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Setting Up the Telegram Bot (Operator Guide)

Telegram bot setup is the simplest of the three platforms — no developer portal approval, no webhook URL required (the bot uses long-polling).

1. Create the Bot

  1. Open Telegram and start a conversation with @BotFather.
  2. Send /newbot.
  3. Follow the prompts: choose a display name (e.g. "MyExternalCortex") and a username (must end in bot, e.g. myexternalcortex_bot).
  4. BotFather will reply with your bot token. Copy it — this is your TELEGRAM_TOKEN.

Still in BotFather, you can:

  • /setdescription — set a short description shown on the bot's profile page.
  • /setabouttext — set the "About" text.
  • /setuserpic — set a profile picture.
  • /setprivacy — set to disabled so the bot can read messages in groups (only needed if you plan to use group chats; for DM-only usage, leave as enabled).

The command menu is auto-populated at bot startup via set_my_commands() — you don't need to configure it in BotFather.

3. Configure Environment Variables

Add to your .env:

TELEGRAM_TOKEN=your_token_here

Leave blank to disable Telegram support entirely.

4. Verify

Start the bot. In Telegram:

  • Find your bot by username and send /start.
  • The bot should respond with the onboarding message.
  • Send /help to see the command list.
  • The "menu" button (slash icon) next to the text input should show all commands with descriptions — this is populated automatically on startup.

Troubleshooting

Symptom Likely cause
Bot doesn't respond Token is wrong; check TELEGRAM_TOKEN in .env
"Conflict: terminated by other getUpdates request" Two instances running with the same token; stop the duplicate
Command menu is empty Bot startup didn't complete successfully; check logs
Bot responds in groups Privacy mode is disabled; re-enable in BotFather with /setprivacy if DM-only is desired