Telegram is useful when the person responsible for a job is already watching a direct message or a small operations group. Crontap connects its bot through a one-time link, then sends formatted schedule, uptime, and heartbeat alerts to that confirmed chat.
This guide is about receiving operational alerts. If your goal is to send your own Telegram bot message on a timer, see schedule Telegram bot messages.
Before you connect
You need:
- A Crontap Pro or Ultra plan. Paid plans start at $2.99 per month.
- The Telegram desktop or mobile app.
- Permission to add the Crontap bot to the chosen group if you are not using a direct message.
The first release supports direct messages and groups. It does not document Telegram channel posting.
1. Choose a direct message or group
Open Settings, then Notifications, and select Connect Telegram.
Choose:
- Open Telegram (direct message) for a private alert destination.
- Add to a group when several people should see the same alert.
The generated link is single-use and expires after 15 minutes. If you leave the flow open too long, close it and start again to mint a fresh link.
2. Tap Start in Telegram
Telegram opens the Crontap bot with a one-time connection token. Tap Start. For a group, choose the intended group and allow Telegram to add the bot.
Crontap confirms the chat and updates notification settings automatically. The token cannot be reused to connect a second chat.
The bot does not read ordinary group conversation. Telegram privacy mode still allows the start command and the service messages needed to maintain the connection.
3. Confirm the connected chat
Return to Crontap. The direct message or group appears as an active destination. Group labels include the Telegram chat name so Acme alerts is distinguishable from a private destination.
If the page does not update, wait a few seconds for Telegram's webhook confirmation, then refresh. Do not repeatedly tap Start with an expired link.
4. Route schedules, uptime, and heartbeats
In the defaults matrix, enable Telegram for the product areas that should use it:
- Schedules for failed scheduled calls after the configured retry policy is exhausted.
- Monitors for uptime state changes.
- Heartbeats for missed checks, explicit failure, and recovery.
Every entity supports the same modes:
- Use my defaults follows the product-area defaults.
- Choose channels sends that entity to a custom set.
- Off silences Notifications while leaving machine Integrations active.
A direct message and a group are separate destinations. You can connect both, then route personal alerts to the direct message and shared production alerts to the group.
5. Send a test
Open the Telegram destination's menu and choose Send test. The bot should send a formatted confirmation, and Crontap should record the attempt in delivery history.
For a real alert, the message includes the alert kind, entity name, current state, relevant error or missed-heartbeat context, and a link back to Crontap. Uptime and heartbeat recovery events go to the same selected destinations. Schedule failures do not have the same guaranteed recovery pair.
Testing is also the fastest way to discover that the bot was blocked in a direct message or removed from a group.
Multiple destinations and safe routing
One source can notify a Telegram group, Slack, Discord, and email. More destinations do not automatically make the route safer. Prefer one owned group plus an independent fallback.
If your monitor checks Telegram or network access needed to reach Telegram, keep email or another provider selected. An alert cannot help if its only delivery path is the service currently failing.
Rename, disconnect, and reconnect
Use the destination menu to send a test, inspect delivery history, rename the Crontap label, or disconnect.
Crontap marks the row Reconnect needed when Telegram reports that the bot was blocked, kicked from the group, or can no longer find the chat. Restore access, then reconnect or connect a replacement destination.
When Telegram upgrades a group to a supergroup, its internal chat ID changes. Crontap handles Telegram's migration event and updates the saved destination automatically.
Troubleshooting Telegram alerts
The connection link expired
The one-time link lasts 15 minutes. Return to notification settings, close the old dialog, and start a new Telegram connection.
I tapped Start, but Crontap still waits
Confirm you opened the current link in the intended Telegram account and tapped the visible Start button. For a group, confirm the bot was actually added. Then refresh Crontap after a few seconds.
The bot does not read group messages
That is expected. Crontap sends alerts and handles Telegram service events. It does not read ordinary group conversation.
The row says Reconnect needed
The bot may be blocked, kicked, or missing from the chat. Unblock or add it again, then reconnect from Crontap and send a test.
The group became a supergroup
Telegram changes the chat ID during that upgrade. Crontap processes the migration event automatically. Send a test afterward. Reconnect only if the destination shows a health problem.
Can I use a Telegram channel?
Telegram channels are not part of the documented v1 connection flow. Use a direct message or group.
Limits, plan behavior, and security
Telegram chat delivery requires a paid plan. Downgrading to Starter pauses chat delivery but keeps the destination and routing configuration. Email remains available on every plan.
The bot token is held by Crontap, and the confirmed chat ID is stored for delivery. One-time connection tokens expire and cannot be reused. Crontap does not expose bot credentials or Telegram chat IDs in the UI.
Crontap does not provide SMS, calls, on-call rotations, acknowledge controls, or escalation policies.
FAQ
How do I receive website downtime alerts in Telegram?
Connect a direct message or group, enable Telegram for Monitors in defaults, then keep the uptime monitor on Use my defaults.
Can a heartbeat alert a Telegram group?
Yes. Connect the group and enable it for Heartbeats globally, or select it from that heartbeat's custom channel list.
Can one event also notify email?
Yes. Select both destinations. Email remains available even when chat delivery is not included in the current plan.
Do recovered monitors notify Telegram?
Yes, when an uptime monitor or heartbeat emits a recovery event. Schedule failures do not promise the same recovery lifecycle.
Does the bot listen to our group?
No. The Crontap bot does not read normal group conversation.