How do I install the Telegram skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add kzahel/telegram in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Telegram safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Telegram?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Telegram free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Telegram?

kzahel (@kzahel) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Telegram by kzahel — Agent Skill

Name: Telegram
Author: kzahel

File contents

Send and receive messages via the Telegram Bot API. Used for notifications, report delivery, and as a messaging channel for the assistant.

Prerequisites

A Telegram bot created via @BotFather
Bot token stored in the assistant's .env file as TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN
Chat ID stored in .env as TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID (run telegram get-chat-id to obtain)

Sending Messages

# Inline message (sent as HTML by default)
telegram send --message "<b>bold</b> and <i>italic</i>"

# Read from file, convert markdown to HTML
telegram send --message-file /path/to/report.md --markdown

# Pipe from stdin
echo "Hello from Scout" | telegram send

# Pipe markdown through stdin with conversion
cat /path/to/report.md | telegram send --markdown

# Plain text (no formatting)
telegram send --message "plain text, no parsing" --no-parse

# Explicit recipient
telegram send --to <chat-id> --message "Hello"

Input Priority

--message — inline text
--message-file — read from file
stdin — piped input

Formatting Modes

Flag	parse_mode	Input	Use case
(default)	HTML	Write HTML directly	When you control the markup
`--markdown`	HTML	Write markdown, CLI converts to HTML	Reports, rich content from files
`--no-parse`	(none)	Plain text	Chat replies, avoid escaping issues
`--parse X`	X	Raw text in that mode	Override (e.g. `--parse MarkdownV2`)

Message Limits

Telegram limits messages to 4096 characters. The CLI auto-splits longer messages.

Sending Best Practices

Keep messages concise. Telegram is a phone screen — short paragraphs, bullets.
Use --markdown with --message-file for rich content — avoids shell escaping and keeps content out of agent context.
Use --no-parse for chat replies where content might contain special characters.
Don't spam. Batch updates into a single message when possible.

Receiving Messages

telegram poll                          # Long-poll for new messages (30s timeout)
telegram poll --timeout 60             # Custom timeout
telegram poll --offset <update-id>     # Resume from specific update

Poll Output Format

[2026-02-21T07:00:00Z] @kzahel (chat:123456789): Check on JSTorrent waitlist
  update_id: 987654321

Utility Commands

telegram get-me                        # Verify bot token, show bot info
telegram get-chat-id                   # Wait for someone to message the bot, print their chat ID

Configuration

In config.yaml:

skills:
  telegram:
    chatId: "123456789"    # Default recipient

Secrets in .env:

TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your-bot-token
TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=123456789

Using as Output Channel

Set output: telegram on a schedule to deliver results via Telegram instead of email:

schedules:
  - name: quick-alert
    cron: "*/30 * * * *"
    skills:
      - skill: some-check
    output: telegram

The assistant should format the output as a concise Telegram message (plain text or light Markdown).

---name: telegramdescription: Send and receive messages via Telegram — notifications, reports, and two-way messaging with a Telegram bot---# TelegramSend and receive messages via the Telegram Bot API. Used for notifications, report delivery, and as a messaging channel for the assistant.## Prerequisites- A Telegram bot created via [@BotFather](https://t.me/BotFather)- Bot token stored in the assistant's `.env` file as `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`- Chat ID stored in `.env` as `TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID` (run `telegram get-chat-id` to obtain)## Sending Messages```bash# Inline message (sent as HTML by default)telegram send --message "<b>bold</b> and <i>italic</i>"# Read from file, convert markdown to HTMLtelegram send --message-file /path/to/report.md --markdown# Pipe from stdinecho "Hello from Scout" | telegram send# Pipe markdown through stdin with conversioncat /path/to/report.md | telegram send --markdown# Plain text (no formatting)telegram send --message "plain text, no parsing" --no-parse# Explicit recipienttelegram send --to <chat-id> --message "Hello"```### Input Priority1. `--message` — inline text2. `--message-file` — read from file3. stdin — piped input### Formatting Modes| Flag | parse_mode | Input | Use case ||------|-----------|-------|----------|| (default) | HTML | Write HTML directly | When you control the markup || `--markdown` | HTML | Write markdown, CLI converts to HTML | Reports, rich content from files || `--no-parse` | (none) | Plain text | Chat replies, avoid escaping issues || `--parse X` | X | Raw text in that mode | Override (e.g. `--parse MarkdownV2`) |### Message LimitsTelegram limits messages to 4096 characters. The CLI auto-splits longer messages.### Sending Best Practices- **Keep messages concise.** Telegram is a phone screen — short paragraphs, bullets.- **Use `--markdown` with `--message-file`** for rich content — avoids shell escaping and keeps content out of agent context.- **Use `--no-parse` for chat replies** where content might contain special characters.- **Don't spam.** Batch updates into a single message when possible.## Receiving Messages```bashtelegram poll # Long-poll for new messages (30s timeout)telegram poll --timeout 60 # Custom timeouttelegram poll --offset <update-id> # Resume from specific update```### Poll Output Format```[2026-02-21T07:00:00Z] @kzahel (chat:123456789): Check on JSTorrent waitlist update_id: 987654321```## Utility Commands```bashtelegram get-me # Verify bot token, show bot infotelegram get-chat-id # Wait for someone to message the bot, print their chat ID```## ConfigurationIn `config.yaml`:```yamlskills: telegram: chatId: "123456789" # Default recipient```Secrets in `.env`:```TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your-bot-tokenTELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=123456789```## Using as Output ChannelSet `output: telegram` on a schedule to deliver results via Telegram instead of email:```yamlschedules: - name: quick-alert cron: "*/30 * * * *" skills: - skill: some-check output: telegram```The assistant should format the output as a concise Telegram message (plain text or light Markdown).

Frequently asked questions

Telegram