Merge pull request #984 from zeroclaw-labs/fix/improve-config-error-messages

fix(errors): improve config error messages with section paths and remediation hints

src/channels/linq.rs

@@ -125,7 +125,8 @@ impl LinqChannel {
         if !self.is_sender_allowed(&normalized_from) {
             tracing::warn!(
                 "Linq: ignoring message from unauthorized sender: {normalized_from}. \
-                Add to allowed_senders in config.toml."
+                Add to channels.linq.allowed_senders in config.toml, \
+                or run `zeroclaw onboard --channels-only` to configure interactively."
             );
             return messages;
         }

src/channels/telegram.rs

@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ impl TelegramChannel {
             .await
             .with_context(|| format!("Failed to read config file: {}", config_path.display()))?;
         let mut config: Config = toml::from_str(&contents)
-            .context("Failed to parse config file for Telegram binding")?;
+            .context("Failed to parse config.toml — check [channels.telegram] section for syntax errors")?;
         config.config_path = config_path;
         config.workspace_dir = zeroclaw_dir.join("workspace");
         Ok(config)
@@ -396,7 +396,11 @@ impl TelegramChannel {
     async fn persist_allowed_identity(&self, identity: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         let mut config = Self::load_config_without_env().await?;
         let Some(telegram) = config.channels_config.telegram.as_mut() else {
-            anyhow::bail!("Telegram channel config is missing in config.toml");
+            anyhow::bail!(
+                "Missing [channels.telegram] section in config.toml. \
+                Add bot_token and allowed_users under [channels.telegram], \
+                or run `zeroclaw onboard --channels-only` to configure interactively"
+            );
         };
 
         let normalized = Self::normalize_identity(identity);
@@ -691,7 +695,7 @@ impl TelegramChannel {
             } else {
                 let _ = self
                     .send(&SendMessage::new(
-                        "ℹ️ Telegram pairing is not active. Ask operator to update allowlist in config.toml.",
+                        "ℹ️ Telegram pairing is not active. Ask operator to add your user ID to channels.telegram.allowed_users in config.toml.",
                         &chat_id,
                     ))
                     .await;

src/channels/whatsapp.rs

@@ -99,7 +99,8 @@ impl WhatsAppChannel {
                     if !self.is_number_allowed(&normalized_from) {
                         tracing::warn!(
                             "WhatsApp: ignoring message from unauthorized number: {normalized_from}. \
-                            Add to allowed_numbers in config.toml, then run `zeroclaw onboard --channels-only`."
+                            Add to channels.whatsapp.allowed_numbers in config.toml, \
+                            or run `zeroclaw onboard --channels-only` to configure interactively."
                         );
                         continue;
                     }

src/tools/web_search_tool.rs

@@ -219,7 +219,10 @@ impl Tool for WebSearchTool {
         let result = match self.provider.as_str() {
             "duckduckgo" | "ddg" => self.search_duckduckgo(query).await?,
             "brave" => self.search_brave(query).await?,
-            _ => anyhow::bail!("Unknown search provider: {}", self.provider),
+            _ => anyhow::bail!(
+                "Unknown search provider: '{}'. Set tools.web_search.provider to 'duckduckgo' or 'brave' in config.toml",
+                self.provider
+            ),
         };
 
         Ok(ToolResult {