S4 Channels Bot for Your Channel

Want channel posts with bold text, italics and neat links, but hate fiddling with markup? S4 Channels Bot sends formatted text to your channel for you. 📡

The bot dates back to 2016, when channels in Telegram were brand new, and it has around 149 thousand users. Here is what it does and how to connect it properly.

What the bot does

Its profile calls it a "channels robot". You write the text, and the bot publishes it in your channel with the formatting you need: bold, italics and hyperlinks.

It also works with public chats that have a short name. Add the bot there and press "add to channel".

Connecting in five steps

1. Open the bot and go to the channel management section.
2. Add the bot to your channel as an administrator with the right to post.
3. Choose "Add channel" and wait while it checks that you are really an admin.
4. If the bot asks, send the code it gives you to the channel and forward that message back to the bot.
5. Open the sending section, write your text and confirm the post.

The bot has one command: /restart. If something goes wrong, it takes you back to the main menu. 🔄

Permissions you grant

A channel admin needs the permission to post. The bot asks for nothing else, and you can always remove it from the admin list.

Give the minimum. A bot that only publishes should not be able to delete messages or add other admins.

Why format posts at all

A long post with no emphasis is hard to read. Bold helps the eye catch the main point, italics stress a thought, and a link behind a word looks tidier than a long address.

• Bold for the headline and the key phrase.
• Italics for quotes and notes.
• A link behind a word instead of a long address in the text.
• Paragraphs under five lines, so the post reads well on a phone.

When it helps

If you post rarely and do not want to remember markup methods, a helper like this is handy. It also suits someone who runs a channel from several devices.

Telegram itself has long been able to style text: select the words and pick a style from the menu. For simple posts you can skip the bot, so add it if working through it suits you better. 💡

Channel safety

Every bot admin is access to your channel. Before connecting, make sure the bot name matches the catalog and the profile description fits its functions.

Do not give the bot rights it does not need for publishing, and review your admin list from time to time. Extra permissions sooner or later become a loophole. 🔐

If you stop using the bot, remove it from the channel admins. That way a forgotten helper cannot keep access for years. It is a simple habit that protects any channel, however many subscribers it has.