PostEverywhere Telegram API Guide

PostEverywhere API reference for Telegram: bot setup, request fields and examples for channel posts with text, images, carousels and video.

Publish text, images, image carousels, and video to a Telegram channel through your bot. PostEverywhere uses the Telegram Bot API to deliver content; the bot you connected at setup is the credential: there is no OAuth flow. For a general overview of all supported platforms, see the Introduction.

Connect your Telegram account to PostEverywhere

Telegram uses a bot token plus a target channel. There is no OAuth flow.

Open a chat with @BotFather on Telegram and create a bot. Copy the bot token it gives you.
Add the bot as an administrator of the channel you want to post to. Enable the Post Messages permission.
In your PostEverywhere dashboard, go to Accounts → Connect Telegram and paste:
- The bot token from BotFather (format: 123456:ABC-DEF1234...)
- The channel: either @channelusername, a t.me/channelusername link, or a numeric chat ID.

We validate the bot token, confirm the bot can see the channel, and check it has post permission before saving the account. If any of those fail, we surface the exact error so you can fix the setup.

What you can post to Telegram

Content Type	Media Required	Description
Text post	None	Plain text message, up to 4,096 characters.
Image post	Image	Single image with optional caption (up to 1,024 chars).
Image carousel	Images (2-10)	Media group with up to 10 images.
Video post	Video (MP4)	Single video with optional caption.
Document post	PDF	Not currently accepted: `POST /v1/posts` rejects PDF for Telegram destinations, although the publisher itself supports documents.

When the post text exceeds Telegram's 1,024-character caption limit but media is attached, we send the long text as a separate message first, then send the media without a caption, so nothing gets truncated.

Telegram-specific options in the API

platform_content.telegram.content overrides the caption or text per platform, and platform_content.telegram.settings accepts optional delivery options: silent (no notification sound), protectContent (block forwarding and saving), captionAboveMedia, mediaSpoiler, linkPreview (off, large or small) and linkPreviewAboveText. The link preview options only change messages sent as text: a text-only post, long text sent before the media, and thread_posts follow-ups. A post whose text fits as the media caption has no text message for them to change. There are no privacy, comment-control, or reply-restriction fields.

{
  "platform_content": {
    "telegram": {
      "content": "Telegram-specific caption (up to 4,096 chars text, 1,024 chars caption)"
    }
  }
}

Publish to Telegram: a working request

Schedule a Telegram Text Post

curl -X POST https://app.posteverywhere.ai/api/v1/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POSTEVERYWHERE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content": "New blog post is live. Read it here: https://example.com/blog/foo",
    "account_ids": [3100],
    "scheduled_for": "2026-06-15T12:00:00Z",
    "timezone": "UTC"
  }'

Schedule a Telegram Image Carousel

curl -X POST https://app.posteverywhere.ai/api/v1/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POSTEVERYWHERE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content": "Launch day photos",
    "account_ids": [3100],
    "media_ids": [
      "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111",
      "22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222",
      "33333333-3333-3333-3333-333333333333"
    ]
  }'

Send Follow-up Messages

thread_posts works on Telegram too. content (with any media) goes out first, then each string in thread_posts is sent as its own text message, in order. You can add up to 25 parts, each up to 4,096 characters; a part that is too long is rejected with 400 invalid_thread_posts before anything is sent. Media goes on the first message only.

curl -X POST https://app.posteverywhere.ai/api/v1/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POSTEVERYWHERE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content": "Release notes for v2.4, in three parts.",
    "account_ids": [3100],
    "thread_posts": [
      "1/ New: dark mode across the whole app.",
      "2/ Fixed: exports now keep your time zone.",
      "3/ Full changelog: https://example.com/changelog"
    ]
  }'

Telegram limits: characters, media and video

Requirement	Limit
Text-only message length	4,096 characters
Caption length (with media)	1,024 characters
Images per carousel	2 - 10 (media group)
Image formats	JPEG, PNG, WebP
Image max file size	10 MB (Telegram limit)
Video format	MP4 (H.264)
Video max file size	50 MB (Telegram limit); up to 20 MB is sent by URL, larger files are uploaded as bytes
Document formats	PDF
Document max file size	20 MB (PostEverywhere upload limit; see the note above on `POST /v1/posts`)
Follow-up messages	Up to 25 in `thread_posts`, text only
Bot must be channel admin	Yes, with "Post Messages" permission

Bot must have "Post Messages" enabled

If you remove the bot from your channel or revoke its post permission, every subsequent publish will fail with "bot can't post to chat". Reconnect via Accounts → Connect Telegram after fixing the permission on Telegram.

Getting better results on Telegram

Small files go by URL, large ones by upload. Media up to 20 MB is passed to Telegram as a URL to our storage; larger videos (up to Telegram's 50 MB ceiling) are uploaded as bytes. Files over 50 MB cannot be sent via the Bot API.
Long text + media gets split automatically. If your post text is longer than 1,024 characters but you've attached media, we send the text as a separate message before the media (with no caption on the media). This avoids silent truncation.
The bot's display name is the post author. Posts appear authored by the channel, but Telegram shows that the message was sent via a bot. Pick a bot name that makes sense for your channel.

Common questions about posting to Telegram

How do I connect a Telegram channel?

Create a bot via @BotFather, copy the token, add the bot to your channel as an administrator with "Post Messages" enabled, then go to Accounts → Connect Telegram in your PostEverywhere dashboard. Enter the bot token and the channel (@channelname or a numeric chat ID).

Why did my Telegram post fail with "bot is not an admin"?

The bot was removed from the channel, demoted, or had its "Post Messages" permission revoked. Re-add the bot as an administrator with post permissions, then re-validate the connection by clicking Reconnect on the account in your dashboard.

Can I post to a private Telegram group via the API?

Yes, the bot must be an administrator of the group. We support channels, supergroups, and private groups. Direct messages to users are not supported (Telegram's Bot API restricts that to opted-in users only).

Can I edit a Telegram post after it's published?

No. Telegram's Bot API supports editMessageText and editMessageCaption, but PATCH /v1/posts/:id only accepts scheduled or draft posts. Edits via our API on published posts return 400 invalid_post_status. Edit directly in Telegram if needed.

Other platforms you can publish to

Discord: webhook-based posting to a server channel
Bluesky: app-password connection model, similar low-friction setup
X (Twitter): short-form text with thread support

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