> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fetchhive.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Telegram

> Send a plain text Telegram message from a workflow

Use **Telegram** when you want a workflow to send a plain text message to your private Telegram chat.

Telegram steps send messages from the Fetch Hive Bot. You do not need to create a Telegram bot or add a bot token.

## Setup

### 1. Connect Telegram

Open the workspace **Integrations** page and click **Connect** on Telegram.

You can also connect from a Telegram workflow step by clicking **Connect Telegram** in the **Destination** field.

### 2. Start the Fetch Hive Bot

Telegram opens the Fetch Hive Bot.

Press **Start** in Telegram. If Telegram shows a message box instead, send the prefilled `/start` message.

If the **Start** button on the Telegram web page does nothing, your browser probably cannot open Telegram on that device. Open the same link on a phone or computer where you are logged in to Telegram, or open Telegram yourself, search for `@FetchHiveBot`, and send the `/start` message shown in the link.

The `/start` link expires after a short time. If it does not work, return to Fetch Hive and click **Connect Telegram** again to get a fresh link.

### 3. Return to Fetch Hive

Return to Fetch Hive after pressing **Start**.

The connected Telegram destination appears in the Telegram step **Destination** picker. If it does not appear immediately, click **Refresh**.

### 4. Add the Telegram step

Add **Telegram** to your workflow.

Keep **Action** set to **Send Message**.

Choose your connected Telegram destination.

If a workflow assistant adds the Telegram step for you, open the step settings and choose the destination before testing, running, versioning, or deploying the workflow.

Write the message body in **Message**. Use **Insert Variable** when the message should include a start input or an earlier workflow step output.

## Configuration

| Option              | Required | Description                                                                                             |
| ------------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Name                | No       | Label for the step in the workflow canvas.                                                              |
| Action              | Yes      | The Telegram action. The current editor shows **Send Message**.                                         |
| Destination         | Yes      | Your connected private Telegram chat.                                                                   |
| Message             | Yes      | Plain text message body.                                                                                |
| When the step fails | No       | Controls whether the workflow should **Terminate Workflow** or **Continue** if Telegram delivery fails. |

## Example

A common scheduled workflow is:

```text theme={null}
RSS or search step -> prompt summary step -> Telegram step
```

In the Telegram message, reference the prior summary:

```text theme={null}
{{summary_step.output}}
```

Scheduled workflows work normally once Telegram is connected and selected, which makes this useful for daily news summaries, alerts, and recurring reports.

## Output

This step stores the Telegram response as the step output.

Use the full output reference in later steps:

```text theme={null}
{{STEP_IDENTIFIER.output}}
```

If you need a specific field from the returned Telegram payload, insert it from the variable picker after a test run:

```text theme={null}
{{step_2.output.result.message_id}}
```

Telegram limits each bot text message to 4096 characters. If the resolved message is longer, Fetch Hive sends it as multiple Telegram messages. In that case the output includes `message_count`, and `result` is a list of Telegram message payloads.

## Notes

* Telegram must be connected by the same user who selects the destination.
* This setup supports private Telegram chats.
* The step sends plain text only.
* Group and channel destinations are not part of the normal Telegram step setup yet.

See also: [Scheduled Deployments](../../scheduled-deployments), [Testing and Iteration](../../testing-and-iteration), and [Integrations](../../../workspace/integrations)