# Telegram Setup

Bubblegram delivers visitor messages to a Telegram group. Each visitor gets a dedicated topic thread so conversations stay organized.


### 1. Create a Telegram group

1. Open Telegram and tap the pencil icon (or "New Message").
2. Choose **New Group**.
3. Optionally add members (you can add yourself from another account, or a teammate). You can also skip this and create the group alone.
4. Give the group a name, then create it.


### 2. Enable Topics (Forum mode)

Topics allow each visitor to get their own thread inside the group. Without this, all messages arrive in one mixed stream.

**On desktop**

1. Open the group and click **Manage group**.
2. Go to **Topics** and enable it.
3. Set the display to **List**. This makes it easier to scan and manage multiple visitor conversations.

**On mobile**

1. Tap the group name at the top to open group info.
2. Tap **Group settings**.
3. Go to **Topics** and enable it.
4. Select **List** as the display style.

> **Warning:** **Required.** Topics must be enabled before linking. The bot creates a new topic for each visitor.

> **Info:** **Unmute the group.** Telegram mutes groups by default. Open the group, tap the bell icon, and select **Unmute** so you get notified when visitors send messages.

[Video: /assets/EnableTopics.mp4](/assets/EnableTopics.mp4)


### 3. Add the bot

In the dashboard, open your project and click **Link Telegram**. This opens Telegram with the bot pre-selected and admin permissions pre-filled. Confirm. The bot joins, gets admin rights, and links your group automatically. No extra steps.

> **Info:** **Token expires in 10 minutes.** If the link expires, go back to the dashboard and click **Link Telegram** again to get a new one.

![Link Telegram button in the Project Builder](/assets/link-to-telegram.png)

**Already have the bot in the group?**

If the bot was already a member before you started setup, the deep link won't fire. Instead, copy the `/start` command from the dashboard and send it in the group manually:

```
/start YOUR_LINK_TOKEN
```

The bot replies: *"Project linked successfully."* Then promote it to admin. It needs permission to manage topics, post messages, and delete messages.