Telegram

Telegram lets you chat with your Colleague agent in a direct conversation. You need a Telegram account and access to your Colleague dashboard.

Create a bot with Quick Setup

Quick Setup is the recommended way to create a bot for Colleague:

1. Open Telegram in the Colleague dashboard and choose Create with QR.
2. Scan the QR code, or choose Open Telegram on the same device. Both use the same official https://t.me/newbot/... Telegram link.
3. Review and approve the proposed Colleague bot in Telegram. You own the bot; Colleague is its technical manager.
4. Return to the dashboard. Colleague detects the approval, admits your Telegram account, and finishes setup automatically.
5. Send the bot a direct message.

The bot belongs to your named Colleague deployment rather than a particular container or AI runtime. Redeploying Colleague or changing its runtime reuses the same bot. Replacing it is a separate, explicit action.

Tip

If the QR code is on another screen, scan it with your phone’s camera or Google Lens. If Telegram is not installed, the same HTTPS link can open Telegram’s web or installation route.

Connect a bot you already own

You can use manual setup instead:

1. Open @BotFather in Telegram.
2. Send /newbot and follow the prompts. Bot usernames must end in bot.
3. Copy the bot token BotFather returns. Treat it as a password.
4. In the Colleague dashboard, open Telegram, choose Manual setup, and paste the token.
5. Send /start to the bot and approve your pairing request in the dashboard.

Pairing request identifiers are intentionally hidden. If a request expires, send the bot another direct message and approve the new request.

Group Privacy

Telegram enables Group Privacy by default. With privacy enabled, a bot can still receive:

• direct messages;
• /commands sent in a group;
• replies to the bot’s own messages;
• service messages; and
• group messages where the bot is explicitly mentioned, subject to Telegram’s delivery rules.

That is enough for direct conversations and mention-driven use, so Group Privacy does not block Quick Setup.

Turn Group Privacy off only when an approved group workflow requires the bot to receive ordinary group messages that do not mention it:

1. Message @BotFather and send /mybots.
2. Select your Colleague bot.
3. Open Bot Settings → Group Privacy.
4. Choose Turn off.
5. If the bot is already in a group, remove it and add it again. Telegram caches the privacy setting when a bot joins.

Promoting the bot to a group administrator is an alternative: Telegram delivers all group messages to administrator bots regardless of the global privacy setting. Grant administrator access only when the group needs it.

Why this step is manual

Telegram’s public Managed Bots API can create the bot and manage who may use it, but it does not provide a method to change Group Privacy. Only the bot owner can change that setting through @BotFather. Colleague therefore does not claim to disable it during Quick Setup.

Group access remains separate from Telegram’s privacy setting. Colleague fails closed: adding the bot to a group does not by itself approve that group to reach your agent. Approve only the people and groups you recognize in the dashboard.

For Telegram’s own description of these delivery rules, see Privacy Mode and the can_read_all_group_messages Bot API field.

Remove Telegram

Choose Remove from the Telegram card in the dashboard. Colleague unregisters the webhook and removes the runtime credential. Reconnect if you want to use Telegram again.

If you believe a bot token was exposed, revoke it in BotFather before reconnecting.