Telegram

Autobot connects to Telegram via the Bot API using long polling. No webhook or public IP needed.

Setup

1. Create a bot

Open Telegram and message @BotFather:

1. Send /newbot
2. Choose a display name (e.g. "My Autobot")
3. Choose a username (must end in bot, e.g. my_autobot_bot)
4. Copy the bot token (123456:ABC-DEF...)

2. Get your user ID

Message @userinfobot — it replies with your numeric user ID (e.g. 123456789).

3. Configure

Add the token to your .env file:

TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123456:ABC-DEF...

In config.yml:

channels:
  telegram:
    enabled: true
    token: "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}"
    allow_from: ["123456789"]  # your user ID

4. Start

autobot agent
# Should show: Telegram bot @my_autobot_bot connected

Open a chat with your bot in Telegram and send a message.

Access control

allow_from controls who can interact with the bot. It accepts Telegram user IDs and usernames:

# Deny all (secure default)
allow_from: []

# Allow specific users (recommended)
allow_from: ["123456789", "username"]

# Allow anyone (use with caution)
allow_from: ["*"]

Telegram sends both numeric user ID and username. The bot matches against both — "123456789" and "johndoe" both work.

Unauthorized users receive a friendly denial message with their user ID, so they can share it with you to be added.

Custom commands

Add custom slash commands that appear in Telegram's command menu:

channels:
  telegram:
    enabled: true
    token: "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}"
    allow_from: ["123456789"]
    custom_commands:
      macros:
        summarize: "Summarize the last conversation in 3 bullet points"
        translate:
          prompt: "Translate the following to English"
          description: "Translate text to English"
      scripts:
        deploy:
          path: "/home/user/scripts/deploy.sh"
          description: "Deploy to production"

Macros send the prompt to the LLM. Scripts execute a shell command and return the output.

Built-in commands

Command	Description
/start	Welcome message
/reset	Clear conversation history
/help	List available commands

Features

• Long polling — no webhook or public IP needed
• Voice messages — auto-transcribed via Whisper (requires Groq or OpenAI provider)
• Photos — sent as image attachments to the LLM
• Documents — attached to the message context
• Typing indicators — shows "typing..." while the LLM responds
• Markdown rendering — LLM responses are converted to Telegram HTML
• Group chats — bot responds when mentioned in groups

Configuration reference

Field	Required	Default	Description
enabled	No	false	Enable the Telegram channel
token	Yes	—	Bot API token from BotFather
allow_from	No	[]	User IDs/usernames allowed to use the bot
proxy	No	—	HTTP proxy URL for API requests
custom_commands	No	—	Custom slash commands (macros and scripts)

Troubleshooting

Enable debug logging:

LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG autobot agent

Bot doesn't respond — check allow_from contains your user ID. The log shows Access denied for sender <id> with the exact ID to add.

"Telegram bot token not configured" — token is empty. Check .env file and ${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN} substitution.

Voice messages show [voice message] — no Whisper provider configured. Add Groq or OpenAI provider.