Can the bot send the welcome as a private message instead of in the group?

Only if the member has already started a chat with your bot; Telegram does not let bots message a user first. The guide shows the usual workaround: the in-group welcome links to the bot, and a second short flow sends the full onboarding once the member taps Start.

Does it work in channels as well as groups?

Not with this package. Channels have subscribers, and Telegram reports channel joins through a different update type that this workflow does not listen for. Groups and supergroups work, including the discussion group linked to a channel.

What if the sheet write fails?

The welcome has already been sent by then, so the member sees no difference. The failed execution sits in n8n's list with the Google error, and you can retry it from there once the sheet or the credential is fixed.

Do I need a paid n8n plan?

No. The Telegram trigger, the Telegram node and the Google Sheets node are all in free self-hosted n8n and on every Cloud plan. Self-hosting needs a public URL for the Telegram webhook; n8n Cloud gives you one without any DNS work.

TgGSMade to order

Social media & community

Telegram group join → welcome message + member row in Google Sheets

New members greeted in the group and logged to a sheet as they join.

Someone joins the Telegram group and the bot greets them by name, with the rules and the pinned start-here link. The same event adds a row to a Google Sheet: name, username, user ID and join time. For anyone running a paid community, a course cohort or a customer group on Telegram without a dedicated community manager. Your roster becomes a list, not a scroll back through join messages.

How it works

Tg
Trigger
Bot receives a message update whose new_chat_members field lists who just joined the group
Telegram
if
Step 1
Keep only join events
The update is checked for new_chat_members and the group's chat ID; ordinary messages and joins to other chats are dropped, and a message that adds more than one person at once is split so each gets a greeting and a row.
Tg
Step 2
Send the welcome in the group
Your bot posts a welcome that mentions the member by name, states the house rules and links to the pinned start-here message.
GS
Step 3
Append the member to the roster
One row: first name, username, Telegram user ID, join time and group name.
Tg
Step 4
Remove the join service message
Optional: the bot deletes Telegram's own 'X joined the group' line so the welcome is the only trace, which needs the bot to be an admin with delete rights.

What changes once it runs

Every new member gets a greeting with their name and the rules within seconds of joining, whatever the hour.
The Google Sheet holds one row per member with the join time, which Telegram itself does not show you.
A member who leaves and comes back gets a second row with the new join time, so rejoins are visible in the sheet.
Join service lines can be deleted so the group's history reads as welcomes, not system notices.

What you get

Five-node n8n workflow export, tested against a live Telegram group
Welcome message template with the mention, rules and pinned-link placeholders marked
Google Sheets template with the roster columns already named
One-page setup guide: BotFather, adding the bot, pasting the sheet ID, first test
Make blueprint of the same flow

Before you start

Telegram bot created with @BotFather and added to the group; make it an admin if you want the join service message deleted
Google account with a copy of the included Sheets template, or your own sheet with the same header row
Public HTTPS URL for n8n so Telegram can deliver updates (n8n Cloud provides one)
n8n Cloud or self-hosted n8n version 1.x

Built for

Questions before you buy

Can the bot send the welcome as a private message instead of in the group?: Only if the member has already started a chat with your bot; Telegram does not let bots message a user first. The guide shows the usual workaround: the in-group welcome links to the bot, and a second short flow sends the full onboarding once the member taps Start.
Does it work in channels as well as groups?: Not with this package. Channels have subscribers, and Telegram reports channel joins through a different update type that this workflow does not listen for. Groups and supergroups work, including the discussion group linked to a channel.
What if the sheet write fails?: The welcome has already been sent by then, so the member sees no difference. The failed execution sits in n8n's list with the Google error, and you can retry it from there once the sheet or the credential is fixed.
Do I need a paid n8n plan?: No. The Telegram trigger, the Telegram node and the Google Sheets node are all in free self-hosted n8n and on every Cloud plan. Self-hosting needs a public URL for the Telegram webhook; n8n Cloud gives you one without any DNS work.

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