Telegram Setup Guide

Send form submission notifications to Telegram. Create a bot, get your chat ID, and start receiving alerts.

Setup steps

1Open Telegram and search for @BotFather

Open the Telegram app on your phone or desktop. In the search bar, type @BotFather and select the official bot (it has a blue verified checkmark). BotFather is Telegram's built-in tool for creating and managing bots.

2Create a new bot

Send the /newbot command to BotFather. It will ask you to choose a display name for your bot (e.g., "My Form Alerts") and then a username (must end in bot, e.g., myform_alerts_bot). Follow the prompts until the bot is created.

3Copy the bot token

After creating the bot, BotFather will send you a message containing the bot token. It looks like this:

123456789:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11

Copy this token — you will need it in the next steps.

4Start a conversation with your bot

Search for your new bot by its username in Telegram and open the chat. Send any message (e.g., "hello") to start the conversation. This is required — bots cannot message you until you message them first.

5Get your chat ID

Open the following URL in your browser, replacing {YOUR_TOKEN} with the token from Step 3:

https://api.telegram.org/bot{YOUR_TOKEN}/getUpdates

Look for "chat":{"id":123456789} in the JSON response. The number is your chat ID. Copy it.

6Configure FormBlade

Log in to your FormBlade dashboard. Open the form you want to configure, go to Settings → Notifications, and click Telegram. Paste your bot token and chat ID into the fields, then click Save.

7Send a test message

Click Send test message in the Telegram notification settings. You should receive a test notification in your Telegram chat within a few seconds. If it works, you're all set.

Tips

Group notifications: To send notifications to a Telegram group instead of a private chat, add the bot to the group, send a message in the group, then use the getUpdates URL from Step 5 to find the group chat ID. Group chat IDs start with - (e.g., -1001234567890).
Keep your token secret: Bot tokens are like passwords — anyone with your token can send messages as your bot. Don't share it publicly or commit it to version control. If your token is compromised, use BotFather's /revoke command to generate a new one.

Multiple forms

You can use the same Telegram bot and chat ID on multiple forms. Each form sends its own notification with the form name in the message, so you can tell them apart. No extra setup needed — just paste the same bot token and chat ID into each form's settings.

Availability

Telegram notifications are available on all plans, including the free Personal plan.