Connect Telegram
Create your own Telegram bot, connect it to CurbsideOps, and link your Telegram account with one tap.
Your assistant lives in a Telegram bot that belongs to you. You and your crew message it like any other chat, and it answers questions, sends the morning briefing and delivers reminders. Setting it up takes about three minutes and you need Telegram on your phone or computer.
There are two parts: create the bot (so it exists), then link your own Telegram account (so the bot knows it is you).
Create your bot and connect it
Open BotFather
On the Your assistant setup screen, press Open BotFather. BotFather is Telegram's own tool for making bots. You can also search Telegram for BotFather.
Ask for a new bot
Send /newbot. Pick a display name your crew will recognize, like "Sunny Side Tacos", and then a username. Telegram requires the username to end in "bot".
Copy the token
BotFather replies with a long code that looks like 123456789:ABCdef.... That is your bot token: the password for your bot. Copy the whole thing.
Paste it into CurbsideOps
Paste the token under Paste the token BotFather gave you and press Connect. The step turns green and shows Connected as @yourbot.
Only you and CurbsideOps have the token, and it is stored encrypted. If Telegram does not recognize it, copy it again from BotFather and paste the whole code.
Give your assistant a name
Once the bot is connected, What your crew calls it sets the name the assistant uses for itself in every conversation and briefing, for example "Lucy". Press Save name. The Telegram handle (@yourbot) stays the same.
Link your Telegram account
Open your bot
Under Press Start in Telegram, press Open my bot in Telegram. On a computer you can scan the QR code with your phone instead.
Press Start
Telegram opens your bot with a Start button at the bottom of the chat. Press it. The setup screen updates by itself the moment you do, and the bot replies "You're connected".
Press Start, don't type
Typing "hi" does not link you. Only the Start button carries the one-time code that connects your account. If you already typed a message, go back to the setup screen and tap Open my bot in Telegram again.
Each link works once and expires after 24 hours. If it has expired, the bot says so; open a fresh one from the setup screen.
The manual fallback
If the one-tap link will not work for you, press Prefer to type your Telegram ID instead? Message your bot anything: because it does not know you yet, it replies with your Telegram user ID, a number like 123456789. Type that number into Your Telegram ID and press Save.
After setup
- Changing the bot or its name later: open Integrations and pick Telegram.
- Your crew: they link their own accounts the same way, from a link you text them. See Invite your crew.
- What to ask: see Your AI assistant.
If the bot does not reply once you are linked, see Telegram not replying.
Still stuck? Email support@curbsideops.com or use Report an Issue in the portal. Checked against CurbsideOps 1.105.4.