Telegram chat ID finder

Three steps

1. Make a bot: in Telegram, message @BotFather, send /newbot, and copy the token it gives you.
2. Start a chat with it: open your bot, tap Start and send it any message. For a group, add the bot and send /start@your_bot there. For a channel, add the bot as an admin and post something.
3. Paste the token here and press Find chat IDs.

To read it by hand instead, open https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_TOKEN>/getUpdates in a browser, with your token after the word bot, and copy the number after "chat":{"id":.

Reading the numbers

• A private chat’s ID is a positive number.
• A group’s ID is negative, and the minus sign is part of it.
• A supergroup’s or a channel’s ID starts with -100. Turning a group into a supergroup gives it a new ID.
• Telegram keeps a bot’s messages for 24 hours, so send a fresh one if the list comes up empty.

If your chat isn’t there

The list is empty

Telegram only lists chats that messaged the bot in the last 24 hours. Open the bot, send it a message, and press Find chat IDs again.

My group isn’t listed

In groups, bots only see commands. Send /start@your_bot in the group (with your bot’s name), then look again.

It says the token isn’t recognized

Copy the token again from BotFather in one go. If you replaced the token, only the newest one works.

It mentions a webhook

Another service has set a webhook on this bot, and Telegram won’t list its messages while it’s on. A separate bot just for your forwarded texts avoids touching it.

Sending your iPhone’s texts to this chat

I built this for Fwrd, my iPhone app that forwards the texts you choose to Telegram, such as sign-in codes or alerts. Paste the token and this chat ID into Fwrd’s Telegram destination, and texts arrive in the chat on their own. The Telegram setup guide walks through the rest.

Fwrd on the App Store: free for 15 forwards a month.