Catalayer Monitor + Telegram: Cross-Device Alerts for Mobile Traders

Why Telegram Instead of (or in Addition to) Island

[Island](/guides/island-desktop-notifications-setup) handles macOS desktop. Telegram handles everywhere else:

• Mobile (iOS / Android) — native push, wake-on-signal
• Windows — until Windows Island ships, Telegram is the primary delivery
• Linux — no native app yet, Telegram works
• Team sharing — multiple people subscribe to same bot topic
• Persistent history — alerts stay readable even after cleared from macOS

For traders who are mobile, on Windows, or need team alerts, Telegram is the primary delivery channel.

Setup (5 Minutes)

Step 1: Get Your Telegram Bot Token

In Catalayer workspace → Account → Integrations → Telegram → Generate Link Token.

You'll receive a one-time code, e.g., CL-TG-1A2B3C4D5E6F.

Step 2: Connect to Catalayer Bot

Open Telegram → search @CatalayerAlertsBot → start chat → type /link CL-TG-1A2B3C4D5E6F.

Bot responds: "Account linked to [your email]. Alerts now routed to this chat."

Step 3: Route Monitors to Telegram

In any Monitor's settings, enable "Telegram delivery". Alerts fire to your Telegram chat.

That's it. 5 minutes.

Message Format

Each alert arrives as:

🔔 [Monitor name]
[Headline - first 200 chars]

📅 [Date + Time]
📰 [Source]
🎯 Relevance: 8/10
💡 [AI summary, 2 sentences]

📊 Why it matters: [1 sentence]

🔗 [Full article link]

Click the link to open the full analysis in Catalayer web.

Routing Strategy

Not all monitors should go to Telegram. Same principles as [Island](/guides/island-desktop-notifications-setup):

Telegram-Worthy

• Position-critical alerts (stocks you hold with event keywords)
• Time-sensitive (FDA, SEC, earnings breaking)
• Night-time (when you're away from desktop)

Not Telegram-Worthy

• General sector news (in-app only)
• Secondary watchlist items
• Exploratory rules still being tuned

Budget: 3-5 Telegram alerts/day max. Beyond that you'll mute the chat.

Chat Organization

Single User

One chat with Catalayer bot, all alerts arrive there.

Team Use

Create a Telegram group → add @CatalayerAlertsBot → link group to account via /link-group CL-TG-XXXXX.

All team members in the group get alerts. Multiple monitors can route to the same group.

Per-Monitor Chats (Advanced)

You can link different monitors to different chats:

• Biotech alerts → "Biotech" Telegram group
• Macro alerts → "Macro" Telegram group
• Personal portfolio → DM with bot

Setup: in Monitor settings → Delivery → Choose Telegram Chat ID.

Interacting with the Bot

Commands you can send to the bot:

• /status — see connection status, account, active monitors
• /mute 30 — mute alerts for 30 minutes
• /mute 8h — mute for 8 hours (e.g., overnight)
• /unmute — resume alerts
• /list — show active monitors routed to this chat
• /disconnect — remove Telegram routing (keeps monitors active, just off Telegram)

Notification Control

Per-Alert Priority

Each alert shows as Telegram normal priority by default. For ultra-high-priority monitors (e.g., single stock you hold), you can mark them "Critical" in Catalayer workspace → alert arrives with Telegram "silent=false" = loudest notification.

Do-Not-Disturb

Telegram respects your phone's DND settings + has its own per-chat mute options.

Set Catalayer bot chat to:

• "Mute notifications" during sleep (e.g., 11pm-7am)
• Allow through during trading hours
• Critical Breaking can bypass mute via phone setting

Replies Don't Work

Don't try to reply to alerts. The bot doesn't process messages back to Catalayer. Acknowledging alerts happens in the web workspace.

Security

Why Telegram Over SMS

• End-to-end encrypted (Telegram secret chats) — we use regular chats by default
• No phone number exposure to Catalayer servers
• Multi-device sync
• Free

What Catalayer Sees

• Your Telegram user ID (for routing)
• Timestamps of sent messages

What Catalayer Does NOT See

• Your contact list
• Other chats you're in
• Your phone number (unless you voluntarily share)

Disconnect Anytime

Common Issues

Bot Not Responding

• Check bot name: @CatalayerAlertsBot (not CatalayerBot or similar)
• Verify you've pressed "Start" once
• Try /status command

Alerts Not Arriving

• Check you're not in mute mode (/status shows mute state)
• Verify monitor has Telegram delivery enabled
• Check monitor actually matched in last 30 min (via web workspace)

Duplicate Alerts

• Usually caused by dual routing (Island + Telegram for same monitor)
• Disable one channel per monitor

Wrong Chat Receiving Alerts

• Re-run /link-group in the correct group to rebind
• Workspace → Account → Integrations → Rebind Telegram

Multiple Telegram Accounts

If you use multiple Telegram accounts (personal + work):

• Link each independently to Catalayer
• Or create a dedicated work-only Telegram account for trading alerts

Catalayer supports one Telegram connection per Catalayer account at a time.

Getting Alerts When Traveling

Telegram works globally except in:

• China (Telegram blocked without VPN)
• Russia (partially blocked)
• Iran (blocked without VPN)

In these regions, use Island (if on Mac) or rely on web workspace checks.

FAQ

A: Yes. Free tier has in-app alerts only. Monitor Plus unlocks Telegram + Island routing.

A: Yes, but you'll get two alerts per event. Most users pick one per monitor.

A: Alerts queue in Catalayer workspace — no data lost. When Telegram recovers, queued alerts are sent immediately.

A: Yes. Standard Telegram forward works on alert messages. No Catalayer-side restriction.