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Connect Telegram

Connect a Telegram bot and every message a customer sends to the bot arrives in Replyco as a chat; your replies go back to the customer in Telegram. Replyco connects to Telegram through a bot of your own: you create the bot with Telegram’s BotFather and paste the bot’s token into Replyco. There is no Telegram sign-in; the token is all Replyco needs, and the account in Replyco takes the bot’s username.

Before you start

Section titled “Before you start”
You needWhere it lives
The Admin permission in ReplycoAdminUsers; see Invite users and set what they can do
Telegram on the device you use to set up the botThe Telegram app or Telegram Web
A bot and its token from BotFather, or the plan to create one in the steps below@BotFather in Telegram
A free account on your planAdminBilling; see Billing

Availability: every plan.

Steps

Section titled “Steps”

  1. Select + Add Account in the top bar and scroll down to Social Media and Phone Accounts.

    The Add Account page lists every channel Replyco connects; to connect another one, see Add Account.

    The lower part of the Add Account page in Replyco, opened with + Add Account in the top bar. Below Mailbox Accounts and Order Management System Accounts, the group Social Media and Phone Accounts has six tiles: Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok with a BETA label, Aircall and WhatsApp. The Telegram tile at the left end of that row is highlighted; selecting it opens the dialog Authorize Replyco to sync with Telegram.
    Telegram is the first tile under Social Media and Phone Accounts.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    Add Account (/integrations/add)
    Highlighted
    button “”, social-media-and-phone-tiles, enabled. opens the Telegram connect dialog
    Also visible
    Mailbox Accounts and Order Management System Accounts above; Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok (BETA), Aircall, WhatsApp tiles
    Purpose
    start connecting a Telegram bot

  2. Select the Telegram tile. The dialog Authorize Replyco to sync with Telegram opens at its first step, AUTHORIZE, which says Next, enter the details of your Telegram account. Select Authorize.

    The dialog moves to INSERT DETAILS, with four numbered lines on how to create the bot and the HTTP API field.

  3. In the first line, select link to open BotFather in Telegram. If your browser asks whether to open Telegram, select “Open Telegram”. Keep the Replyco tab open: you finish the setup there.

    Telegram's web page for BotFather, opened from the link in Replyco's Telegram dialog, with the browser's prompt "Open Telegram?" on top. The prompt says "https://telegram.me wants to open this application." and offers a checkbox to always allow telegram.me to open such links, "Cancel" and "Open Telegram", which is framed in red. Behind it, the page shows BotFather's picture with a verified badge, the handle @BotFather, the line "BotFather is the one bot to rule them all. Use it to create new bot accounts and manage your existing bots." and a green "SEND MESSAGE" button.
    When your browser asks, select "Open Telegram" to open the chat with BotFather in the Telegram app.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    ()
    Highlighted
    “”, , .
    Also visible
    Open Telegram? prompt; Cancel; Open Telegram, framed in red; BotFather page with SEND MESSAGE
    Purpose

    In the chat with BotFather, select “Start” and send /newbot.

    The Telegram desktop app with a new chat open. On the left is the chat list with a search field. On the right, the chat header shows BotFather with a verified badge and the word "bot", framed in red. The empty chat explains that BotFather creates new bot accounts and manages existing bots, with links to "About Telegram bots" and the "Bot API manual" and a pointer to @BotSupport. At the bottom, the "Start" button is framed in red: select it, then send /newbot.
    In the chat with BotFather, select "Start", then send /newbot.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    ()
    Highlighted
    “”, , .
    Also visible
    BotFather bot header, framed in red; BotFather's description and links; Start button, framed in red
    Purpose

    Answer BotFather’s questions: the bot’s name, which customers see, and its username, which must end in “bot”. BotFather then replies with the bot’s token, a long string of digits, a colon and letters. Copy it. Choose a username your customers recognise: it is how they find the bot in Telegram, and it becomes the account’s name in Replyco.

    The chat with BotFather after /newbot. BotFather asks "Alright, a new bot. How are we going to call it? Please choose a name for your bot.", the user sends the bot's name, and BotFather asks for a username that must end in bot, like TetrisBot or tetris_bot. After the username, BotFather replies "Done! Congratulations on your new bot." with the bot's t.me link and the line "Use this token to access the HTTP API:". The token below it, digits, a colon and letters, is framed in red and labelled "Copy"; BotFather adds that you should keep it secure.
    BotFather asks for the bot's name and username, then sends the token you paste into Replyco.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    ()
    Highlighted
    “”, , .
    Also visible
    name and username questions; Done! Congratulations on your new bot.; Use this token to access the HTTP API:; token framed in red, labelled Copy
    Purpose

  4. Back in the dialog, paste the token into HTTP API and select Authorize.

    Replyco checks the token with Telegram, saves the account and confirms with Account successfully saved. The dialog moves on to FINISH.

    The dialog Authorize Replyco to sync with Telegram at its second step, INSERT DETAILS; the first step is ticked and a third, FINISH, follows. Four numbered lines explain the setup: 1. Open This link (to Telegram's BotFather), 2. Send New Message, with the command /newbot below it, 3. Enter your Telegram bot name, 4. Copy and paste here HTTP API. The HTTP API field holds the bot's token, 7394016285:AAHn4rT8kWq2xZpL0vYb6cJmS1dEfG9uQ3o. The Authorize button under the field is highlighted; selecting it checks the token with Telegram and saves the account.
    Paste the token BotFather gave you into HTTP API and select Authorize.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    Authorize Replyco to sync with {{name}} (/integrations/add)
    Highlighted
    button “Authorize”, dialog-bottom, enabled. checks the token and saves the Telegram account
    Also visible
    step INSERT DETAILS of three; 1. Open This link (BotFather); /newbot; HTTP API: 7394016285:AAHn4rT8kWq2xZpL0vYb6cJmS1dEfG9uQ3o
    Purpose
    enter the bot token

  5. Select Finish to close the dialog.

What happens next

Section titled “What happens next”

The account appears on AdminAccounts under the bot’s username; to check it or rename it, see Accounts.

The Accounts screen in Replyco, opened from Admin › Accounts, listing eight connected accounts, all Syncing with a green open lock under Status: Amazon, Ebay, WhatsApp "Northwind Support", Facebook "Northwind Electronics", Instagram "Northwind Electronics", Telegram "NorthwindElectronicsBot", TikTok "Northwind TikTok Shop" and Aircall "Northwind Support Line". The name NorthwindElectronicsBot in the Telegram row is highlighted: a Telegram account carries the username of its bot. Selecting the row opens its details, where you can rename it.
The Telegram account is listed under the bot's username.
What this screenshot shows
Screen
Accounts (/integrations)
Highlighted
cell “”, table-sixth-row, enabled. opens the account's details
Also visible
8 accounts, all Syncing, green open locks; Telegram row NorthwindElectronicsBot
Purpose
check that the Telegram bot was connected

From now on, every message a customer sends to the bot reaches Replyco as it arrives and opens or continues a chat under ChatsOpen; see Chat list and conversations. Customers find the bot by its username in Telegram, so share it where they look for you, for example on your website. Every user of your company gets access to the new account, so its chats appear for everyone with the Chats permission; to decide who is responsible for them, see Invite users and set what they can do.

Replyco sets no time limit for Telegram replies, and a message you edit or delete in Replyco changes in the customer’s Telegram too; see Answer a chat. To greet Telegram customers automatically, see Auto-responses for chats.

If something goes wrong

Section titled “If something goes wrong”
SymptomCheckFix
You must enter a token to save account!The HTTP API field is empty.Paste the token from BotFather, then select Authorize again.
An error appears after Authorize and no account is savedTelegram did not accept the token: it is incomplete, has extra spaces, or belongs to a bot that was deleted.Copy the token again from BotFather’s message and paste it whole.
The account is connected but no messages arriveDo customers write to the bot whose username is on AdminAccounts? Does another service use the same bot?Share that username with your customers. Keep the bot for Replyco alone; a bot shared with another service delivers its messages to only one of them.
“You reached your current plan maximum integrations count. Contact support for more info.”Your plan has no free account; + Add Account is then also missing from the top bar.Delete an account you no longer use, or change your plan on AdminBilling.
Section titled “Related”