diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 061809354..bf896af94 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 
 ### Fixes
 
+- Slack/Bolt startup compatibility: remove invalid `message.channels` and `message.groups` event registrations so Slack providers no longer crash on startup with Bolt 4.6+; channel/group traffic continues through the unified `message` handler (`channel_type`). (#32033) Thanks @mahopan.
 - Sandbox/Docker setup command parsing: accept `agents.*.sandbox.docker.setupCommand` as either a string or a string array, and normalize arrays to newline-delimited shell scripts so multi-step setup commands no longer concatenate without separators. (#31953) Thanks @liuxiaopai-ai.
 - Gateway/Plugin HTTP route precedence: run explicit plugin HTTP routes before the Control UI SPA catch-all so registered plugin webhook/custom paths remain reachable, while unmatched paths still fall through to Control UI handling. (#31885) Thanks @Sid-Qin.
 - Security/Node exec approvals: preserve shell/dispatch-wrapper argv semantics during approval hardening so approved wrapper commands (for example `env sh -c ...`) cannot drift into a different runtime command shape, and add regression coverage for both approval-plan generation and approved runtime execution paths. Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
diff --git a/src/slack/monitor/events/messages.test.ts b/src/slack/monitor/events/messages.test.ts
index 4b7cc4038..989c4b3b9 100644
--- a/src/slack/monitor/events/messages.test.ts
+++ b/src/slack/monitor/events/messages.test.ts
@@ -33,8 +33,6 @@ function createMessageHandlers(overrides?: SlackSystemEventTestOverrides) {
   });
   return {
     handler: harness.getHandler("message") as MessageHandler | null,
-    channelHandler: harness.getHandler("message.channels") as MessageHandler | null,
-    groupHandler: harness.getHandler("message.groups") as MessageHandler | null,
     handleSlackMessage,
   };
 }
@@ -159,17 +157,17 @@ describe("registerSlackMessageEvents", () => {
     expect(messageQueueMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it("registers and forwards message.channels and message.groups events", async () => {
+  it("handles channel and group messages via the unified message handler", async () => {
     messageQueueMock.mockClear();
     messageAllowMock.mockReset().mockResolvedValue([]);
-    const { channelHandler, groupHandler, handleSlackMessage } = createMessageHandlers({
+    const { handler, handleSlackMessage } = createMessageHandlers({
       dmPolicy: "open",
       channelType: "channel",
     });
 
-    expect(channelHandler).toBeTruthy();
-    expect(groupHandler).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(handler).toBeTruthy();
 
+    // channel_type distinguishes the source; all arrive as event type "message"
     const channelMessage = {
       type: "message",
       channel: "C1",
@@ -178,8 +176,8 @@ describe("registerSlackMessageEvents", () => {
       text: "hello channel",
       ts: "123.100",
     };
-    await channelHandler!({ event: channelMessage, body: {} });
-    await groupHandler!({
+    await handler!({ event: channelMessage, body: {} });
+    await handler!({
       event: {
         ...channelMessage,
         channel_type: "group",
@@ -193,17 +191,19 @@ describe("registerSlackMessageEvents", () => {
     expect(messageQueueMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it("applies subtype system-event handling for message.channels events", async () => {
+  it("applies subtype system-event handling for channel messages", async () => {
     messageQueueMock.mockClear();
     messageAllowMock.mockReset().mockResolvedValue([]);
-    const { channelHandler, handleSlackMessage } = createMessageHandlers({
+    const { handler, handleSlackMessage } = createMessageHandlers({
       dmPolicy: "open",
       channelType: "channel",
     });
 
-    expect(channelHandler).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(handler).toBeTruthy();
 
-    await channelHandler!({
+    // message_changed events from channels arrive via the generic "message"
+    // handler with channel_type:"channel" — not a separate event type.
+    await handler!({
       event: {
         ...makeChangedEvent({ channel: "C1", user: "U1" }),
         channel_type: "channel",
diff --git a/src/slack/monitor/events/messages.ts b/src/slack/monitor/events/messages.ts
index fac307416..40308570d 100644
--- a/src/slack/monitor/events/messages.ts
+++ b/src/slack/monitor/events/messages.ts
@@ -46,23 +46,15 @@ export function registerSlackMessageEvents(params: {
     }
   };
 
+  // NOTE: Slack Event Subscriptions use names like "message.channels" and
+  // "message.groups" to control *which* message events are delivered, but the
+  // actual event payload always arrives with `type: "message"`.  The
+  // `channel_type` field ("channel" | "group" | "im" | "mpim") distinguishes
+  // the source.  Bolt rejects `app.event("message.channels")` since v4.6
+  // because it is a subscription label, not a valid event type.
   ctx.app.event("message", async ({ event, body }: SlackEventMiddlewareArgs<"message">) => {
     await handleIncomingMessageEvent({ event, body });
   });
-  // Slack may dispatch channel/group message subscriptions under typed event
-  // names. Register explicit handlers so both delivery styles are supported.
-  ctx.app.event(
-    "message.channels",
-    async ({ event, body }: SlackEventMiddlewareArgs<"message.channels">) => {
-      await handleIncomingMessageEvent({ event, body });
-    },
-  );
-  ctx.app.event(
-    "message.groups",
-    async ({ event, body }: SlackEventMiddlewareArgs<"message.groups">) => {
-      await handleIncomingMessageEvent({ event, body });
-    },
-  );
 
   ctx.app.event("app_mention", async ({ event, body }: SlackEventMiddlewareArgs<"app_mention">) => {
     try {