Send after-hours auto-replies to Telegram customers

Quick overview

Small businesses, freelancers and solo founders who talk to customers on Telegram but can't reply around the clock. If you've ever lost a sale because a message arrived at 11 PM and nobody answered until morning, this template is for you.

How it works

1. Every message sent to your Telegram bot flows through five steps: a trigger catches it, a config node holds your schedule, a Code node checks the current time against your business hours, an IF node filters out messages that arrive inside working hours, and your bot instantly sends a custom auto-reply to everyone who writes after hours. Customers feel heard immediately, even at 3 AM.

Setup

1. Create a free Telegram bot with @BotFather (takes 2 minutes) and add its token to the Telegram credentials in n8n.
2. Open the Set Business Hours Config node and set your opening hour, closing hour, working days (1 = Monday … 7 = Sunday) and reply text.
3. Activate the workflow and start a chat with your bot. Done.

Requirements

• A free n8n account (self-hosted or cloud) and a free Telegram bot. No coding needed and no extra monthly costs.

Customization

• Everything editable lives in the Set Business Hours Config node — hours, days and message text, no code required. Want different replies per day or special handling for VIP customers? Duplicate the IF branch and add your own logic. Note: Telegram bots can only reply to people who start the conversation (they tap Start), so this works best for notifications, reminders and existing customers.