n8n Installer

💬 Why Use Telegram for Alerts?

Want to know the moment someone submits a form? Pays an invoice? Fails a job?

With Telegram + n8n, you can get real-time alerts directly to your phone or group chat.

This guide shows you how to:

Create a Telegram bot
Connect it to n8n
Send messages with dynamic content
Add alerts to any workflow

🧾 What You’ll Need

A Telegram account
The Telegram app (desktop or mobile)
A self-hosted or cloud-based n8n instance
Basic knowledge of how to create n8n workflows

🤖 Step 1: Create a Telegram Bot

Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
Type /start, then /newbot
Give your bot a name and username (must end in bot)
Copy the bot token — you’ll need this in n8n

Example token: 123456789:ABCdefGhIJklMNopQRsTUVwxyz

📥 Step 2: Get Your Chat ID

To send messages, n8n needs to know where to send them — either to your personal chat or a group.

➤ For Personal Chat:

Send a message to your bot first
Go to this URL (replace BOT_TOKEN):

https://api.telegram.org/bot<BOT_TOKEN>/getUpdates

Look for "chat":{"id":123456789,...} in the JSON response

That’s your personal chat ID.

➤ For Group Chat:

Add the bot to your group
Send a message in the group
Visit the same getUpdates URL to get the group chat ID

It will look like: -1001234567890

🔌 Step 3: Set Up Telegram Credentials in n8n

Go to n8n > Settings > Credentials
Click Telegram API
Add your bot token
Save the credential

🧱 Step 4: Create a Telegram Notification Workflow

Here’s a basic example:

Trigger node (e.g. Webhook or Cron)

Use a Webhook node to receive data, or a Schedule node for periodic checks.

Telegram Node (Send Message)

Add the Telegram node
Choose your credential
Mode: Send Message
Chat ID: Paste your personal or group chat ID
Text: Write the message or use expressions

Example:

📩 New lead submitted!
Name: {{$json.name}}
Email: {{$json.email}}

✅ Use Case Examples

Use Case	Trigger	Telegram Message
New form submission	Webhook (Typeform, Tally)	“New response from {{$json.name}}”
Payment received	Stripe trigger	“💰 New order from {{$json.customer_name}}”
Error handling	Error trigger or IF condition	“❗ Workflow failed at step {{$node.name}}”
Daily summary	Cron (every 9AM)	“📊 You had {{$items.length}} tasks yesterday.”

🧠 Pro Tips

Use Markdown for formatting messages:
Example: *Bold*, _Italic_, [Link](https://example.com)
Use IF or Switch nodes before sending alerts
Add retry logic or fallback alerts in case of errors
Add “Disable Telegram” as a workflow setting using ENV variables

🔐 Security Tip

Never expose your Bot Token publicly. Use n8n Credentials securely and avoid hardcoding tokens.

🧪 Test the Flow

Trigger your workflow and check if the message appears in your Telegram chat.

Didn’t work?

Double-check your bot token

Make sure the bot has started a chat or is in the group

Verify your chat ID is correct

👋 Final Thoughts

Telegram is one of the fastest and most reliable ways to receive alerts from your automations — especially for solopreneurs, devs, and small teams.

Once it’s set up, you’ll never miss an important event again.

💡 Need Help?

Want me to integrate Telegram into your n8n setup?

👉 Contact me here and let’s automate your alerts — done fast, done right.