Overview
After Secretary Mode is enabled in BotFather, the Telegram account owner links the bot from Settings → Telegram Business → Chatbots. This establishes the business-profile relationship that Telestars later discovers.
- Link the exact bot to the intended Telegram profile.
- Select the correct private-chat scope.
- Avoid accidental exclusions that prevent fan conversations.
- Prepare Telegram to emit the business connection.
Before you start
- Access to the official @BotFather bot and the Telegram account that owns the bot.
- A Telegram Business profile where the bot should handle private conversations.
- Permission to add and manage bots in the Telestars workspace.
Step by step
- Open Telegram Settings on the personal account that owns the Business profile.
- Open Telegram Business, scroll to Chatbots, and choose the option to add a chatbot.
- Search for the exact @username displayed in My Bots and select it.
- Choose All private chats except as the scope used by the Telestars onboarding path.
- Leave the exclusion list empty so no intended private chat is silently skipped.
- Continue to permissions, save the link, and return to Telestars for connection discovery or verification.
How it works
These are the product rules and states that matter for this workflow.
| What to know | Telestars behavior |
|---|---|
| Profile ownership | The link is configured from the personal Telegram account whose private conversations the bot will handle. |
| Chat scope | The current Telestars onboarding path uses all private chats with no exclusions. |
| Discovery timing | Linking the chatbot may not immediately reveal the business_connection_id to Telestars; Telegram can send it on a later event or first message. |
| Separate permissions | Selecting the bot and granting its capabilities are separate parts of the Telegram Business setup. |
Verify the result
- Telegram Business → Chatbots lists the correct @username.
- The configured scope includes all intended private chats and has no accidental exclusion.
- The Telestars bot card enters Connected or Pending discovery rather than a token error state.
Troubleshooting
| If you see this | What to check |
|---|---|
| The bot does not appear in search | Verify its exact username and confirm Secretary Mode is on in BotFather for that bot. |
| Some conversations never reach the bot | Review the chatbot scope and remove unintended users or groups from the exclusion list. |
| Telestars still shows Pending | Finish permissions and send a fresh private message from another Telegram account to trigger discovery. |
Best practice
Use one clearly named BotFather bot per intended profile, keep tokens private, and verify every connection with a real message from a second account.