Telegram

Connect a Telegram bot to an agent — DMs, groups, allowlist control, multiple accounts.

Telegram is one of ToShop's two first-class connections. Once configured, messages routed to your bot are processed as chats with the bound agent — same skills, same Memory, same approval gates.

Setup

Get a bot token

Talk to @BotFather on Telegram → /newbot → copy the token. Format: 123456789:ABC-DEF....

Add the connection in ToShop

Open the Connections tab in the left sidebar → Add Connection and choose Telegram. Follow the prompts to wire up your bot — credentials are stored in your OS keychain.

Pick the agent

Choose which of your agents handles this Telegram account.

Choose who can talk to it

Either open (anyone who DMs the bot) or an allowlist of Telegram user IDs.

Credentials and policies

Bot Token — The token from BotFather. Stored in your OS keychain.
Allowed User IDs — Comma-separated Telegram user IDs, or * to allow anyone. Default: only you.
DM policy — Open (anyone can DM the bot) or allowlist (only listed users). Group messages always require an explicit @-mention.

How messages route

DM the bot

1:1 conversation with the bound agent (subject to the DM policy).

Mention in a group

Your agent responds only when @-mentioned. Ongoing replies in the same thread keep context.

Replies

A Telegram thread becomes your task context. Reply within a thread to continue the same conversation.

Multiple Telegram accounts per agent

You can connect multiple Telegram bots to the same agent (for example, one for personal DMs and one for a team channel). Each bot is a separate credential but feeds the same agent's chat sessions.

You can also point different bots to different agents — one routes to your Shop Agent, another to your Personal Agent.

ToShop keeps the bot online for you using whichever method Telegram allows in your environment — push, real-time connection, or fallback polling. Most users never have to think about it; if you do want to force one, open the connection's Advanced settings in the Connections tab.

What the bot can handle

Text and voice

Text, images, and voice notes (auto-transcribed before your agent reads them).

File attachments

.pdf, .txt, .csv, common image types.

Slash commands

Inline-mention /commands if you set them up.

Markdown replies

Markdown formatting is rendered in Telegram.

Status indicators

Connected — Online and receiving messages.
Standby — Another instance holds the lease (you're on a second device).
Degraded — Receiving, but with delays or errors.
Disconnected — Misconfigured or token invalid — needs your attention.

Common patterns

Mobile-side triage

"Summarize the last 10 unread emails."

On-the-go Shopify ops

"What's the current inventory of SKU X?" / "refund order #1234".

Routine delivery

Pair a Telegram bot with a routine so daily summaries land in your DMs.

Discord — the other connection.
Multiple Agents — routing different connections to different agents.
Routines — scheduled tasks delivering to Telegram.

Connect a Telegram bot to an agent — DMs, groups, allowlist control, multiple accounts.

Telegram is one of ToShop's two first-class connections. Once configured, messages routed to your bot are processed as chats with the bound agent — same skills, same Memory, same approval gates.

Setup

Get a bot token

Talk to @BotFather on Telegram → /newbot → copy the token. Format: 123456789:ABC-DEF....

Add the connection in ToShop

Open the Connections tab in the left sidebar → Add Connection and choose Telegram. Follow the prompts to wire up your bot — credentials are stored in your OS keychain.

Pick the agent

Choose which of your agents handles this Telegram account.

Choose who can talk to it

Either open (anyone who DMs the bot) or an allowlist of Telegram user IDs.

Credentials and policies

Bot Token — The token from BotFather. Stored in your OS keychain.
Allowed User IDs — Comma-separated Telegram user IDs, or * to allow anyone. Default: only you.
DM policy — Open (anyone can DM the bot) or allowlist (only listed users). Group messages always require an explicit @-mention.

How messages route

DM the bot

1:1 conversation with the bound agent (subject to the DM policy).

Mention in a group

Your agent responds only when @-mentioned. Ongoing replies in the same thread keep context.

Replies

A Telegram thread becomes your task context. Reply within a thread to continue the same conversation.

Text and voice

Text, images, and voice notes (auto-transcribed before your agent reads them).

File attachments

.pdf, .txt, .csv, common image types.

Slash commands

Inline-mention /commands if you set them up.

Markdown replies

Markdown formatting is rendered in Telegram.

Status indicators

Connected — Online and receiving messages.
Standby — Another instance holds the lease (you're on a second device).
Degraded — Receiving, but with delays or errors.
Disconnected — Misconfigured or token invalid — needs your attention.

Common patterns

Mobile-side triage

"Summarize the last 10 unread emails."

On-the-go Shopify ops

"What's the current inventory of SKU X?" / "refund order #1234".

Routine delivery

Pair a Telegram bot with a routine so daily summaries land in your DMs.

Discord — the other connection.
Multiple Agents — routing different connections to different agents.
Routines — scheduled tasks delivering to Telegram.

DM the bot

Mention in a group

Replies

Text and voice

File attachments

Slash commands

Markdown replies

Mobile-side triage

On-the-go Shopify ops

Routine delivery

Table of Contents

Telegram

DM the bot

Mention in a group

Replies

Text and voice

File attachments

Slash commands

Markdown replies

Mobile-side triage

On-the-go Shopify ops

Routine delivery

Table of Contents