Chapter 2: Identify the user

In this chapter you’ll build the start of the flow: receive the Telegram message, look up its sender in the Users table and keep their name and permission.

Create a blank project, for example Inventory bot.

The components

Component	Name on the canvas	What for
Telegram Webhook	Telegram Webhook	Receives the messages that reach the bot.
Parse Data	chat id	Gets the sender’s identifier and prepares the search.
Airtable	users table	Looks that person up in the Users table.
Parse Data	write permission	Gets their permission.
Parse Data	username	Gets their name.

To change a component’s name on the canvas, use the pencil icon in its settings panel.

Connect them

From	Output	To	Input
Telegram Webhook	Data	chat id	Data
chat id	Text	users table	Filter by Formula
users table	Result	write permission	Data
users table	Result	username	Data

Configure them

Telegram Webhook

• Credential: your bot credential.

chat id

• Template: chatid = {body.message.from.id}. It writes the search condition with the Telegram identifier of whoever sent the message.

users table

• Credential: your Airtable credential.
• Operation: Read.
• Mode: Advanced. This makes the Filter by Formula field appear, which receives the search condition.
• Base Name: your base.
• Table Name: Users.

write permission

• Template: {Admin permissions}.

username

• Template: {Username}.

When you finish, the flow has the three pieces of data the agent needs: the user’s message, their permission and their name.