Telegram
Message your agent from Telegram — direct messages, group conversations, photos, voice notes, and documents.
Overview
Your Salmex I/O agent appears as a Telegram bot. Message it directly, mention it in groups, or send it files — it responds in real time, just like chatting with another person.
Telegram needs to reach your server over the internet. If you're running locally, set up remote access first.
Setup
The Salmex I/O app walks you through a 4-step wizard when you add Telegram from the Channels page.
Enter the HTTPS address where Telegram can reach your server. You can use the built-in remote access, ngrok, or any domain pointing to your machine.
Open Telegram and message @BotFather. Send /newbot, choose a name, and copy the bot token. Paste it into the app — it verifies the token and shows your bot's identity.
Enter your Telegram user ID to lock the bot to your account. You can find your ID by messaging @userinfobot on Telegram.
Review the summary and confirm. Your bot goes live — send it a message to test.
Access control
You control who can talk to your agent on Telegram with two separate policies — one for direct messages and one for groups.
Direct messages
| Policy | Who can message |
|---|---|
| Allowlist (default) | Only users you've approved. Everyone else is ignored. |
| Open | Any Telegram user. |
| Disabled | DMs are turned off entirely. |
Groups
| Policy | Where it responds |
|---|---|
| Disabled (default) | The bot doesn't respond in groups. |
| Allowlist | Only in specified groups, and only to approved users. Requires @mention. |
| Open | Any group, when @mentioned. |
What you can do
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Text messages | Rich formatting — bold, italic, code, links |
| Photos | Send and receive |
| Voice notes | Send and receive |
| Videos | Send and receive |
| Documents | Send and receive (up to 50 MB) |
| Location | Receive |
| Forum topics | Supported in supergroups with topics enabled |
| Typing indicator | "typing..." shown while the agent is thinking |
| Message editing | The agent can update its own messages |
| Approval buttons | Inline Approve/Deny buttons for risky actions |
Rate limits
Salmex I/O respects Telegram's messaging limits automatically — you don't need to worry about being throttled or blocked. Long responses are split into multiple messages at natural paragraph boundaries.
Security
All communication between Telegram and your server is verified with a unique secret token, generated automatically during setup. Messages that can't be verified are rejected.
Approvals
When the agent wants to do something risky, it sends a message with Approve and Deny buttons. Tap a button to respond instantly — the agent resumes or adjusts based on your decision.