[Bug] TELEGRAM_FORMAT escape rule produces literal backslashes in Telegram replies (incompatible with HTML outbound pipeline)

[vokasug]

Bug

The TELEGRAM_FORMAT rule tells the LLM to escape MarkdownV2 special characters (_, *, [, ], (, ), ~, `, >, #, +, -, =, |, {, }, ., !) by prefixing them with \. The outbound pipeline (markdownToTelegramHtml → convertInline) does NOT strip these escape sequences — it ships the reply to Telegram with parse_mode: "HTML", and the HTML parser doesn't interpret \. as ..

Result: every Telegram reply from the bot contains literal \ characters before ., !, -, (, ) throughout. Visible noise, broken formatting.

Source-level trace

Step	What	Where
1	TELEGRAM_FORMAT constant with "Escape special characters" rule	daemon.js:67371-67380 (line 67375 is the rule itself)
2	getResponseFormatHint(platform) returns the constant	daemon.js:67354-67356
3	buildInboundMetaPayload calls it, packs into response_format field	daemon.js:320838-320850 (line 320841)
4	buildInboundContextPrefix wraps payload in payload._meta and emits <inbound-context>...</inbound-context> JSON	daemon.js:320807-320836 (line 320813 adds _meta wrapper)
5	buildMessageParts prepends that JSON to effectiveContent (user-role message to LLM)	daemon.js:320911-320916 (line 320915)
6	applySystemReminder also injects a second copy via inboundMetaProvider → buildInboundMetaBlock as # Inbound Message Context markdown	daemon.js:334206-334215, daemon.js:339459-339462, daemon.js:339082-339091
7	LLM reads rule, obeys, emits \ before MarkdownV2 chars as part of output tokens	(model behaviour)
8	markdownToTelegramHtml → convertInline runs escapeHtml(processed) (line 230490) which doesn't touch \	daemon.js:230405-230504
9	sendWithFallback sends HTML to Telegram Bot API with parse_mode: "HTML"	daemon.js:230761-230779
10	HTML parser doesn't know about MarkdownV2 — renders \ literally	(Telegram side)

Root cause

Mismatch between instruction (LLM must add \ per MarkdownV2) and pipeline (HTML converter + Telegram HTML parser don't process MarkdownV2 escapes).

Reproduction

1. Send any message to the bot via Telegram.
2. Receive a reply.
3. Observe literal \ before ., !, -, (, ) throughout.

Expected

One of:

• LLM is not instructed to escape (narrow fix — drop the rule), OR
• Outbound converter strips MarkdownV2 escapes before HTML conversion (wide fix — add a pass in convertInline).

Suggested fixes

Narrow (one-line): Remove line 67375 from TELEGRAM_FORMAT. LLM stops adding \, visual output is clean. Risk: minimal.

Wide: Add a pre-pass in convertInline (around line 230490, before escapeHtml) that strips \ before MarkdownV2 special chars. Rule stays valid for the day the pipeline switches to real MarkdownV2, and current HTML pipeline produces clean output.

Environment

• Product: MiniMax Code (Mac)
• Platform: macOS
• Channel: Telegram (Bot API)
• Affected component: daemon.js outbound text pipeline for Telegram