PixoMonitorDocs

Telegram Integration

Get PixoMonitor alerts delivered instantly to Telegram—on your phone, desktop, or web. Perfect for on-the-go monitoring.

Overview

The Telegram integration sends alert messages through a Telegram bot to your specified chat. Alerts include:

  • Formatted messages — Clean HTML formatting for easy reading
  • Status indicators — Emoji-based status at a glance
  • Complete details — Monitor name, URL, status, errors, and timestamps
  • Instant delivery — Push notifications to all your Telegram devices

Telegram alerts work great for personal monitoring or small teams. Create a group chat to share alerts with your team.

Setting Up Telegram Alerts

1

Create a Telegram Bot

Open Telegram and search for @BotFather (the official bot for creating bots).

  1. Start a chat with @BotFather
  2. Send the command /newbot
  3. Follow the prompts to name your bot
  4. Choose a username ending in bot (e.g., MyMonitoringBot)

BotFather will give you an API token that looks like:

123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz

Save this token—you'll need it for PixoMonitor.

2

Get Your Chat ID

The chat ID tells the bot where to send messages. There are several ways to get it:

For personal chats:

  1. Start a chat with your new bot (search for its username)
  2. Send any message to the bot
  3. Visit: https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_TOKEN>/getUpdates
  4. Find "chat":{"id":123456789} in the response—that number is your chat ID

For group chats:

  1. Add your bot to the group
  2. Send a message in the group
  3. Use the same getUpdates URL to find the group's chat ID (it will be negative, like -123456789)
3

Add to PixoMonitor

In PixoMonitor, go to Settings → Alert Channels and click Add Alert Channel:

  • Name: A descriptive name (e.g., "Telegram Personal")
  • Type: Select Telegram
  • Bot Token: Paste your bot's API token
  • Chat ID: Enter the chat ID (include the minus sign for groups)
  • Click Save
4

Assign to Monitors

Edit your monitors to include the Telegram alert channel, or set it as a default for all monitors.

Alert Message Format

Telegram alerts are formatted with HTML for clear, readable messages:

DOWN Alert

🔴 Monitor Alert

Monitor: MyWebsite
Status: DOWN
URL: https://mywebsite.com
Error: Connection timeout after 30000ms
Time: 3/24/2026, 10:30:45 AM

PixoMonitor Monitoring

UP (Recovery) Alert

✅ Monitor Alert

Monitor: MyWebsite
Status: UP
URL: https://mywebsite.com
Time: 3/24/2026, 10:35:12 AM

PixoMonitor Monitoring

Degraded Alert

⚠️ Monitor Alert

Monitor: MyWebsite
Status: DEGRADED
URL: https://mywebsite.com
Time: 3/24/2026, 10:32:00 AM

PixoMonitor Monitoring

Status names are displayed in bold for quick scanning. Error details are included when available.

Finding Your Chat ID (Alternative Methods)

Using @userinfobot

  1. Search for @userinfobot on Telegram
  2. Start a chat and send any message
  3. The bot replies with your user ID

Using @RawDataBot

  1. Add @RawDataBot to your group
  2. The bot will post the group's chat ID
  3. Remove the bot after getting the ID

For Channels

If sending to a Telegram channel:

  1. Add your bot as an administrator of the channel
  2. Use the channel's @username as the chat ID (e.g., @mychannelname)
  3. Or use the numeric ID from getUpdates

For group chats, your bot must be a member of the group to send messages. For channels, the bot needs administrator privileges.

Best Practices

Personal vs. Group Alerts

  • Personal chat: Great for solo developers or on-call notifications
  • Group chat: Share alerts with your team
  • Channel: Broadcast alerts to subscribers (one-way communication)

Notification Settings

Configure Telegram notification settings for your alert chat:

  • All messages: Immediate push notifications for every alert
  • Muted: Silent notifications, check when convenient
  • Custom sounds: Set a distinctive alert tone for monitoring messages

Bot Privacy

By default, bots in groups only receive messages that mention them or start with a command. For groups:

  1. Talk to @BotFather
  2. Send /setprivacy
  3. Choose your bot
  4. Select Disable to let the bot receive all messages (not required for PixoMonitor, but useful for testing)

Multiple Telegram Destinations

Create multiple Telegram alert channels in PixoMonitor to:

  • Send critical alerts to yourself and less critical ones to a team group
  • Route different monitors to different chats
  • Separate personal and work notifications

Troubleshooting

"Chat not found" Error

  • Verify chat ID: Make sure the ID is correct and includes the minus sign for groups
  • Bot membership: Ensure the bot is a member of the group or has access to the chat
  • Start the bot: For personal chats, you must start a conversation with the bot first

"Unauthorized" Error

  • Check token: Verify the bot token is correct and complete
  • Bot status: Make sure the bot hasn't been revoked by BotFather
  • Token format: The token should look like 123456789:ABCdef...

Messages Not Arriving

  1. Test the channel: Use PixoMonitor's Test button
  2. Check Telegram status: Telegram might be experiencing issues
  3. Verify bot permissions: For groups, ensure the bot can send messages
  4. Check blocked status: Make sure you haven't blocked the bot

Getting Updates Shows Nothing

If getUpdates returns empty:

  1. Make sure you've sent a message to the bot recently
  2. Try sending another message and check again
  3. Clear pending updates by visiting: https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/getUpdates?offset=-1

Security Considerations

  • Token protection: Keep your bot token secret—anyone with it can control your bot
  • Chat ID: While less sensitive, avoid sharing chat IDs publicly
  • Bot visibility: Consider who can see messages in group chats
  • Admin rights: For channels, the bot needs admin rights to post