Telegram conversations

Once an administrator has connected the Telegram plugin, you can talk to Elowen in a direct chat or a group where the bot is admitted. The bot's commands and the way it displays progress depend on its configuration. For account access and room sharing, see Channels.

Start a conversation

1. Find the bot by its Telegram username and open its direct chat, or open a group containing the bot.
2. Send a message. In groups, the bot may require an @mention or a reply to one of its messages; this depends on whether replies without mention are enabled.
3. Continue in the same chat to keep using that chat's conversation. Each Telegram chat has its own conversation.
4. Send /new when you want a fresh conversation in that chat. This does not create a new Telegram chat.
5. If you need to choose a project, use /project where available. The project you can access is governed by your linked Elowen account, not merely by being in the group.

Use commands and questions

Use /help to see the commands available to you. Common commands include /new, /stop, /stats, /compact, and /project; available commands vary by plugin setup and your access. Some shared controls require an administrator access policy in the channel, while project and tool permissions still come from your linked Elowen account.

When Elowen asks a question, choose an inline button. For a multiple-choice or multi-question prompt, use Submit when it appears. If the question allows a custom answer, choose Other and send your reply. Only the person addressed, or an authorized channel administrator, can answer. If a command menu has expired, run that command again. An expired question is separate from a command menu and cannot be reopened by repeating a command.

If the bot does not reply

Check that you are messaging the correct bot or group and that the message meets the group's mention setting. An unmatched sender is ignored; ask the instance administrator to check the bot's access policy and whether your Telegram identity is linked to an Elowen account. A policy match alone does not grant project access.

If the bot has just been enabled or its settings changed, wait for Elowen to restart before trying again. Telegram uses long polling, so the setup does not require a public webhook. If image understanding is needed, the administrator must configure an available vision-capable model or leave the setting to use the chat's usual model.

For connection and policy setup, see Connect a channel as an administrator.