Telegram says "chat not found"

The most common Telegram error, and the other messages you may see.

When you click Send test alert, we ask Telegram to post a message in the chat. "chat not found" means Telegram doesn't know a chat with that ID that our bot, @MarketRodeoDevBot, can post to.

The message usually looks like this. The part after "Telegram error:" comes from Telegram, so the exact wording can vary.

Telegram error: Bad Request: chat not found. Make sure the bot is added to your chat.

Check these, in order

Is the -100 missing? Channels and supergroups have IDs that start with -100. Telegram Web K leaves it out of the address bar. If your ID starts with a minus but not -100, try adding 100 after the minus: -1234567890 becomes -1001234567890.
Is the bot in the chat? Add @MarketRodeoDevBot to the group. For a Telegram channel, add it as an admin with permission to post messages.
Private chat: did you press Start? Open @MarketRodeoDevBot and press Start, then try again.
Is it your ID? For a private chat, use your own ID (the number shown on your Saved Messages in Telegram Web A), not the number on the bot's chat.
Did the group become a supergroup? When a group gets bigger or changes settings, Telegram can turn it into a supergroup with a new ID that starts with -100. Find the ID again and use the new one.

See Add a Telegram channel for how to find the chat ID.

Other messages you may see

These are examples. Telegram's wording can vary.

Message contains	What to do
"bot can't initiate conversation with a user"	Open @MarketRodeoDevBot and press Start.
"bot is not a member of the channel chat"	Add the bot to the channel as an admin who can post messages.
"not enough rights to send text messages"	In the group or channel settings, let the bot post messages.
"group chat was upgraded to a supergroup chat"	The chat has a new ID. Find it again and use the new one.
"Telegram chat ID must be a numeric string"	Enter only the number, with its minus sign if it has one. No spaces or @username.
"Could not reach Telegram"	A connection problem. Wait a minute and try again.

Alerts stopped arriving later

If a Telegram channel worked before and alerts now show Failed in Alert history, the bot has probably lost access: it was removed from the group, lost its admin rights in the channel, or you blocked it in your private chat. Add it back (or unblock it and press Start). If the chat itself changed, remove the channel in Market Rodeo and add it again with the new ID.

Still stuck? Email [email protected].