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Connect social accounts

Connect Telegram

Create a Telegram bot, add it to a channel, find the channel ID, and connect it to Prepost.

Create a Telegram bot

Open Telegram and start a chat with BotFather. Choose the option to create a new bot, follow the prompts, and copy the bot token when BotFather shows it.

Treat the bot token like a password. Anyone with the token can use that bot, so do not paste it into shared docs, screenshots, or public support messages.

Add the bot to a channel

Open the Telegram channel that should receive posts from Prepost. Add the bot as an administrator and allow it to post messages.

For a public channel, copy the channel username. It should look like @yourchannel.

For a private channel, use the numeric channel ID. Telegram channel IDs usually start with -100.

Find the channel ID

For a public channel, use the channel username as the Channel ID in Prepost.

For a private channel:

1. Add the bot to the channel as an administrator. 2. Publish a short test message in the channel. 3. Open https://api.telegram.org/bot<bot-token>/getUpdates in a private browser tab, replacing <bot-token> with the token from BotFather. 4. Find the channel chat.id value in the response. 5. Copy the full number, including the minus sign.

If the response does not show the channel, remove and add the bot again, post a fresh channel message, and reload getUpdates.

Connect in Prepost

Open Connected accounts in Prepost and use Telegram channel.

Enter:

  • the bot token from BotFather;
  • the public @username or private numeric channel ID;
  • a display name for the channel.

Keep Send test message enabled when connecting for the first time. Prepost will send a small test message to confirm that the bot can publish to the channel. You can delete the test message after setup.

Common errors

Unauthorized means the bot token is wrong, expired, or copied with extra spaces. Copy the token again from BotFather or create a new token.

Bad Request: chat not found means Telegram could not find the channel from the ID you entered, or the bot is not a member of that channel.

Forbidden or not enough rights means the bot is in the channel but cannot post. Make the bot an administrator and allow it to post messages.

If the test message works but scheduled posts fail later, reconnect the channel in Prepost and confirm the bot is still an administrator of the same channel.