> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.linkiasoft.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect Telegram

> Creating a bot with BotFather, and the two settings that decide whether groups and channels work.

Telegram connects through a bot you create. Customers message the bot, and those
conversations arrive in your inbox.

## Create the bot

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open @BotFather in Telegram">
    Search for `@BotFather` — the one with the blue verified tick.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Send /newbot">
    Choose a display name (shown to customers) and a username (must end in `bot`, e.g.
    `acme_support_bot`).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Copy the token">
    BotFather replies with a token like `123456789:AAxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx`. Copy all of it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Paste it into Linkiasoft">
    **Settings → Channels → Add channel → Telegram**, paste the token, connect.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  The token is a password for your bot. Anyone holding it can read and send its messages. If
  it leaks, send `/revoke` to BotFather and reconnect with the new one.
</Warning>

## The three things that catch everyone out

These are the reason most Telegram channels look connected but receive nothing.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The customer has to message the bot first">
    Telegram bots cannot start conversations. A customer must send the bot a message —
    usually by tapping `/start` — before you can message them. Share your bot's link
    (`t.me/your_bot_username`) rather than expecting people to find it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Groups need Group Privacy turned OFF">
    By default a bot in a group only sees messages that mention it or use a command. To see
    the whole conversation:

    In `@BotFather`: `/mybots` → your bot → **Bot Settings** → **Group Privacy** →
    **Turn off**.

    **Then remove the bot from the group and add it back.** The change does not apply to
    groups it has already joined — this is the step people miss.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Channels need the bot to be an admin">
    For a Telegram channel (broadcast-style, not a group), add the bot as an administrator.
    A non-admin bot cannot read channel posts.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Nothing is arriving

Work down in order:

1. Is the channel status **Connected**? If not, the token is wrong or has been revoked.
2. Has the customer messaged the bot at least once?
3. For a group: is Group Privacy off, **and** was the bot re-added afterwards?
4. For a channel: is the bot an administrator?
5. Does a role grant this channel? A connected channel nobody is granted delivers to
   nobody — see [How assignment works](/help/routing/how-assignment-works).