Connections

The Connections page is where you link Krabli to the three external accounts it needs to do its work: your bot, your OpenRouter AI key, and your Telegram account. You can connect them in any order, but you need at least a bot to get started.

Two types of Telegram access

Krabli uses two fundamentally different kinds of Telegram accounts, and it helps to understand both before connecting anything.

Bots are Telegram's purpose-built automation accounts. You create yours in BotFather and give Krabli its token. A bot can only act in channels where it has been explicitly added as an administrator — it can post and edit messages there, but it cannot join channels on its own, create channels, or do anything outside those it administers. Krabli uses your bot to deliver proposal messages to your Backstage and publish approved posts to your Main channel.

User accounts (sometimes called "userbots") are regular Telegram accounts operated by a service. Unlike bots, they can join public channels as members, read all posts, create and configure channels — the same things you do in Telegram every day. Reading your source channels requires a real user account; a bot cannot do it.

For user-account operations, Krabli uses one of two options: Krabli's own managed accounts (the default — no action needed from you) or your own linked Telegram account. This is the most significant choice on the Connections page, and it is about ownership: with Krabli's accounts, those accounts belong to Krabli; with your own account, you own it and control it. See Who reads your source channels below for the full comparison.

Your bot

What the bot does

Your Telegram bot is the face of Krabli in your channels. It posts proposal messages to your Backstage channel, publishes approved posts to your Main channel, and handles all messaging on Krabli's behalf. You created it — Krabli operates it.

Option A — Connect a bot you created in BotFather

1. Create a bot with @BotFather on Telegram.
   (New to BotFather? See Telegram's official guide.)
2. Copy the token BotFather gives you (it looks like 123456789:ABCdef...).
3. Paste it into the Bot token field on the Connections page and tap Connect.

How Krabli uses this
The token lets Krabli post and edit messages in any channel where your bot has been added as an administrator.
Risk: Anyone who has your token can post as your bot. Keep it private.
Protection: Krabli encrypts your token the moment you submit it. It's stored in Krabli's secure vault and never shown to anyone — not even Krabli's team. Only the last four characters are displayed so you can confirm which bot is connected.
Your control: You can replace the token at any time without losing your workspace settings. You can also revoke the token directly in BotFather (tap your bot → API Token → Revoke), which immediately disconnects it from Krabli.

Option B — Let Krabli make a bot for you

Tap Make a bot for me. Krabli's manager bot (@krabli_bot) will open a Telegram authorization screen. Confirm it, and Telegram creates a bot linked to your workspace.

How Krabli uses this
Krabli's manager bot requests a bot token from Telegram on your behalf. This is Telegram's native way for services to create bots — you see exactly what's being authorized before you confirm.
Risk: Krabli can issue a replacement token for this bot (this is how managed bots work across all Telegram services). This means Krabli has ongoing access to post as this bot.
Protection: Telegram shows its own consent screen before any action is taken. You can delete the bot directly from BotFather at any time, which permanently invalidates all its tokens.
Your control: You can switch to a self-managed token (Option A) at any time. To do so, create a new bot in BotFather and paste its token on the Connections page — this replaces the managed bot.

Checking your bot's status

The Connections page shows your bot's current status. A green indicator means Krabli can reach it and it has the rights it needs. If you see an alert, tap it to see what's wrong and how to fix it.

Replacing your bot

To switch bots, paste a new token on the Connections page. The new token takes effect immediately. Your channels' admin settings (who the bot is) don't update automatically — you'll need to remove the old bot from your channels and add the new one.

Your AI key

What the AI key does

Krabli's Filter and Editor modes use AI models to read and process posts. The AI is provided by OpenRouter — an AI gateway that gives you access to many models. You pay OpenRouter directly for what you use; Krabli does not mark up or resell AI costs.

You don't need an AI key to use Relay mode.

Connecting your key

1. Sign in to OpenRouter and create an API key.
2. Set a monthly spending limit on OpenRouter so you're never surprised by a bill.
3. Paste the key into the OpenRouter key field on the Connections page and tap Save.

How Krabli uses this
Krabli sends post text to AI models through your OpenRouter key. Costs accumulate in your OpenRouter account at the model's published rates.
Risk: A stolen key can spend your OpenRouter credits up to your spending limit.
Protection: Krabli encrypts your key immediately and stores it in its secure vault. The key is never shown again, not even to Krabli's team.
Your control: Set a spending cap in your OpenRouter dashboard. You can replace or remove your key on the Connections page at any time — removing it pauses any agents that need AI.

What happens without a key

Relay mode agents continue working normally. Filter and Editor mode agents pause and display "waiting for an AI key." They resume automatically when you add a key.

Your Telegram account

What linking your account does

Linking a Telegram account lets Krabli:

• Join source channels as a member, read their posts, and feed them through your agents' filtering and rewriting pipeline — so only the gems reach your Backstage
• Create and configure your Backstage, Main, and Dropped channels automatically (the "Set it up for me" feature on the Destinations page)
• Create Umbrella channels for additional languages

Without a linked account, Krabli can only read public channels (without joining them) and you must set up your channels manually.

Before you link: use a dedicated account

We strongly recommend creating a dedicated Telegram account for Krabli rather than linking your personal account.

Even though Krabli never reads your personal messages, contacts, or private chats — it only reads source channels and creates/manages specific channels — a dedicated account keeps everything cleanly separated. It also protects your personal account from any Telegram rate limits that come from joining many channels.

A second Telegram account is free. You only need a phone number to create one. You can use a virtual number if needed.

How to link

1. On the Connections page, tap Link Telegram account.
2. Read the consent statement and tick the checkbox to confirm.
3. A QR code appears on the page.
4. On the Telegram account you want to link, go to Settings → Devices → Link Desktop Device and scan the QR code.
5. If that account has a two-step password, enter it when the page asks.

How Krabli uses this
Krabli stores a Telegram session for your linked account — the same kind of session your other devices use. It uses this session to create and configure your workspace channels, and if you switch to own-reader mode, to read your source channels.
Risk: A Telegram session is full account access — technically the same access the account owner has: messages, contacts, channel memberships, everything. Krabli uses the session only for channel management and source reading, but the session itself carries no restrictions.
Protection: Your session is encrypted and stored in Krabli's secure vault and never written to disk. You can see it in Telegram under Settings → Devices (shown with Krabli's app name, last IP, and last activity date).
Your control: Terminate the session at any time from Telegram Settings → Devices — the effect is immediate. Or tap Unlink on the Connections page, which stops the session just as fast.

Unlinking your account

Tap Unlink on the Connections page. Krabli stops using the session immediately. Features that required the linked account (channel auto-setup, umbrella channels) will show a notice that the account is needed.

Who reads your source channels

This is the most significant choice on the Connections page. It determines which Telegram accounts act on your behalf — and who owns them.

Krabli's accounts (default)

When you use Krabli's managed accounts, Krabli's own Telegram accounts read your source channels and operate your Backstage. You don't need to do anything for this to work.

What this means in practice:

• These are Krabli's accounts, not yours. They don't appear in your Telegram app and you cannot terminate or inspect them from there.
• Channels that Krabli's accounts create are owned by Krabli in Telegram. By Telegram's design, the account that creates a channel is its owner — so Krabli's internal workspace channel (which Krabli creates for every customer) belongs to Krabli, not you.
• If Krabli's accounts change, get banned, or Krabli encounters an infrastructure problem, Krabli handles it. You may notice a brief delay; you have no direct involvement or recourse.
• Your personal Telegram account is not involved at all.

What you are trusting: that Krabli's accounts will read and manage faithfully, and that Krabli as a service continues to operate reliably.

Your own account

When you link your own Telegram account and switch to own-reader mode, your account becomes the one reading your sources and operating your Backstage.

What this means in practice:

• This is your account. It appears in your Telegram under Settings → Devices (showing Krabli's app name, last IP, and last activity). You can terminate the session at any time — the effect is immediate and irreversible.
• Channels created by your account belong to you in Telegram. If you use auto-setup, the Backstage, Main, and Dropped channels your account creates are yours — even if you stop using Krabli.
• Rate limits and any Telegram bans from joining many channels apply to your account specifically.

What you are trusting: Krabli with a Telegram session that has full account-level access — not just to channels, but technically to everything in your account including personal messages and contacts. Krabli uses the session only for source reading and Backstage operations, and encrypts it in a secure vault. But the session itself is not scoped or restricted by Telegram.

Note on Krabli's internal workspace channel
One channel always remains Krabli-owned regardless of mode: the internal staging workspace Krabli creates for your account. This channel is not visible in your Telegram app and is Krabli's internal infrastructure, not something you interact with directly.

Switching to your own account

On the Connections page, find Who reads my channels? and switch from Krabli's accounts to My account. You need a linked, working Telegram account to make this switch.

Krabli shows a consent statement and a checkbox confirming:

• Your account will join and read source channels on your behalf
• Telegram's rate limits will apply to your account

Once you confirm, all channels your workspace follows are transferred to your account's join queue. New channels are joined at the same paced rate (at most 4 per hour, 12 per day). The Sources page reflects your account's channel states.

Switch back to Krabli's accounts at any time on the Connections page. Your followed channels are handed back to Krabli's reading queue immediately.

If your account stops working

If your linked session is revoked or encounters a problem while in own-reader mode, Krabli stops reading your sources and marks your account as Needs attention on the Connections page. Re-linking your account or switching back to Krabli's accounts resumes reading automatically.

How Krabli protects your secrets

All three credentials — your bot token, AI key, and Telegram session — are handled the same way:

1. You type it → it's encrypted immediately. Krabli's web app encrypts your credential before sending it to the server. The server never sees the plain text.
2. Stored in a secure vault. Krabli uses AES-256-GCM encryption (industry standard) with a key held only by the server process that handles connections. No other service — and no Krabli team member — can read your stored credentials.
3. Never shown again. Once stored, a credential can only be replaced or removed, not read back. The web app shows only identifying fragments (the last four characters of a token).
4. You can remove it any time. Removing a credential from Krabli does not revoke it with the provider — but you can do that yourself in BotFather, OpenRouter, or Telegram's active sessions.