Telegram node common issues

Here are some common errors and issues with the Telegram node and steps to resolve or troubleshoot them.

Add a bot to a Telegram channel

For a bot to send a message to a channel, you must add the bot to the channel. If you haven't added the bot to the channel, you'll see an error with a description like: Error: Forbidden: bot is not a participant of the channel.

To add a bot to a channel:

1. In the Telegram app, access the target channel and select the channel name.
2. Label the channel name as public channel.
3. Select Administrators > Add Admin.
4. Search for the bot's username and select it.
5. Select the checkmark on the top-right corner to add the bot to the channel.

Get the Chat ID

You can only use @channelusername on public channels. To interact with a Telegram group, you need that group's Chat ID.

There are three ways to get that ID:

1. From the Telegram Trigger: Use the Telegram Trigger node in your workflow to get a Chat ID. This node can trigger on different events and returns a Chat ID on successful execution.
2. From your web browser: Open Telegram in a web browser and open the group chat. The group's Chat ID is the series of digits behind the letter "g." Prefix your group Chat ID with a - when you enter it in n8n.
3. Invite Telegram's @RawDataBot to the group: Once you add it, the bot outputs a JSON file that includes a chat object. The id for that object is the group Chat ID. Then remove the RawDataBot from your group.

Send more than 30 messages per second

The Telegram API has a limitation of sending only 30 messages per second. Follow these steps to send more than 30 messages:

1. Loop Over Items node: Use the Loop Over Items node to get at most 30 chat IDs from your database.
2. Telegram node: Connect the Telegram node with the Loop Over Items node. Use the Expression Editor to select the Chat IDs from the Loop Over Items node.
3. Code node: Connect the Code node with the Telegram node. Use the Code node to wait for a few seconds before fetching the next batch of chat IDs. Connect this node with the Loop Over Items node.

You can also use this workflow.

Remove the n8n attribution from sent messages

If you're using the node to send Telegram messages, the message automatically gets an n8n attribution appended to the end:

To remove this attribution:

1. In the node's Additional Fields section, select Add Field.
2. Select Append n8n attribution.
3. Turn the toggle off.

Refer to Send Message additional fields for more information.