Telegram Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Telegram operations through Composio's Telegram toolkit via Rube MCP.

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/telegram

Prerequisites

• Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)

• Active Telegram connection via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit telegram

• Always call RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS first to get current tool schemas

• Telegram Bot Token required (created via @BotFather)

Setup

Get Rube MCP: Add https://rube.app/mcp as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

• Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS responds

• Call RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit telegram

• If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to configure the Telegram bot

• Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Send Messages

When to use: User wants to send text messages to a Telegram chat

Tool sequence:

• TELEGRAM_GET_ME

• Verify bot identity and connection [Prerequisite]

• TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT

• Get chat details and verify access [Optional]

• TELEGRAM_SEND_MESSAGE

• Send a text message [Required]

Key parameters:

• chat_id : Numeric chat ID or channel username (e.g., '@channelname')

• text : Message text content

• parse_mode : 'HTML' or 'MarkdownV2' for formatting

• disable_notification : Send silently without notification sound

• reply_to_message_id : Message ID to reply to

Pitfalls:

• Bot must be a member of the chat/group to send messages

• MarkdownV2 requires escaping special characters: _*~>#+-=|{}.!

• HTML mode supports limited tags: <b> , <i> , <code> , <pre> , <a>

• Messages have a 4096 character limit; split longer content

2. Send Photos and Documents

When to use: User wants to share images or files in a Telegram chat

Tool sequence:

• TELEGRAM_SEND_PHOTO

• Send an image [Optional]

• TELEGRAM_SEND_DOCUMENT

• Send a file/document [Optional]

Key parameters:

• chat_id : Target chat ID

• photo : Photo URL or file_id (for SEND_PHOTO)

• document : Document URL or file_id (for SEND_DOCUMENT)

• caption : Optional caption for the media

Pitfalls:

• Photo captions have a 1024 character limit

• Document captions also have a 1024 character limit

• Files up to 50MB can be sent via bot API

• Photos are compressed by Telegram; use SEND_DOCUMENT for uncompressed images

3. Manage Chats

When to use: User wants to get chat information or manage chat settings

Tool sequence:

• TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT

• Get detailed chat information [Required]

• TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_ADMINISTRATORS

• List chat admins [Optional]

• TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_MEMBERS_COUNT

• Get member count [Optional]

• TELEGRAM_EXPORT_CHAT_INVITE_LINK

• Generate invite link [Optional]

Key parameters:

• chat_id : Target chat ID or username

Pitfalls:

• Bot must be an administrator to export invite links

• GET_CHAT returns different fields for private chats vs groups vs channels

• Member count may be approximate for very large groups

• Admin list does not include regular members

4. Edit and Delete Messages

When to use: User wants to modify or remove previously sent messages

Tool sequence:

• TELEGRAM_EDIT_MESSAGE

• Edit a sent message [Optional]

• TELEGRAM_DELETE_MESSAGE

• Delete a message [Optional]

Key parameters:

• chat_id : Chat where the message is located

• message_id : ID of the message to edit or delete

• text : New text content (for edit)

Pitfalls:

• Bots can only edit their own messages

• Messages can only be deleted within 48 hours of sending

• In groups, bots with delete permissions can delete any message

• Editing a message removes its 'edited' timestamp history

5. Forward Messages and Get Updates

When to use: User wants to forward messages or retrieve recent updates

Tool sequence:

• TELEGRAM_FORWARD_MESSAGE

• Forward a message to another chat [Optional]

• TELEGRAM_GET_UPDATES

• Get recent bot updates/messages [Optional]

• TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_HISTORY

• Get chat message history [Optional]

Key parameters:

• from_chat_id : Source chat for forwarding

• chat_id : Destination chat for forwarding

• message_id : Message to forward

• offset : Update offset for GET_UPDATES

• limit : Number of updates to retrieve

Pitfalls:

• Forwarded messages show the original sender attribution

• GET_UPDATES returns a limited window of recent updates

• Chat history access may be limited by bot permissions and chat type

• Use offset to avoid processing the same update twice

6. Manage Bot Commands

When to use: User wants to set or update bot command menu

Tool sequence:

• TELEGRAM_SET_MY_COMMANDS

• Set the bot's command list [Required]

• TELEGRAM_ANSWER_CALLBACK_QUERY

• Respond to inline button presses [Optional]

Key parameters:

• commands : Array of command objects with command and description

• callback_query_id : ID of the callback query to answer

Pitfalls:

• Commands must start with '/' and be lowercase

• Command descriptions have a 256 character limit

• Callback queries must be answered within 10 seconds or they expire

• Setting commands replaces the entire command list

Common Patterns

Chat ID Resolution

From username:

1. Use '@username' format as chat_id (for public channels/groups)
2. For private chats, numeric chat_id is required
3. Call GET_CHAT with username to retrieve numeric ID

From GET_UPDATES:

1. Call TELEGRAM_GET_UPDATES
2. Extract chat.id from message objects
3. Use numeric chat_id in subsequent calls

Message Formatting

• Use parse_mode: 'HTML' for <b>bold</b> , <i>italic</i> , <code>code</code>

• Use parse_mode: 'MarkdownV2' for bold , italic , code

• Escape special chars in MarkdownV2: _ * [ ] ( ) ~ > # + - = | { } . !

• Omit parse_mode for plain text without formatting

Known Pitfalls

Bot Permissions:

• Bots must be added to groups/channels to interact

• Admin permissions needed for: deleting messages, exporting invite links, managing members

• Bots cannot initiate conversations; users must start them first

Rate Limits:

• 30 messages per second to the same group

• 20 messages per minute to the same user in groups

• Bulk operations should implement delays between calls

• API returns 429 Too Many Requests when limits are hit

Chat Types:

• Private chat: One-on-one with the bot

• Group: Multi-user chat (bot must be added)

• Supergroup: Enhanced group with admin features

• Channel: Broadcast-only (bot must be admin to post)

Message Limits:

• Text messages: 4096 characters max

• Captions: 1024 characters max

• File uploads: 50MB max via bot API

• Inline keyboard buttons: 8 per row

Quick Reference

Task Tool Slug Key Params

Verify bot TELEGRAM_GET_ME (none)

Send message TELEGRAM_SEND_MESSAGE chat_id, text, parse_mode

Send photo TELEGRAM_SEND_PHOTO chat_id, photo, caption

Send document TELEGRAM_SEND_DOCUMENT chat_id, document, caption

Edit message TELEGRAM_EDIT_MESSAGE chat_id, message_id, text

Delete message TELEGRAM_DELETE_MESSAGE chat_id, message_id

Forward message TELEGRAM_FORWARD_MESSAGE chat_id, from_chat_id, message_id

Get chat info TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT chat_id

Get chat admins TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_ADMINISTRATORS chat_id

Get member count TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_MEMBERS_COUNT chat_id

Export invite link TELEGRAM_EXPORT_CHAT_INVITE_LINK chat_id

Get updates TELEGRAM_GET_UPDATES offset, limit

Get chat history TELEGRAM_GET_CHAT_HISTORY chat_id

Set bot commands TELEGRAM_SET_MY_COMMANDS commands

Answer callback TELEGRAM_ANSWER_CALLBACK_QUERY callback_query_id

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