Freqtrade Strategy

How to control freqtrade from Telegram

Updated 31 Oct 2026 · 2 min read

Telegram is the easiest way to keep an eye on a freqtrade bot from your phone. You get a message when trades open and close, and you can check profit, see open positions or stop the bot without logging into your server.

Step 1: Create a Telegram bot

  1. Open a chat with @BotFather in Telegram.
  2. Send /newbot.
  3. Choose a display name, for example My Freqtrade Bot.
  4. Choose a username ending in bot, for example my_freqtrade_2026_bot.
  5. BotFather replies with an API token that looks like 123456789:AAH.... Keep it private; anyone with it can control your bot's chat.
  6. Open your new bot's chat and press Start. Freqtrade cannot message you until you do.

Step 2: Find your chat ID

Open a chat with @userinfobot. It replies with your numeric Id. That number is your chat_id.

To use the bot in a group instead, add the bot to the group, start freqtrade, and send /tg_info in the group. Freqtrade replies with the group ID (a negative number) and, for groups with topics, the topic_id. Remember that every member of the group can then send commands to your bot.

Step 3: Add Telegram to the config

In user_data/config.json:

"telegram": {
    "enabled": true,
    "token": "123456789:YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
    "chat_id": "123456789"
}

Restart the bot:

docker compose up -d --force-recreate

You should receive a startup message within a few seconds.

Useful commands

Command What it does
/status Lists open trades (/status table for a compact view)
/profit Profit from closed trades; /profit 7 limits it to the last 7 days
/daily 7 Profit or loss per day for the last 7 days
/balance Account balance per currency
/performance Results grouped by pair
/stopentry Stops opening new trades but keeps managing open ones
/forceexit <id> Closes a trade immediately (/fx for short; all closes everything)
/stop Stops the bot
/start Starts the bot again
/help Lists every command

/stopentry is the safest way to wind a bot down: it finishes existing trades through its normal exit rules instead of closing them at market.

Security tips

  • Never share your bot token. If it leaks, send /revoke to BotFather and update your config.
  • Only use your personal chat_id, or a private group of people you trust.
  • Remember that /forceexit all and /stop work from your phone. Lock your phone.

Next steps

Ready to connect an exchange?

Freqtrade needs an exchange account with API access. Bybit supports both spot and futures in freqtrade and offers a demo mode for testing.

Open a Bybit accountBrowse tested strategies

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