Add support for triggering Telegram workflows from specific channels
It would help if there was a node for:
A Telegram trigger that can listen to a specific channel ID, without requiring the bot to be added to that channel.
My use case:
I want to trigger n8n workflows whenever a message appears in a certain Telegram channel.
Right now, the Telegram Trigger only works with the Bot API, which means:
- I must add my bot to the channel
- Public channels almost never allow that
- So I can’t set up triggers for those channels
This blocks workflows that depend on tracking messages from public Telegram channels.
A simple field like “Channel ID to listen to” would solve this and unlock a lot more automation possibilities.
Any resources to support this?
- Telegram’s public channels can be accessed via the Telegram API using channel IDs.
- Telegram’s client API (used by tools like Telethon, Pyrogram, etc.) allows listening to channel messages without the bot being added.
- Many automation tools already use this method to monitor channel updates.
So it’s technically possible — but n8n currently only supports bot API.
Are you willing to work on this?
Yes, I’m willing to help implement this feature.