Telegram Alarm Channel

Overview

The Telegram alarm channel delivers Argus detection events as Markdown messages to a Telegram channel or group via a bot. Useful for on-call teams that operate in Telegram rather than Slack.

Prerequisites

• Telegram account to create a bot via BotFather
• The chat ID of the channel or group that will receive alerts
• A Cremit Argus account

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Create a Telegram bot with BotFather

• Open Telegram and start a chat with @BotFather
• Send /newbot and follow the prompts (name + unique username)
• Copy the bot token BotFather provides; it looks like `123456:ABC-DEF...`

Step 2: Add the bot to your channel or group

• Open the target channel or group > settings > Administrators (for channels) or Members (for groups)
• Add the bot by its username
• For channels, ensure the bot has the 'Post Messages' admin permission

Step 3: Find the chat ID

Argus needs the numeric chat ID to post.

• Easiest: forward any message from the target chat to @RawDataBot; it returns the chat ID
• Alternative: use `getUpdates` on your bot after the bot has seen a message in the chat
• Channel IDs begin with -100, group IDs with a minus sign

Step 4: Configure the channel in Argus

• Argus > Alarm > Add Alarm Channel > Telegram tab
• Name: describe the destination (for example, 'Security team channel')
• Bot token: paste the token from BotFather
• Chat ID: paste the numeric chat ID
• Click Send Test Message, then Create Channel

Verification

To confirm the integration is configured correctly:

• The test message appears in the target chat with correct formatting
• The channel shows Connected in Argus's alarm channels list
• Severity routing rules (if set) deliver only matching events
• No 'chat not found' errors in the channel's activity log

Troubleshooting

Issue: Argus returns 'chat not found' when sending.

• Solution: Either the chat ID is wrong, or the bot has not been added to the chat yet. Re-verify the chat ID and confirm bot membership.

Issue: The bot cannot post to a channel.

• Solution: Channels require the bot to be an administrator with 'Post Messages' permission. Groups only require membership. Promote the bot accordingly.

Key Benefits

• Simple bot-token setup; no OAuth flow
• Works well for on-call teams that already live in Telegram
• Markdown formatting keeps alerts scannable at a glance
• Per-channel severity routing keeps noise out of critical chats