---
title: Telegram alerts
description: Get a Telegram message when an automation rule fires. Link a chat to your project and add a Telegram action to any rule.
group: Guides
order: 3
---

# Telegram alerts

MQTT Studio can send a Telegram message when an automation rule fires, so you don't have to keep a dashboard open to know when a CO2 reading climbs too high or a tank runs dry.

Telegram alerts are part of the Pro plan.

## How it works

You don't create or host your own bot. MQTT Studio runs one bot, and you connect a Telegram chat to a project. After that:

1. Your automation rules watch incoming MQTT messages.
2. When a rule's condition is met (for example, `value > 1200`), the rule fires.
3. Any rule with a Telegram action sends a message to the chat you linked.

Linking is per project. Each project sends its alerts to the one chat you connected to it, so you can route different setups (a greenhouse, a grow tent, a workshop) to different chats or groups.

## Connect a Telegram chat

1. Open your project and go to Settings.
2. In the Telegram alerts section, click "Open Telegram to link". This opens the MQTT Studio bot in Telegram.
3. Press Start in the chat. This links that chat to your project.
4. Back in Settings, click Refresh. The section shows a green Connected indicator.

To send alerts to a group instead of your personal chat, add the MQTT Studio bot to the group first, then use the link from Settings and press Start there.

## Add a Telegram action to a rule

Linking a chat doesn't send anything on its own. It gives your rules somewhere to message. To get alerted:

1. Create or edit an automation rule on your project.
2. Set the condition that should trigger it (a topic, an operator like `>` or `<`, and a threshold).
3. Add an action and choose Telegram.
4. Save the rule.

When the rule fires, you get a message like this:

```
🔔 High CO2

Project: Mushroom Tent
Topic: tent/co2
Value: 1340 > 1200
Fired at: 2026-06-23 14:05:12 UTC
```

The rule's name is the headline, so give your rules clear names. You can add a Telegram action to as many rules as you like, and they all message the same linked chat.

## Stop receiving alerts

In the project's Settings, open the Telegram alerts section and click Unlink. The chat is disconnected and rules with a Telegram action stop sending messages. The rules keep running, and any other actions (like publishing to a topic) still work. They just have nowhere to message until you link a chat again.

## Troubleshooting

- Still shows "not connected" after pressing Start: click Refresh in Settings. Linking takes a second to register.
- No messages when a rule fires: confirm the chat shows Connected, the rule has a Telegram action, and the condition is being met by incoming data.
- Want alerts somewhere shared: link a Telegram group instead of your personal chat.

Still stuck? [Contact us](/contact) and we'll help you get set up.