Telegram Bridge

Sync messages from a Telegram bot into your Obsidian vault. Messages arrive in real time, are stored in Supabase, and are pulled into your vault as Markdown notes — with support for files, forum topics, message edits, and flexible routing rules.

How it works

Telegram  →  Bot  →  Supabase Edge Function  →  Postgres  →  Obsidian plugin  →  Vault

1. You send a message to your Telegram bot.
2. Telegram pushes it to a Supabase Edge Function (telegram-webhook).
3. The message is stored in a Postgres table.
4. The Obsidian plugin polls (or uses Realtime) to fetch new messages and writes them to your vault as .md files.

Prerequisites

• A Supabase account (free tier works)
• A Telegram account
• Node.js ≥ 20
• Supabase CLI installed
• Obsidian desktop app

Part 1 — Supabase setup

1.1 Create a Supabase project

1. Go to supabase.com and create a new project.
2. Choose a strong database password and save it.
3. Wait for the project to finish provisioning (about a minute).

1.2 Note your project credentials

From the Supabase dashboard → Project Settings → API:

• Project URL — looks like https://abcdefgh.supabase.co
• Anon / public key — the anon key under "Project API keys"
• Service role key — click "Reveal" next to the service_role key (keep this secret)

From Project Settings → General:

• Project ref — the short ID in your project URL (e.g. abcdefgh)

1.3 Generate a bot token encryption key

This key encrypts your Telegram bot token before it is stored in the database. Generate a random 32-byte base64 key:

openssl rand -base64 32

Save the output — you will need it in the next step.

1.4 Add Edge Function secrets

In the Supabase dashboard → Edge Functions → Manage secrets, add:

The Supabase built-in secrets (SUPABASE_URL, SUPABASE_ANON_KEY, SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY) are injected automatically — you do not need to add them.

1.5 Apply database migrations

Clone this repository and link it to your Supabase project:

git clone <repo-url>
cd obsidian-telegram-bridge
npm install

supabase login
supabase link --project-ref YOUR_PROJECT_REF
supabase db push

This applies all migrations and creates the required tables, functions, indexes, and RLS policies.

1.6 Enable required Postgres extensions

Some migrations use pg_cron and pg_net. Enable them in the Supabase dashboard:

Database → Extensions → search for and enable:

• pg_net
• pg_cron

If the migrations already ran before you enabled the extensions, re-run supabase db push or run the last two migrations again.

1.7 Deploy Edge Functions

supabase functions deploy setup-bot --no-verify-jwt
supabase functions deploy telegram-webhook --no-verify-jwt
supabase functions deploy usage-warning-check --no-verify-jwt

Verify all three show as Active in the dashboard under Edge Functions.

Part 2 — Telegram bot setup

2.1 Create a bot with BotFather

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather.
2. Send /newbot and follow the prompts.
3. Choose a name (shown in chats) and a username (ends in bot).
4. BotFather gives you a bot token — save it. It looks like 1234567890:ABCdef...

2.2 Add the bot to your chat

The bot can sync messages from:

• A private chat with the bot (just open it and send /start)
• A group or supergroup (add the bot as a member)
• A channel (add the bot as an admin)
• A forum group with topics (add the bot as a member; topics are auto-detected)

The bot only sees messages sent after it joined. It does not have access to message history.

2.3 Allow the bot to read messages (groups only)

By default, bots only see messages that mention them. To let the bot see all messages in a group, disable privacy mode:

1. In BotFather, send /mybots → select your bot → Bot Settings → Group Privacy → Turn off.

Part 3 — Obsidian plugin setup

3.1 Install the plugin

Until this plugin is published to the Obsidian community registry, install it manually:

1. Build the plugin:

   npm install
   npm run build
   

2. Copy the output files into your vault's plugin folder:

   <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/telegram-bridge/
   ├── main.js
   ├── manifest.json
   └── styles.css
   

3. In Obsidian → Settings → Community plugins, enable Telegram Bridge.

3.2 Connect to Supabase

In the plugin settings:

1. Enter your Supabase URL and Anon key (from step 1.2).
2. Click Reconnect.
3. Enter your email and click Send code. Enter the OTP you receive.
4. You should see "Signed in as …" in the status bar.

3.3 Connect your Telegram bot

In the plugin settings under Telegram bot:

1. Paste your bot token (from step 2.1).
2. Click Setup bot.

This registers the webhook with Telegram so messages flow into your Supabase project. On success you will see your bot's username confirmed in the settings.

The bot token is never stored in plain text. It is encrypted with AES-GCM before being saved to the database.

3.4 Test the connection

Send a message to your bot (or in your group/channel). Within 30 seconds (or instantly if Realtime is enabled) a .md file should appear in your vault under Telegram/.

Configuration

Note path template

Controls where messages are saved. Default:

Telegram/{{chat}}/{{topic}}{{messageDate:YYYY-MM-DD HH-mm-ss}}-{{messageId}}.md

Message template

Controls the content rendered inside each note. Default:

- {{messageDate:YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss}} {{user}}
  - Chat: {{chat}}
  - Type: {{messageType}}

  {{content}}

File path template

Controls where media attachments are saved. Default:

Telegram/files/{{chat}}/{{file:name}}.{{file:extension}}

Template variables

Distribution rules

Rules let you route messages to different notes or folders based on chat, topic, sender, or content.

Rules are checked top to bottom. The first matching rule wins. If no rule matches, the message is dropped.

Filter query syntax

Combine multiple conditions in one filter query — all must match (AND logic):

{{chat=Work}}{{topic~Project}}

Example rule set

Rule 1:  {{chat=Ideas}}
         Note path: Ideas/{{messageDate:YYYY-MM-DD}}.md

Rule 2:  {{chat=Work}}{{topic~Standup}}
         Note path: Work/Standup/{{messageDate:YYYY-MM-DD}}.md

Rule 3:  {{all}}
         Note path: Telegram/{{chat}}/{{messageDate:YYYY-MM-DD HH-mm-ss}}-{{messageId}}.md

Advanced options

Polling vs Realtime

Realtime gives near-instant delivery but uses a persistent WebSocket connection. Keep it off if you want lower resource usage.

Storage warnings

The plugin estimates your Supabase usage (database rows + file storage) and can send you a Telegram message when you approach a configured limit.

The warning is sent at most once per threshold crossing and resets automatically when usage drops below the threshold.

Troubleshooting

Messages are not appearing in the vault

1. Check that the bot is connected — the plugin settings should show the bot username.
2. Send a message, then wait up to 30 seconds (or enable Realtime).
3. Check the Supabase dashboard → Edge Functions → telegram-webhook logs for errors.
4. Confirm the bot can read messages in your chat (see step 2.3 for groups).

Setup bot returns 401

This can happen if your Supabase project uses asymmetric JWT signing (ES256) and the Edge Functions are deployed with verify_jwt = true. The fix is to deploy the functions with verify_jwt = false — auth is enforced inside the function via the Bearer token. See step 1.7.

Duplicate sync_clients rows

Each Obsidian installation gets a unique client_id stored in the plugin's data.json. If you copy a vault or reinstall the plugin, a new ID may be generated, leaving an old row behind. Old rows are harmless but can be deleted from the sync_clients table in the Supabase dashboard.

Messages appear but files (photos, documents) are missing

Check that the telegram-files storage bucket exists in your Supabase project (created by the initial migration). If the Edge Function lacks permission to write to storage, check the service role key is correctly set in the function secrets.

Large files (videos, documents) are not downloaded

The Telegram Bot API limits file downloads to 20 MB. Anything larger cannot be pulled by the bot at all — this is a hard limit on Telegram's side, not a plugin setting. The telegram-webhook function detects oversized files, records the message with its file metadata (name, size, mime type) but file_path stays empty, and the webhook returns 200 so Telegram stops retrying. To bypass the 20 MB ceiling you would need a self-hosted local Bot API server (download limit ~2 GB) and point the bot at it instead of api.telegram.org.

Repository layout

obsidian-telegram-bridge/
├── manifest.json            Obsidian plugin manifest
├── versions.json            Plugin → min Obsidian app version map
├── styles.css               Plugin styles
├── esbuild.config.mjs       Build config
├── tsconfig.json            TypeScript config
├── src/
│   ├── main.ts              Plugin entry point
│   ├── sync-engine.ts       Polling, cursor management, Realtime
│   ├── vault-writer.ts      File creation and editing in the vault
│   ├── message-renderer.ts  Markdown rendering with block markers
│   ├── template-engine.ts   Template variable expansion
│   ├── distribution-rules.ts  Filter query evaluation
│   ├── settings-tab.ts      Settings UI
│   └── types.ts             Shared TypeScript types
├── test/                    Vitest unit tests
├── supabase/
│   ├── config.toml          Local dev config
│   ├── functions/
│   │   ├── telegram-webhook/    Receives messages from Telegram
│   │   ├── setup-bot/           Registers webhook, encrypts token
│   │   └── usage-warning-check/ Sends storage warnings via Telegram
│   └── migrations/          Postgres schema migrations (apply in order)
├── scripts/                 Bootstrap and verification scripts
└── docs/                    Architecture and planning notes