Telegram links: user, channel, bot, private group and share
Telegram has more link types than any other messaging app. This guide sorts them by what each one does.
Summary
| Purpose | Format |
|---|---|
| Open a user, public channel, public group or bot | https://t.me/usuario |
| Open a chat with a text already typed | https://t.me/usuario?text=Hola |
| Go to a post in a public channel | https://t.me/canal/123 |
| Start a bot with a parameter | https://t.me/mibot?start=promo10 |
| Add a bot to a group | https://t.me/mibot?startgroup=true |
| Invite to a private group or channel | https://t.me/+AbCdEf123456 |
| Open a chat by phone number | https://t.me/+529981234567 |
| “Share on Telegram” button | https://t.me/share/url?url=…&text=… |
Link by username
It is the most common one and the one QLinky generates. The username is between 5 and 32 characters long, with letters, numbers and underscores, and is written without the at sign. The same format works for people, public channels, public groups and bots.
For it to work, the account must have a username set in Settings. Without that, the account has no public link.
Recent versions of Telegram also accept the ?text= parameter, which leaves a draft typed in the chat. Older versions of the app ignore it and open the chat empty, so don't rely on it for anything important.
Links for bots: the start parameter
When someone opens t.me/mybot?start=promo10 and taps Start, the bot receives the text promo10 along with the start command. It is used to know which campaign the person came from, apply a code or open a specific section.
- It accepts letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores.
- It has a maximum of 64 characters.
- It only has an effect on bots; on a user or channel it is ignored.
Private groups and channels
Private groups and channels have no username. Their link is an invite generated from the group info, under “Invite links”, in the form t.me/+ followed by a code. Admins can create several, give them an expiry date, a usage limit or require approval.
Link by phone number
t.me/+ followed by the number in international format opens the chat with that account, with no username needed. It depends on the person's privacy settings: if they don't allow being found by their number, the link doesn't show them.
Share button
To let visitors to your site share a page on Telegram:
https://t.me/share/url?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftusitio.com%2Farticulo&text=Mira%20este%20art%C3%ADculoIt opens Telegram, lets the person choose the chat and prepares the message with the link and the text. Both values must be URL-encoded.
t.me or tg://?
There is also the tg://resolve?domain=username scheme, which talks directly to the app. As with other app schemes, it doesn't work if Telegram isn't installed and many platforms don't accept it as a link. For publishing, always use the https://t.me/ version.
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Telegram link generator (t.me)