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

# Telegram

> Connect a Telegram bot and route events to chats or forum topics.

Create a bot in Telegram and keep its bot token in Towbar's protected YAML file. Add the bot to each target chat and grant it permission to post. A destination uses a numeric chat ID and, for a forum topic, an optional numeric Topic ID. One chat can have separate rows for different topics.

```yaml title="/etc/towbar/towbar.yml" theme={"system"}
notifications:
  enabled: true
  providers:
    telegram:
      botToken: "123456:<bot-token>"
  routes: []
```

Run `sudo towbar config validate` and `sudo towbar restart`. Open **Manage → Notifications → Telegram**, add a chat ID, and leave Topic ID blank for the main chat. Choose **Deployments**, **Backup & Restore**, and **Alerts & Incidents** for that destination. New rows have no categories selected; checkbox changes save immediately.

## Verify and troubleshoot

Use **Test** and confirm that the sample appears in the right chat or topic. If it fails, check the bot token, the numeric IDs, bot membership, and posting permissions. A topic ID used for a different chat cannot route the message. Inspect the [delivery result](/docs/integrations/notifications#delivery-history) for provider errors and retry status.

App and resource manifests can declare extra Telegram chat/topic destinations without storing the bot token. See [manifest notification routing](/docs/deployment-manifest#route-notifications-for-one-app-or-resource). Rotate the bot token in YAML, restart, and test before discarding the old token.

<div className="towbar-doc-screenshot">
  <div className="towbar-product-light">
    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/avgeek/ylQA6qTjzIsIRICB/assets/release-v2/telegram-notifications-light.jpg?fit=max&auto=format&n=ylQA6qTjzIsIRICB&q=85&s=7d9e6822ba4482c41b011b209fc3615d" alt="Telegram chat destinations and category subscriptions in Towbar." width="2560" height="1440" loading="lazy" data-path="assets/release-v2/telegram-notifications-light.jpg" />
  </div>

  <div className="towbar-product-dark">
    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/avgeek/ylQA6qTjzIsIRICB/assets/release-v2/telegram-notifications-dark.jpg?fit=max&auto=format&n=ylQA6qTjzIsIRICB&q=85&s=c908f4ed1893821ff96350d9894754c5" alt="Telegram chat destinations and category subscriptions in Towbar." width="2560" height="1440" loading="lazy" data-path="assets/release-v2/telegram-notifications-dark.jpg" />
  </div>

  <p>Each Telegram chat or topic can subscribe to different categories.</p>
</div>