# Telegram strategies

> Run a strategy off a Telegram chat instead of a Discord channel, using the same AI engine, brokers, and risk settings.

*Source: https://tradelabs.org/docs/reference/strategies/telegram*

A Telegram strategy watches a Telegram chat and trades from the signals posted there. Same AI engine, same brokers, same risk settings as a Discord strategy. The difference is where the signals come from — and two instruments that Telegram cannot drive.

## How it works

1. **Point the strategy at a chat.** In the strategy editor's **Signal source** section, set **Source** to **Telegram** and pick the chat.

2. **TradeLabs watches the chat.** Every new message runs through the same AI engine used for Discord.

3. **The AI extracts the trade.** Ticker, direction, strike, expiration, and quantity are read from the message text.

4. **The order is routed to your broker.** The parsed trade goes to the broker set on the strategy.

> **Note**
>
> Before a Telegram strategy can receive anything, your Telegram account has to be connected in the Companion App. Connect it from the **Telegram** source in the Signals page.

## Connect Telegram in the app

You connect Telegram once, in the app, and every Telegram strategy uses that connection.

1. Open the **Signals** page and select the **Telegram** source. Click **Add Telegram account** (or **Add account** if you already have one).

2. Get your **API ID** and **API hash** from [my.telegram.org](https://my.telegram.org) under API development tools, then enter your **Phone**, **API ID**, and **API hash**, and click **Send code**.

3. Telegram sends a login code to your account. Type it in and click **Verify**.

4. If you have two-step verification turned on, enter your Telegram cloud password and click **Sign in**.

When it finishes you see **Connected as** your username, and the account row lists how many chats it has mapped.

![The Telegram source in the Signals page](/docs-assets/app-signals-telegram.png)
*The Signals page shows your Telegram connection.*

## Which instruments Telegram can drive

| Instrument | Telegram |
| --- | --- |
| Options, Spreads, Stocks, Futures, Crypto, Prediction markets | Yes |
| Memecoins | No — the source is forced to Discord |
| RSA | No — RSA takes the serverside feed or Discord only |

A new strategy starts on **Discord**, whatever instrument you pick; switching to Telegram is one click on the **Source** chips. TradingView is the only source with a narrower range than Telegram — it appears for stocks, options and spreads and nowhere else.

## Set it up

1. **Pick the instrument.** On the **General** tab, under **Basics → Identity**, set **Instrument**.

2. **Set the source.** In the **Signal source** section above it, click the **Telegram** chip. That reveals the chat fields.

3. **Pick the chat.** Open **Chats** and select it from the list, or type into the box beside it, which takes a chat ID, a title, or an `@handle`. Both controls write the same value, so the picker's choice shows up in the box as a numeric ID.

4. **Configure the rest.** Pick the broker on the **Brokers** tab, the size on **Sizing**, and the exits on **Risk & exits**. Optionally set the AI tab, filters, notifications, a schedule, and protections.

5. **Turn it on.** Edits save as you type — there is no save button. When the readiness pill is happy, flip the run toggle in the header to **Running**.

![The Signal source section of a Telegram strategy: the source toggle, a chat picker, and the inherit-details switch](/docs-assets/app-strategy-source-telegram.png)
*The Signal source section of a Telegram strategy. Set the source to Telegram, then pick the chat it should follow.*

Two optional controls sit below the chat fields:

- **Exit chat** — a second chat that carries exits only, for callers who split entries and exits across two rooms. It is folded away until you open it, and only ever acted on when **AI selling** is on.
- **Inherit trade details from message** — use the strike, expiration and direction the message names instead of the strategy's own defaults.

> **Heads up**
>
> The chat binding must match the chat you want to watch. If it is blank or wrong, the strategy is on but matches nothing and never trades.

## What differs from Discord

| Item | Discord | Telegram |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source chip | Discord | Telegram |
| Binding field | **Channel** picker | **Chats** picker, plus a free-text box |
| Input format | Pick from the list; a pasted channel ID also works | Pick from the list, or type an ID, a title, or `@handle` |
| Split exits | **Exit channel** | **Exit chat** |
| Companion App | Discord must be connected | Telegram must be connected |
| Instruments | All of them | All except Memecoins and RSA |
| Brokers | Same | Same |
| AI and auto parameters | Same | Same |
| Signal filters | Same | Same |
| Notifications | Same | Same |
| Risk management | Same | Same |
| Protections | Same | Same |

Everything below the source binding is shared with Discord. The rest of this page points you at the Discord guide for the details.

## AI and auto parameters

The AI tab works the same on Telegram strategies as on Discord. For each setting, see [AI and auto parameters](/docs/reference/strategies/discord/#ai-and-auto-parameters) in the Discord guide.

## Signal filters

Filters work the same way: per-trader rules that include or exclude a signal based on who posted it, with optional per-rule risk overrides, plus a strategy-wide keyword whitelist or blacklist. See the Discord guide for the full walkthrough.

## Notifications

Notifications are outbound alerts. They send trade activity and broker errors to a Discord webhook, no matter where the signal came from. They behave the same on Telegram strategies. See [Notifications](/docs/reference/strategies/discord/#notifications) in the Discord guide.

## Test your strategy

Before going live with real money:

- Use **Test signal** on the Strategies page in the Companion App to fire a sample message at your strategy and confirm it parses. From inside a strategy, the same action is the **Simulate** button.
- Start with smaller position sizes until you are confident the strategy behaves the way you expect.

## Troubleshooting

**Strategy is not detecting messages**

- Confirm the chat on the strategy matches the one you want to watch.
- Confirm your Telegram account is connected on the Signals page, and that its row does not show **Re-auth needed**.
- Confirm your Telegram account has access to that chat.
- Confirm your AI key is valid and has balance. See [Create an AI key](/docs/reference/how-to/creating-an-ai-key/).

**Trades are not executing after a signal is detected**

- Confirm the broker is connected and signed in from the Brokers page.
- Confirm the strategy reads **Running** in the editor header.
- Confirm your position size and protections are not blocking the trade.
- Check that **Forward-only mode** on the Notifications tab is off — it relays signals and places no orders.
- Review the Activity feed in the Companion App for error messages.

## Examples

### Options signals on Telegram

A Telegram chat posts alerts like `BTO TSLA 250C 2/21 @ 3.50`.

| Setting | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Instrument | Options |
| Source | Telegram |
| Chat | `@options-alerts` |
| Broker | Tradier |
| Default quantity | `5` contracts |
| Direction | Both |
| Entry | Market |
| Stop loss | `30%` |
| Take profit | `100%` |

The AI reads each message, detects the ticker, strike, expiration, and that `BTO` means buy to open, then submits 5 contracts at market to Tradier.

### Crypto signals with a keyword filter

A chat posts crypto calls mixed in with off-topic chatter, and you only want the real signals.

| Setting | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Instrument | Crypto |
| Source | Telegram |
| Chat | `@crypto-calls` |
| Broker | Robinhood Crypto |
| Default quantity | `$500` |
| Direction | Both |
| Keyword filter | Whitelist `BUY`, `SELL`, `ENTRY` |
| Stop loss | `15%` |
| Take profit | `50%` |

With a whitelist, only messages containing one of those words are processed. General chat is ignored. On a real signal, $500 of the coin is bought through Robinhood Crypto. Crypto has no trailing stop, so the stop and target do all the exit work.

### Futures signals

A chat calls index futures. Futures route to IBKR only, and the contract month is set on the strategy rather than read from the message.

| Setting | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Instrument | Futures |
| Source | Telegram |
| Chat | `@es-desk` |
| Broker | IBKR |
| Contract | picked from the live IBKR chain |
| Direction | Both |
| Default quantity | `1` |

> **Note**
>
> There is no RSA-over-Telegram. RSA takes its own serverside detection feed, or a Discord ping — Telegram never drove those brokers and is not offered. See [Server-side strategies](/docs/reference/strategies/serverside/).

## Instrument guides

For the per-instrument fields, brokers, and examples, see the detailed guides. Each applies to both Discord and Telegram strategies.

- [Options](/docs/reference/instruments/options/)
- [Stocks](/docs/reference/instruments/stocks/)
- [Spreads](/docs/reference/instruments/spreads/)
- [Futures](/docs/reference/instruments/futures/)
- [Crypto](/docs/reference/instruments/crypto/)
- [Prediction Markets](/docs/reference/instruments/prediction-markets/)