Capture

Telegram bot setup

Link @DistroDigitalBot to your account in 20 seconds. Then capture from anywhere you already are.

2 minUpdated 2026-04-19

Telegram capture is the fastest path from idea-in-head to idea-in-inbox. One-time setup, then it just works.

1. Find your deep link

Go to Settings → Integrations → Telegram. You'll see a deep link that looks like https://t.me/DistroDigitalBot?start=abc123 and a QR code. The token (abc123) links your Telegram chat to your distro account.

2. Click the link

Telegram opens. You hit Start. The bot replies "Linked. Send me ideas here — they land in your inbox." That's the handshake.

3. Send an idea

Any text message you send the bot from then on becomes an Idea with source: TELEGRAM. The first 80 characters become the title; the full text is the body. The bot confirms with a checkmark.

Voice notes

Send a voice note. The bot acknowledges, runs transcription via your connected AI provider, and ingests the transcript as the body. Original audio is kept for 30 days on DigitalOcean Spaces.

Which app does it land in?

Your most recently accessed app. To capture into a specific app, start the message with #slug (e.g. #cribble). We route accordingly.

Security

The webhook is signed. Telegram can only send updates if it knows our secret. Our endpoint returns 403 to anyone else. You can revoke linking at any time from Settings.