Telegram

Overview

Telegram is the recommended starting channel for ArgentOS. Setup takes under 5 minutes and the Bot API is reliable and well-documented.

Prerequisites

• A Telegram account
• ArgentOS gateway running (argent gateway start)

Step 1: Create a Bot with BotFather

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot
3. Choose a display name (e.g., "My Argent Agent")
4. Choose a username ending in bot (e.g., my_argent_bot)
5. Copy the HTTP API token BotFather gives you

Step 2: Add the Channel

argent channels add telegram

When prompted, paste your bot token. The CLI will verify the token and save it to your config.

Step 3: Configure (Optional)

Edit argent.json to customize Telegram-specific settings:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "token": "123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrSTUvwxYZ",
      "allowedUsers": [],
      "polling": true,
      "webhook": {
        "enabled": false,
        "url": "https://your-domain.com/webhook/telegram",
        "port": 8443
      }
    }
  }
}

Polling vs Webhook

• Polling (default): The bot periodically checks for new messages. Simpler setup, works behind NAT.
• Webhook: Telegram pushes messages to your server. Lower latency, requires a public HTTPS endpoint.

Step 4: Test

Send a message to your bot on Telegram. You should see it appear in the gateway logs and receive a response.

argent gateway logs --follow

Security

Restricting Access

By default, anyone who finds your bot can message it. Use allowedUsers to restrict access:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "allowedUsers": [123456789, 987654321]
    }
  }
}

Supported Features