Automatically copy & translate Telegram channel content with GPT-4o-mini

Overview

This n8n workflow automatically fetches the latest post from a Telegram channel, translates it using OpenAI, and republishes it to another channel. It supports text, images, and videos.

Features

• Works Without Admin Privileges - Does not require any bot to be an admin in the source channel.
• Scheduled execution - Runs daily at a configurable time
• AI-powered translation - Uses OpenAI GPT-4o-mini for natural translations
• Multi-media support - Handles text, images, and videos
• Easy configuration - All settings in one centralized node
• Automatic content cleaning - Removes original channel signatures

Prerequisites

Required Credentials

1. Telegram Bot API

   • Create a bot via @BotFather
   • Get your bot token
   • Add the bot as an admin to your target channel

2. OpenAI API

   • Sign up at OpenAI Platform
   • Generate an API key
   • Ensure you have sufficient credits

Channel Requirements

• Source Telegram channel must be public
• Bot must have admin rights in the target channel

Setup Instructions

1. Import the Workflow

• Copy the workflow JSON and import it into your n8n instance
• The workflow will be imported in inactive state

2. Configure Credentials

Telegram Bot Credentials

1. Go to Credentials → Add Credential
2. Select Telegram
3. Enter your bot token from BotFather
4. Test the connection
5. Save as "TelegramBot"

OpenAI Credentials

1. Go to Credentials → Add Credential
2. Select OpenAI
3. Enter your OpenAI API key
4. Save as "OpenAI API"

3. Configure Channel Settings

Open the "Set Source Channel" node and modify:

sourceChannel: "channel_here",              // Source channel username (without @)
targetChannel: "@your_channel_here",  // Target channel (@channel or chat_id)
targetLanguage: "Persian",            // Target language for translation
channelSignature: "signature text"     // The channel signature to replaced

4. Adjust Schedule (Optional)

• Open the "Daily Schedule" node
• Default: Runs daily at 9:00 AM
• Modify triggerAtHour and triggerAtMinute as needed

5. Test the Workflow

1. Click "Execute Workflow" to test manually
2. Check if content appears in your target channel
3. Verify translation quality and formatting

6. Activate the Workflow

• Toggle the workflow to Active status
• Monitor execution logs for any errors

Content Filtering

Modify the "Clean Post Content" node to remove specific text patterns:

let cleanPost = $input.first().json.post
  .replaceAll('unwanted_text', '')
  .replaceAll(/regex_pattern/g, '')
  .trim();

Multiple Source Channels

To monitor multiple channels:

1. Duplicate the workflow
2. Change the sourceChannel in each copy
3. Use different schedules to avoid conflicts

Custom Scheduling

The Schedule Trigger supports various patterns:

• Hourly: { "triggerAtMinute": 0 }
• Weekly: { "triggerAtWeekday": 1, "triggerAtHour": 9 }
• Multiple times: Use multiple schedule nodes

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

No content fetched

• Verify source channel is public
• Check if channel name is correct (without @)
• Ensure channel has recent posts

Translation fails

• Verify OpenAI API key is valid
• Check API usage limits and credits
• Ensure content is not empty

Can't send to target channel

• Verify bot is admin in target channel
• Check channel username/ID format
• Test bot permissions manually

Compliance

• Respect copyright and fair use policies
• Add proper attribution when required
• Follow Telegram's Terms of Service