Connect Telegram

Goal: Get real-time alerts for orders, shipments, and low stock on your phone.

Time needed: 5 minutes.

What You Need Before Starting

• Telegram installed on your phone or computer (app or web.telegram.org)
• Telegram account access (create one if you don't have it)
• A web browser

Step-by-Step

1. Create a Bot in BotFather

BotFather is Telegram's official assistant for creating bots. It's a "bot for bots" — it manages other bots.

Step 1a: Open Telegram

1. Open Telegram (app on phone, web at web.telegram.org, or desktop)
2. In the search bar, search for @BotFather (with the @)
3. Click the verified one (it has a blue checkmark)

Step 1b: Use /newbot

1. Send the message /newbot to BotFather
2. BotFather will respond asking for a name for your bot
   • Ex.: "My SellerForge" or "Store Alerts"
   • Any name works
3. Send the name
4. BotFather will ask for a username (must end with "bot")
   • Ex.: "my_store_bot" or "sellerforge_alerts_bot"
   • Must be unique and end with "bot"
5. Send the username
6. BotFather will say:

   Done! Congratulations on your new bot. 
   You will find it at t.me/your_username_bot. 
   You can now add a description, about section and profile picture for your bot, see /help for a list of commands. 
   
   Use this token to access the HTTP API:
   1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklmnoPQRstuvWXyz...

1. Copy the token (the long code starting with numbers and a colon)

2. Connect in SellerForge WMS

1. In the SellerForge WMS app, go to Settings → Integrations
2. Click the Telegram card
3. Fill in the Bot Token field with the token you copied from BotFather
4. Click Save

You should see:

Status: Waiting for webhook...

3. Register the Webhook

1. Now you'll see a Register Webhook button
2. Click it
3. SellerForge WMS will communicate with Telegram and enable notifications
4. You should see:

   Status: Ready! Send /start to the bot.

4. Start a Chat with the Bot

Now you need to start a conversation with your bot so it captures your chat ID automatically.

1. Go back to Telegram
2. Search for your bot by username (ex.: @your_username_bot) in the search bar
3. Open the bot
4. Send the message /start to the bot
5. The bot will respond with a confirmation message

Done! SellerForge WMS has captured your chat ID.

5. Test the Connection

Back in SellerForge WMS:

1. Click Test Connection
2. The app will send a test message to your bot
3. You should receive the test message on Telegram

If you received it, it's working!

Add More People (Group)

If you want more people on your team to receive alerts:

Option 1: Individual chats

• Repeat steps 1-5 for each person (each uses a different bot)

Option 2: Group (recommended)

1. In Telegram, create a new Group (not a "secret chat")
2. Add the bot to the group (search by username)
3. Add the people you want to receive alerts
4. Click the group name → Add Bot → search for your bot
5. Back in SellerForge WMS, go to Settings → Integrations → Telegram
6. Click Register Webhook again (or Re-register)
7. In the Telegram group, send /start to the bot
8. SellerForge WMS will capture the group ID

Warning: When you change from individual chat to group, the chat ID changes. You'll need to re-register the webhook.

Test the Connection

After clicking "Test Connection":

• "Message sent successfully" → You should receive a message on Telegram in 5-10 seconds
• "Error: Chat ID not found" → You haven't sent /start to the bot yet. Go back to step 4.
• "Error: Invalid Bot Token" → Check if you copied the full token (no spaces)
• "Telegram service unavailable" → Telegram may be having issues; wait a few minutes

Troubleshooting

I didn't receive the test message

Cause: The chat ID hasn't been captured yet. Solution: Go back to Telegram, search for your bot, open the conversation, and send /start. Wait 5 seconds, then go back to SellerForge WMS and click "Test Connection" again.

"Error: Invalid Bot Token"

Cause: You copied it wrong or characters are missing. Solution: Go back to BotFather, send /mybots, click your bot, and send /token to receive the token again. Copy the full thing (it will be very long).

"Error: Chat ID not found"

Cause: The /start wasn't sent to the bot. Solution: In Telegram, search for your bot's username (ex.: @your_username_bot), open it, and send /start. Wait 5-10 seconds for the ID to be captured.

I want to switch to a group but the bot won't join

Cause: You may not have added the bot as an administrator. Solution: In Telegram, go to the group, tap the group name, look for "Add Members", search for the bot by username, and add it.

I got an error message in Russian or another language

Cause: Telegram sent an error in your configured language. Solution: Copy the message and look up the translation. It's usually "chat not found" or "token invalid". Verify the steps above.

I created a new bot but the old one is still receiving messages

Cause: You didn't update the token in SellerForge WMS. Solution: Copy the new token from the new bot, go to Settings → Integrations → Telegram, update the Bot Token field, and click Register Webhook again.

I don't want to receive alerts anymore

Cause: You want to disable it. Solution: In SellerForge WMS, go to Settings → Integrations → Telegram, and click Disconnect. Messages stop immediately.

Security

Your Bot Token is encrypted and stored only in your SellerForge WMS database.

No one from the SellerForge team can access your bot.

• Your Chat ID is also encrypted
• If the Bot Token leaks, you can revoke it in BotFather: /revoke and then /token to generate a new one
• If you disconnect the integration, the token is deleted from SellerForge WMS

Next step: Your First Day →

Official References:

• Telegram Bot API
• Creating a Bot with BotFather