Telegram Channel Admin Checklist: Setup, Moderation Bots, and Message Automation Guide

1. Telegram Channel Admin Essentials

Telegram channels are one-way broadcast feeds with unlimited subscribers, distinguished from groups by the absence of member-to-member chat. Only admins can post; subscribers read, react and share. Channels support all Telegram 10.12 media types—2 GB files, 20-second “view-once” voice/video, Star Reactions, Mini App cards—and expose a dedicated Bot API endpoint channel_post for automation.

Running a professional channel without automation is unsustainable once you cross ~5 k subscribers. Manual moderation, repeat announcements, time-zone publishing and content protection must be delegated to bots and built-in tools. The following checklist is platform-agnostic unless noted; screenshots come from Telegram Desktop 10.12, but every menu has a 1-to-1 mapping on mobile.

1.1 Admin Role Matrix

2. Channel Creation & Hardening (First 10 min)

1. Open Telegram → ≡ → New Channel → Name (30 char), Description (255 char). Upload 512×512 PNG; keep <200 KB for fast load on proxy.
2. Set Public username: t.me/<handle>. Check Fragment marketplace if you need a premium 4-letter alias.
3. Toggle Sign Messages ON (recommended) so every post carries your admin name—builds trust.
4. First post: pin a welcome message with rules link and Star Reactions tip jar.
5. Immediately enable Restrict Saving Content if you monetize premium media; note this irreversibly converts old videos to “upside-down playback” on iOS 17.5—see §8.
6. Create backup admin: invite your second account → promote with only “Delete messages” and “Ban users” to avoid lockout.
7. Turn on Two-Step Verification (Settings → Privacy) and set cloud password 15+ chars—channels are high-value hijack targets.

2.1 Verified Badge Strategy

Telegram discontinued manual verification; instead buy a Fragment verified tick (~35 TON). You need a public channel >1 k subs, linked Toncoin wallet, and no recent copyright strikes. Once purchased, the badge is non-transferable and survives handle changes.

3. Moderation Bot Stack

Bots are added like regular users; grant only the minimal rights. Below are the five most effective free bots for 2024. All are open-source and hosted by their authors; if you need 100 % uptime, self-host via @BotFather + VPS.

3.1 @Shieldy (Anti-Spam Gateway)

• Install: /start → /setup → choose channel (bots can moderate channels if added as admins).
• Basics: /captcha emoji → 60 sec window; /strict 24 h auto-ban for media only; /antiflood 5/10.
• Pro-tip: Combine with /welcome that forwards solved captchas to your private group for human review.

3.2 @ControllerBot (Scheduled Publishing)

• Invite bot → /addchannel → choose timezone.
• Draft posts in web WYSIWYG; supports inline buttons, TTL (auto-delete after X hours) and watermarks.
• Queue limit: 500 posts; use /loop to recycle evergreen funnels.

3.3 @MissRose_bot (Federated Ban & Warns)

• Sync banlists across up to 100 channels/groups—useful for NFT project families.
• /fban @user reason pushes a global ban; /fstat queries history.
• Requires admin with “Delete messages” and “Ban users” rights.

3.4 @discussbot (Comment Thread Manager)

• Creates a linked discussion group; automatically mirrors channel posts and aggregates comments.
• Supports slow-mode, rate-limit per user, and emoji-only replies to reduce noise.
• After Telegram’s 2024-05 grey-out of “force comments”, this is the only stable workaround.

3.5 @vote & @like (Engagement Bots)

• Use vote for multi-choice polls; like for anonymous emoji stats.
• Add via inline query: @vote Question? → choose options → post to channel.
• Keep polls <5 options for 16:9 screen readability; add Star Reaction tip jar beneath.

4. Message Automation Playbook

4.1 Telegram Stars Mini-App Paywall

Telegram Stars (₮) is an in-app credit purchased with Apple/Google IAP. Use cases: buy premium reactions, unlock Mini App content, tip creators. Admins can gate posts via @like or custom Mini App.

1. Create Mini App → Host HTML5 on any HTTPS endpoint (GitHub Pages works).
2. Include window.TelegramGameProxy.receiveEvent to listen for invoice_closed.
3. Call payment.sendInvoice with currency=XTR and payload hash.
4. On successful payment, reveal premium post URL (one-time use).
5. Add bot command /gift to allow Stars transfer between users—boosts retention.

4.2 Webhook Auto-Posting (Node.js Example)

For cross-platform teams who store content in Notion/Ghost, push via Telegram Bot API.

Schedule via cron every 6 h; use ControllerBot as fallback if server down.

4.3 Auto-Delete TTL

In channel info → Auto-Delete → set 24 h for flash-sale content. TTL applies retroactively to new posts only; combine with /loop in ControllerBot to repost cyclically.

5. Rights, Roles & Audit Trails

5.1 Principle of Least Privilege

Each admin checkbox is a security surface. Default checklist:

• Content editors → enable “Post messages”, “Edit messages of others”, “Pin messages”; disable “Add admins”.
• Support interns → enable “Delete messages”, “Ban users”; disable “Post”, “Edit”.
• Analysts → enable “View statistics” only (read-only).

5.2 Admin Log Export

Channel Info → Recent Actions → Export (JSON). Contains message ID, user ID, old/new text diff—compliant with most corporate audit requirements. Automate daily fetch via getChatAdministrators + getChatEventLog.

6. Security & Privacy Hardening

6.1 Impersonation Defense

• Turn on Restrict Adding Members so fake channels can’t clone your subscriber list.
• Buy similar handles on Fragment (typosquat protection) and set forwarding icon to your main channel.
• Preshare your PGP fingerprint or Toncoin address in a pinned message—subscribers verify identity out-of-band.

6.2 Server-Side Message Retention

Telegram cloud messages are encrypted with MTProto but stored on distributed DCs. If you need zero-cloud, use Secret Chats (E2E) exclusively and never convert to channel. For enterprise self-host, compile open-source server and disable cloud sync via firewall rule out:443 to dc*.telegram.org.

6.3 Backups

ExportChatHistory on Desktop (JSON + media) caps at 1 M messages per run. For full archival, script getUpdates long-polling with offset_id iterator; store in S3 Glacier. Media dedupe by file_unique_id.

7. Platform-Specific Nuances

7.1 iOS 17.5 Notification Lag

Apple re-indexed push tokens; workaround: Settings → Notifications → Telegram → OFF → Force-close app → ON. Repeat after every account switch.

7.2 Desktop 10.12 Stuck on “Updating…”

Kill process → delete %APPDATA%\Telegram Desktop\tdata\updates on Windows or ~/Library/Application Support/Telegram Desktop/tdata/updates on macOS → restart.

7.3 Android Mini App Star Payments

Google Play billing API returns REGION_NOT_SUPPORTED if SIM MCC equals 704 (Vietnam) or 255 (Ukraine). Users must physically move SIM to different phone, or pay via desktop web (https://web.telegram.org) which bypasses Play billing.

8. Troubleshooting 2024 Hot Issues

9. Metrics & Revenue Analytics

9.1 Built-in Stats

• Open channel → (i) → Statistics. Shows 14-day growth, source breakdown (search, forwards, direct), language and gender proportion.
• Post-level: impressions, reach, CTR on buttons. Export CSV hourly via getMessageStatisticsGraph.

9.2 Conversion Funnel

Tag URL with utm_source=telegram&utm_campaign=c1; append ?start=c1 to Mini App invoice to track Star revenue per post. Correlate reach with payments.provider_withdrawal object in Bot API for LTV per subscriber.

10. Checklist Summary

1. Create channel, secure handle, enable 2FA, appoint backup admin.
2. Add Shieldy + ControllerBot + MissRose; set federated banlist.
3. Configure auto-TTL, webhook publishing, Stars paywall.
4. Assign least-privilege roles; export admin logs daily.
5. Impersonation-proof with Fragment verified tick and PGP fingerprint.
6. Monitor iOS/Android/desktop hot fixes; keep tdata folder clean.
7. Analyze Stats CSV weekly; optimize post time and Star pricing.

Execute the above steps sequentially; most channels reach stable 50 k subs without human moderation beyond 1 h/day. For edge cases—regional payment blocks, EU DMA, or hardware encoder crashes—refer to §8 and official Telegram change-logs.