Channels

Telegram

Create a Telegram bot and connect it to your workspace in under two minutes.

Telegram is the fastest channel to set up — just a bot token and a dmPolicy. Supports DMs, groups, and @mention routing.

What you'll need

  • A Telegram account (on your phone).
  • About two minutes.

Step 1 — Create a bot in Telegram

  1. On your phone, open Telegram and search for @BotFather (check the handle is exactly @BotFather).
  2. Send /newbot.
  3. Follow the prompts — pick a name (what people see) and a username (must end in bot).
  4. Copy the token BotFather gives you. It looks like 123456789:AA….

The bot token is a secret — treat it like a password. Don't paste it in chats or commit it to git.

Step 2 — Connect from the Channels page

  1. In the app, go to Channels in the sidebar.
  2. Find the Telegram card and click Connect.
  3. Paste the bot token into the Bot token field.
  4. Click Save & connect. The gateway writes the token to config and reloads.

That's the minimum. Your bot can now receive messages in open DM mode — anyone who finds it on Telegram can message your agent.

Step 3 — Lock down who can DM the bot (recommended)

By default, dmPolicy is open. For a personal bot, switch it to allowlist:

  1. Click Reconfigure on the Telegram card.
  2. Change DM policy to Allowlist.
  3. Under Allowed user IDs, add your numeric Telegram user ID (not your @username).
  4. Click Save & connect.

Finding your numeric Telegram user ID

Telegram hides this by default. Three ways to get it:

  • Ask @userinfobot — Telegram's simplest route. DM @userinfobot and it sends back your ID.
  • Message @userinfobot on Telegram; it replies with your numeric ID.
  • Call getUpdates on the Bot API once someone has messaged the bot: 
    curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/getUpdates"

Don't lock yourself out

If you set dmPolicy to allowlist but the allowlist is empty, nobody — including you — can DM the bot. The Channels page will show a warning and ask you to confirm; read it.

Optional — Groups

To use the bot in a group:

  1. Add the bot to your group from Telegram.
  2. Decide whether the bot needs to see every message (turn off privacy mode via /setprivacy with BotFather), or just @mentions.
  3. Per-group access rules aren't in the Channels page yet.

Troubleshooting

"My bot isn't responding to my DM." Check Channels → Telegram card. If the Connected pill is green but the bot doesn't respond, check:

  1. dmPolicy — if it's allowlist, is your numeric ID in the allowed list?
  2. If the DM policy is an allowlist, check that your numeric user ID is on it.

"Bot can't see messages in groups." Telegram bots default to Privacy Mode which limits what group messages they receive. Either turn it off via /setprivacy with BotFather, or make the bot a group admin. After changing, remove + re-add the bot to each group.

"How do I rotate the token?" In BotFather, send /revoke → pick your bot → get a new token. In our app, click Reconfigure on the Telegram card and paste the new token. The old one becomes invalid immediately.

Channels

Where your agents answer. Connect Telegram or Google Chat from the Channels page; no server access needed.

Google Chat

Connect your workspace's agents to Google Chat with one Chat app and a service account key.

On this page

What you'll needStep 1 — Create a bot in TelegramStep 2 — Connect from the Channels pageStep 3 — Lock down who can DM the bot (recommended)Finding your numeric Telegram user IDOptional — GroupsTroubleshooting