Telegram is the easiest network to automate: there is no app review, no paid API and no limit on how often a bot may post to its own channel. This guide walks through the whole setup.
What you need
- A Telegram account
- A channel or group where you are an administrator
- About five minutes
1. Create a bot with @BotFather
- Open Telegram and search for @BotFather (it has a blue verified tick).
- Send /newbot and choose a display name, for example "Acme Updates".
- Choose a username ending in "bot", for example acme_updates_bot.
- BotFather replies with a token that looks like 123456:ABC-DEF... Keep it private.
2. Make the bot an administrator
Open your channel, go to Administrators > Add administrator, search for your bot's username and give it permission to post messages. Without this permission Telegram rejects every post.
3. Connect it to Auto Piko
- In your dashboard open Telegram and press Connect.
- Paste the bot token and your channel username (for example @acmeupdates). Private channels use the numeric chat id instead.
- Keep "Send a test message" ticked and save. A test message appears in your channel within seconds.
4. Choose a schedule
Pick how often to post (every 1 to 168 hours), the hours of the day and your timezone. Turn on Review before posting if you want to approve each post first.
Troubleshooting
- Chat not found: the username is wrong, or the bot is not a member of the channel.
- Not enough rights: the bot is a member but cannot post. Give it the post-messages permission.
- Long captions cut off: with a photo Telegram allows 1,024 characters; Auto Piko trims automatically.
Ready? Start your free trial and connect your channel.