Telegram Group Chat Setup

Learn how to connect DevFlow to your Telegram group chats for team notifications.

Why Use Group Chats?

Group chats are perfect for:

• 👥 Team Collaboration - Everyone sees important updates
• 🔔 Shared Context - Discuss deployments and issues together
• 📊 Transparency - Keep the whole team informed

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

• ✅ Admin access to your Telegram group
• ✅ DevFlow account set up
• ✅ Basic understanding of notification channels

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Add the Bot to Your Group

1. Open your Telegram group
2. Tap the group name → Add Members
3. Search for @thedevflowbot (or your bot name)
4. Add the bot to the group

💡 Tip: You need admin rights to add bots

Step 2: Configure in DevFlow Dashboard

1. Go to Settings → Notification Channels
2. Click "Add Channel" → Select Telegram
3. Give it a name (e.g., "Dev Team Notifications")
4. Select "Group Chat" option

Step 3: Copy the Command

You'll see step-by-step instructions:

📋 Steps to connect group chat:

1. Add @thedevflowbot to your Telegram group
2. In the group, send this command:

   /start channel_696e67f7bf2a31d62e9a9306_1

[📋 Copy Command]

Click "Copy Command"

Step 4: Connect in Telegram

1. Go back to your Telegram group
2. Paste the command
3. Send it

Step 5: Confirmation

The bot will respond:

✅ Group Connected Successfully!*

"Dev Team Notifications" is now linked to this group.

🔔 You'll receive filtered notifications here based on your dashboard settings.

💡 Tip: Use /help to see available commands.

Important Differences: Group vs Personal

Why Can't I Just Click "Connect"?

Telegram Limitation: Deep links (t.me/bot?start=...) always open in personal DMs, never in groups.

That's why we provide the copy-paste flow for groups. It's a Telegram platform restriction, not a DevFlow limitation.

Managing Group Notifications

Set Up Filters

Configure which events go to which group:

Example: Production Team

Channel: Production Alerts (Group)
Sources: Render, Vercel
Repositories: company/production-*
Events:
  - deploy.succeeded
  - deploy.failed

Example: Dev Team

Channel: Dev Team (Group)
Sources: GitHub
Repositories:
  - team/frontend
  - team/backend
Events:
  - push
  - pull_request
  - deployment

Learn more about filtering →

Multiple Groups

You can connect different groups for different purposes:

1. #production-alerts - Critical only
2. #dev- updates - All development activity
3. #deployments - Deployment status updates

Each group can have its own filters!

Bot Commands in Groups

The bot responds to these commands:

• /help - Show available commands
• /status - Check connection status
• /filters - View current filter settings (coming soon)

Troubleshooting

"Bot not responding"

Solution: Make sure the bot is still in the group:

1. Check group members list
2. Re-add if removed
3. Resend /start command

"Unauthorized"

Solution: Only group admins can connect channels:

1. Verify you're an admin
2. Ask an admin to run the command

"Channel already connected"

Solution: The channel ID is already linked:

1. Go to Dashboard → Settings
2. Disconnect the old channel
3. Try again

Security & Privacy

Who Can Connect Groups?

Only Telegram group administrators can connect groups to DevFlow.

Can the Bot Read Messages?

No. The bot only:

• ✅ Receives commands you send it
• ✅ Sends notifications you've configured
• ❌ Cannot read group conversation
• ❌ Cannot access message history

Removing the Bot

If you remove the bot from the group:

1. Notifications stop immediately
2. Dashboard shows "disconnected"
3. You can reconnect anytime

Best Practices

1. Use Descriptive Names

Good: "Backend Team - Production Alerts"
Bad: "Telegram Channel 1"

2. Set Clear Filters

Don't spam your team! Filter to relevant events only.

3. Multiple Groups for Scale

As your team grows:

• #critical - Production issues
• #deploys - All deployments
• #github - Code activity

4. Document Your Setup

Keep a note of which group receives what, especially if you have many channels.

Advanced: Multiple Bots

For enterprise teams, you can run multiple DevFlow instances with different bots:

• @devflow-dev-bot - Development notifications
• @devflow-prod-bot - Production alerts
• @devflow-finance-bot - Payment webhooks

Each can have separate configurations and access controls.

What's Next?

• Webhook Filtering - Control what notifications you receive
• Channel Management - Manage all your channels
• Webhook Sources - Connect more services

Questions? Contact Support