Telegram bot

cv4pve-botgram needs a Telegram bot of your own: Telegram gives you its token, and the token is what --token takes. Creating it needs no code and no computer, only the Telegram app.

Create the bot

1. In Telegram, search for @BotFather, the official bot that creates and manages bots. Check the blue verified mark.

   

2. Open the chat and send /newbot. /help lists everything BotFather can do.

   

3. Answer its two questions:

   • the name shown in the chat list, e.g. Datacenter PVE Bot;
   • the username, unique in Telegram and ending in bot, e.g. datacenter_pve_bot.

4. BotFather replies with the token, a string like 123456789:AAH…. Pass it to --token.

The token is a password

Anyone who has the token can run a bot with your bot’s identity. Do not put it in scripts under version control or in screenshots. If it leaks, send /revoke to BotFather: the old token stops working and you get a new one.

Restrict the bot to your chats

A Telegram bot can be found and written to by anyone. --chatsId lists the chats cv4pve-botgram answers; a message from any other chat gets You not have permission in this Chat! and is written to the log. Without --chatsId every chat is accepted.

To find the ID of your chat:

1. Start the bot with an ID that matches no chat:

   cv4pve-botgram --host=pve1.local --api-token='bot@pve!bot=<uuid>' --token='<telegram-bot-token>' --chatsId=0

2. Send any message to the bot from Telegram. It refuses you, and the console shows the ID:

   10/01/2026 10:57:50 - Chat Id: '123456789' User: 'your_username' - 'Your Name' Msg Type: 'Text' => 'hello'
   Security: Chat Id '123456789' - Username 'your_username' not permitted access!

3. Stop the bot and start it again with that ID. Several chats are separated by commas:

   cv4pve-botgram --host=pve1.local --api-token='bot@pve!bot=<uuid>' --token='<telegram-bot-token>' --chatsId=123456789,987654321

The chat ID decides who may talk to the bot; the privileges of the Proxmox VE token decide what the bot may do. Keep both tight: see Permissions.