diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 4cae27d..f41e373 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 services:
   steward:
-    image: ghcr.io/djw4/steward:latest
+    # image: ghcr.io/djw4/steward:latest
     # To build locally instead: uncomment the next line and comment out image above
-    # build: .
-    user: "1000:1000"  # matches the UID/GID created in the Dockerfile
-    env_file: .env     # copy .env.example → .env and fill in your values
+    build: .
+    user: "1000:1000" # matches the UID/GID created in the Dockerfile
+    env_file: .env # copy .env.example → .env and fill in your values
     environment:
       THREAD_MEMORY_PATH: /data/thread_memory.json
     volumes:
diff --git a/steward/bot/telegram.py b/steward/bot/telegram.py
index 4e2bb50..c7f6bcd 100644
--- a/steward/bot/telegram.py
+++ b/steward/bot/telegram.py
@@ -75,6 +75,13 @@ def _is_allowed(user_id: int, settings: Settings) -> bool:
     return user_id in settings.telegram_allowed_user_ids
 
 
+def _is_group_enabled(chat_id: int, settings: Settings) -> bool:
+    """Return True if the group/channel is in the configured list (or no list is configured)."""
+    if not settings.telegram_group_ids:
+        return True
+    return chat_id in settings.telegram_group_ids
+
+
 async def _send_long(update: Update, text: str) -> None:
     """Send text, splitting across messages if it exceeds Telegram's 4096-char limit."""
     limit = 4096
@@ -92,6 +99,10 @@ async def start_handler(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) -> N
     if user is None or not _is_allowed(user.id, settings):
         return
 
+    chat = update.effective_chat
+    if chat is None or not _is_group_enabled(chat.id, settings):
+        return
+
     await update.message.reply_text(  # type: ignore[union-attr]
         "Hello, I'm *Steward* \U0001f916\n\n"
         "I'm your AI-assisted personal operations platform.\n"
@@ -112,6 +123,10 @@ async def help_handler(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) -> No
     if user is None or not _is_allowed(user.id, settings):
         return
 
+    chat = update.effective_chat
+    if chat is None or not _is_group_enabled(chat.id, settings):
+        return
+
     await update.message.reply_text(  # type: ignore[union-attr]
         "*Steward commands*\n\n"
         "/start – greeting\n"
@@ -136,6 +151,10 @@ async def clear_handler(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) -> N
     if user is None or not _is_allowed(user.id, settings):
         return
 
+    chat = update.effective_chat
+    if chat is None or not _is_group_enabled(chat.id, settings):
+        return
+
     key = _thread_key(update)
     if key is not None:
         _thread_history[key].clear()
@@ -167,6 +186,10 @@ async def flush_handler(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) -> N
     if user is None or not _is_allowed(user.id, settings):
         return
 
+    chat = update.effective_chat
+    if chat is None or not _is_group_enabled(chat.id, settings):
+        return
+
     key = _thread_key(update)
     if key is None:
         await update.message.reply_text(  # type: ignore[union-attr]
@@ -246,6 +269,10 @@ async def recall_handler(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) ->
     if user is None or not _is_allowed(user.id, settings):
         return
 
+    chat = update.effective_chat
+    if chat is None or not _is_group_enabled(chat.id, settings):
+        return
+
     # If the user supplied a keyword query, search the knowledge base
     args: list[str] = context.args or []  # type: ignore[assignment]
     if args:
@@ -306,13 +333,16 @@ async def analyse_handler(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) ->
     if user is None or not _is_allowed(user.id, settings):
         return
 
+    chat = update.effective_chat
+    if chat is None or not _is_group_enabled(chat.id, settings):
+        return
+
     await update.message.reply_text("Running analysis, please wait...")  # type: ignore[union-attr]
     generator = ProposalGenerator(settings, llm)
     proposal = await generator.run()
     if proposal is None:
         await update.message.reply_text(  # type: ignore[union-attr]
-            "Analysis could not be completed. "
-            "Check that `ANALYSIS_TARGET_URL` is configured."
+            "Analysis could not be completed. Check that `ANALYSIS_TARGET_URL` is configured."
         )
         return
 
@@ -356,8 +386,11 @@ async def message_handler(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) ->
     store: ThreadMemoryStore = context.bot_data["thread_store"]
     tool_client: ToolClient | None = context.bot_data.get("tool_client")
     user = update.effective_user
+    chat = update.effective_chat
     if user is None or not _is_allowed(user.id, settings):
         return
+    if chat is None or not _is_group_enabled(chat.id, settings):
+        return
 
     text = update.message.text  # type: ignore[union-attr]
     if not text:
@@ -402,6 +435,8 @@ def build_application(
     app.bot_data["llm"] = llm
     app.bot_data["thread_store"] = thread_store or ThreadMemoryStore(settings.thread_memory_path)
     app.bot_data["tool_client"] = tool_client  # None when tools are not configured
+    logger.info("Configured allowed users: %s", settings.telegram_allowed_user_ids)
+    logger.info("Configured group IDs: %s", settings.telegram_group_ids)
 
     app.add_handler(CommandHandler("start", start_handler))
     app.add_handler(CommandHandler("help", help_handler))
diff --git a/steward/config.py b/steward/config.py
index aac14b5..a3fc3f3 100644
--- a/steward/config.py
+++ b/steward/config.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     # Telegram
     telegram_bot_token: str = ""
     telegram_allowed_user_ids: list[int] = []
+    telegram_group_ids: list[int] = []
 
     # LLM (OpenAI-compatible)
     openai_api_key: str = ""