
+
+describe("Dockerfile telegram state layout (#975)", () => {
+  it("precreates writable telegram state under .openclaw-data", () => {
+    expect(DOCKERFILE.includes("mkdir -p /sandbox/.openclaw-data/telegram")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(DOCKERFILE.includes("chown -R sandbox:sandbox /sandbox/.openclaw-data/telegram")).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it("symlinks .openclaw/telegram into .openclaw-data before locking .openclaw", () => {
+    const symlink = DOCKERFILE.indexOf("ln -sfn /sandbox/.openclaw-data/telegram /sandbox/.openclaw/telegram");
+    const lockStep = DOCKERFILE.indexOf("chown root:root /sandbox/.openclaw");
+    const cleanupBeforeSymlink = DOCKERFILE.indexOf("rm -rf /sandbox/.openclaw/telegram");
+
+    expect(symlink).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
+    expect(lockStep).toBeGreaterThan(symlink);
+    expect(cleanupBeforeSymlink).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
+    expect(cleanupBeforeSymlink).toBeLessThan(symlink);
+  });
+});