> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.omni.z-api.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect Telegram

> Connect a Telegram bot with the BotFather token

Channel of type `BOT_TELEGRAM`. It is the simplest of the five flows: no OAuth, no Meta, no approval.

## Requirements

* A bot created through Telegram's [@BotFather](https://t.me/botfather)
* The **token** BotFather returns on creation

## Creating the bot

<Steps>
  <Step title="Talk to BotFather">
    Open [@BotFather](https://t.me/botfather) on Telegram and send `/newbot`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a name and username">
    The username must end in `bot` — for example `mystore_bot`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Keep the token">
    BotFather returns something like `123456789:AAHdqTcvCH1vGWJxfSeofSAs0K5PALDsaw`. That is the token.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  The token grants full control of the bot. Treat it as a password — do not commit it and do not expose it in the frontend.
</Warning>

## Connecting

```javascript theme={null}
const client = OmniZapi.newClient({ publicKey: 'YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY' });
const response = await client.connect({ channelId: 'CHANNEL_ID' });
// response: { success, channelId, botToken }
```

The SDK opens a window where the user pastes the bot token. Unlike the Meta channels, the response carries **`botToken` instead of `code`** — no OAuth is involved.

Forward the whole object to [finish the connection](/en/channels/connect-channel).

## What is different on Telegram

Telegram is the **least restricted** of the five channels:

| Detail               | Value                                                  |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| Contact identifier   | bot username (`@my_bot`)                               |
| Conversation window  | **does not exist** — send at any time                  |
| Templates            | not needed, and do not exist                           |
| Poll                 | **supported** (only Telegram and WhatsApp Web have it) |
| Location and contact | supported                                              |

<Note>
  With no 24-hour window you start conversations whenever you want — as long as the user has started the bot at least once. That is Telegram's rule: a bot does not talk to someone who never sent `/start`.
</Note>