Connect Telegram
Telegram is the easiest channel to set up. In about two minutes, your agent will have its own Telegram bot that anyone can message.
What you will need
- A Telegram account (the app on your phone or computer)
- An agent already created in AgentVibe
Step-by-step setup
Open BotFather in Telegram
Open Telegram and search for @BotFather, or tap this link: t.me/BotFather. BotFather is Telegram's official tool for creating bots.
Create your bot
Send the message /newbot to BotFather. It will ask you two questions:
- What should your bot be called? -- This is the display name people see (for example, "My AI Assistant")
- What username should it have? -- This must end in "bot" (for example, "my_ai_assistant_bot")
Copy the bot token
BotFather replies with a message containing your bot token. It looks something like this:
123456789:ABCDEFghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890
Copy this entire token. You will need it in the next step.
Keep your bot token private. Anyone with this token can control your bot. If you accidentally share it, go back to BotFather and use /revoke to generate a new one.
Add the token to AgentVibe
In the AgentVibe desktop app:
- Open your agent's page
- Go to the Channels tab
- Click Telegram
- Paste your bot token
- Click Save
Restart your agent
After saving, restart your agent using the Restart button. This activates the Telegram connection.
Test it out
Open Telegram and search for your bot by the username you chose. Send it a message. You should get a reply from your AI agent within a few seconds.
You can also set this up by chatting with Parrot (the built-in guide in AgentVibe). Just tell Parrot "I want to connect Telegram" and it will walk you through each step.
Who can message your bot?
By default, your bot uses a pairing system -- new users need to be approved before they can chat. You can change this in the Telegram channel settings:
| Setting | Who can message |
|---|---|
| Pairing (default) | New users must complete a quick pairing step |
| Allowlist | Only people you specifically approve |
| Open | Anyone who finds your bot |
| Disabled | Nobody (turns off direct messages) |
Setting your bot to "Open" means anyone can message it and use your AI credits. Only do this if you want a public bot.
Group chats
Your bot can also join Telegram group chats. Add it to a group like you would add any contact. By default, the bot only responds when someone mentions it by name in a group.
Finding your chat ID
If you need to add someone to an allowlist, you need their Telegram chat ID (a number, not their username). The easiest way:
- Have them send a message to your bot
- Check the agent logs in AgentVibe -- the chat ID appears there
- Add that ID to the allowlist
You can also use @userinfobot on Telegram -- send it any message and it replies with your ID.
Troubleshooting
Bot is not responding to messages
- Make sure the bot token was pasted correctly (no extra spaces)
- Check that your agent is running and healthy in AgentVibe
- If you just set up the channel, make sure you restarted the agent
- Check if your Telegram user is allowed by the current access policy
Getting a 'pairing required' message
This means the bot is set to pairing mode and you have not been approved yet. Either complete the pairing process, or switch to allowlist mode and add your chat ID.
Bot works in direct messages but not in groups
In groups, your bot may need to be mentioned by name before it responds. Check the group settings in your agent's Telegram channel configuration.