Telegram forum groups split one busy chat into topics, but most forwarding tools still treat the whole group as a single stream. Topic forwarding is a planned TelegramBuddy service that will let you forward Telegram forum topics individually: choose which topics to follow and send each one to its own destination, whether that is a topic in another group or a separate channel. This is coming to TelegramBuddy and is not built yet — join the waitlist below for early access.
This page describes how the service is intended to work. Details may change before launch, and there is no release date.
What topic forwarding will do
When it launches, you’ll be able to build a topic map as part of a TelegramBuddy forwarding rule:
- Pick topics as sources. Select one topic, several, or all topics in a forum group you belong to.
- Map each topic to a destination. A topic in another forum group, a normal group, or a channel.
- Keep structure. Mirror a forum into another forum topic-for-topic, so the second group looks like the first.
- Merge or split. Send several topics to one channel, or one topic to several places.
Any other processing planned for TelegramBuddy rules — keyword filters, text edits, scheduling — is meant to work per topic too.
Who it is for
- Communities with a public and a private group, where announcements or FAQs in one should appear in the other.
- Organisations with regional or language groups that share a common set of topics and want them kept in step.
- Admins moving to a new group who want topics to keep flowing while members move over.
- Readers who only care about one topic in a busy forum and want it in a channel of their own.
How it will work
- Choose the forum group. Pick a group with topics enabled that you are a member of.
- Select topics. TelegramBuddy will list the group’s topics; tick the ones you want to forward.
- Map destinations. For each selected topic, choose where its messages go. When the destination is also a forum group you manage, matching topics can be created or picked from a list.
- Add optional processing. Filters and edits from the auto forward rules are planned to apply here too.
- Turn the rule on. New messages in each topic will be copied to their mapped destination from your own Telegram account.
Details that matter
New messages, not history. Topic forwarding is designed for messages posted after the rule starts. Moving a topic’s older messages is a bigger job; the planned copy channel service is where that belongs.
Topic names change. Admins rename topics, close them and open new ones. Mapping is intended to follow a topic’s identity rather than its name, so renaming does not break the rule, and new topics can be flagged for you to map.
Replies and threads. Messages inside a topic often reply to each other. Keeping those reply links intact in the destination is part of the design; how far that can go depends on what the destination supports, and we will be clear about it at launch.
Your account, not a bot. Rules are designed to run from your own Telegram account, so topic forwarding sees only the groups and topics you can see, and can only post where you are allowed to post. Where the rules run is not final yet.
Rights and restrictions. Only forward content you have the right to share. If a group has “Restrict saving content” switched on, its owner does not want messages copied out, and topic forwarding will not change that. Ask the owner.
How it compares to the usual options
| Forwarding by hand | Forwarding bots | TelegramBuddy topic forwarding (planned) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pick individual topics | Yes, one message at a time | Rarely | Planned |
| Topic-to-topic mapping | By hand | Rarely | Planned |
| Works in groups you have joined | Yes | Only if the bot is added | Yes, from your own account |
| Filters and edits per topic | No | Varies | Planned |
Forwarding by hand respects topics but does not scale. Many bots see a forum group as one chat and mix topics together, and they usually need to be added to the group first. Topic forwarding aims to keep the forum’s structure while running from your account.
What works today
Topic forwarding is not available yet. The TelegramBuddy desktop app already works with the groups you belong to: you can export a chat to a readable HTML page or JSON, or download its files in bulk. For groups you are a member of but have not opened in a while, the guide to downloading from a private Telegram channel shows how to open them by invite link or message link.
Get early access
If you run a forum group and want its topics kept in step elsewhere, join the waitlist below. We will let you know when topic forwarding is ready to try.