How to set up a Telegram bot channel

Overview

Front’s Telegram channel allows you to connect a Telegram bot as a channel to Front. If you’re not familiar with Telegram bots, they are easy to set up and essentially serve as an alias for your business or profile. Once connected, you can receive and reply to Telegram messages, directly from Front.

Instructions

Step 1

Click the gear icon on the top right of Front and select company, workspace, or personal settings in the left sidebar, depending on the space you’re working with.

Step 2

Click Inboxes in the left menu and create a new shared inbox or individual inbox.

Step 3

Click Channels in the left menu, then click the Connect a channel button.

Step 4

Under Messaging, choose the Telegram integration and click Connect.

Step 5

On the next screen, click the blue Connect to Telegram button and paste your Telegram bot token in the pop-up window. Then click Connect.

Instructions for how to retrieve a Telegram bot token can be found here.

Step 6

Choose the inbox that conversations will route to and click Save.

How it works

Message imports

Historical messages will not be imported into Front, but any new conversations will be imported.
Messages from either 1:1 conversations or Telegram groups will be imported. Messages from Telegram “Channels” will not be imported.
When a message is imported from a particular Telegram user, their contact in Front will include their first and last name (if it exists), as well as their Telegram handle/username.
Attachments will be imported as standard attachments in Front, unless the attachment is particularly large (more than 20MB). In this case, a placeholder message will be sent instead and the attachment will have to be opened in Telegram.

Sending messages

Messages can be sent with rich-text formatting (italics, bolding, links etc.) and attachments.
Attachments up to 25MB can be sent using the channel.
Only replies to inbound messages can be sent from Front. The channel cannot be used to start new conversations with external recipients.

Pricing

This feature is available on all plans.