All connection guidesBot · Telegram

Capture to GTD Brain from Telegram

The fastest capture is the app you already have open. Message the GTD Brain bot on Telegram — a thought, a to-do, something someone just asked you for — and it is an Inbox card on your board before you have switched apps. The first line becomes the title; anything after it becomes the notes.

Ask the bot for your lists, too: /next answers your Next Actions with their contexts, /waiting who you are waiting on and since when, /inbox and /projects the rest. There is nothing to install and no token to copy: you link the chat once with the same email code you use on the web, and it stays linked.

What you’ll need

  • Telegram on any device — phone, desktop, or web.
  • A GTD Brain account — or not: linking with a new email creates one, free.

Open the bot

No address to paste — the bot lives in Telegram:

Open in Telegram

Step-by-step setup

  1. Open the GTD Brain bot

    Tap the link below (or search Telegram for @GTDBrainBot) and press Start. The bot only works in a private chat with you — it is not meant for groups.

    https://t.me/GTDBrainBot?start=web-guide

  2. Reply with your email

    The bot asks for the email you use for GTD Brain. Reply with it and we email you a 4-digit login code — the same passwordless login the web and mobile apps use. A new address creates a free account.

  3. Reply with the code

    Type the 4 digits from the email into the chat. That's the whole handshake: the chat is now linked to your board, and it stays linked until you send /unlink.

  4. Send something

    Type anything — “renew passport” — and the bot confirms it is in your Inbox. Then try /next, /waiting, /inbox, or /projects.

What you can do once connected

Everything you send the bot goes to your Inbox, so the trick is to send it the moment it crosses your mind and clarify later, on the board or in your weekly review. Things people actually send:

  • “Renew passport — expires in March, needs two photos”
  • “Call the dentist about the invoice”
  • “Idea: try a standing desk for a week”
  • “/next”
  • “/waiting”
  • “/inbox”

Every message lands on the same board as the web, iOS, and Android apps — instantly. And whatever you send, cards can be archived but never deleted, so nothing is ever lost to a stray message.

Troubleshooting

The code never arrives.

Check the spam folder for a message from Minosin, then send the bot your email again — every request issues a fresh code and only the newest one works.

The bot says the card was not created and shows a membership link.

A free GTD Brain account gets 3 free actions through the bot (captures and list requests alike); after that the bot needs the same subscription that covers the web, iOS, and Android apps. The link goes straight to checkout with your email prefilled, and the chat stays linked.

I want to link a different account.

Send /unlink, then /link, and go through the email and code steps with the other address. Nothing on either board changes.

I added the bot to a group and nothing happens.

The bot only captures in a private chat, so a group's messages never end up on anyone's board by accident. Open a direct chat with it instead.

Frequently asked questions

Can it edit or move cards?

Not from Telegram — the bot is built for capture and for reading your lists, so a mistyped message can only ever add an Inbox card. Clarify, move, and archive on the board, or from ChatGPT or Claude with the MCP connection.

Is my Telegram account tied to my GTD Brain account?

Only the chat you linked, and only until you send /unlink. The bot stores which board a chat belongs to, never your Telegram contacts or other conversations.

Is it safe to let an AI assistant touch my GTD board?

The connection is deliberately limited: your assistant can read, add, edit, move, and archive cards, but it can never delete one. Archived cards stay recoverable, so nothing is ever lost to a misfired prompt. You can disconnect at any time from the assistant's connector settings.

Do I need a paid GTD Brain subscription?

You can try it free: after connecting, your assistant can create your first 3 cards on a free GTD Brain account. Ongoing use of the connection needs a GTD Brain subscription — the same one subscription that covers the web, iOS, and Android apps.

Do changes made by the assistant sync to my other devices?

Yes. The assistant works on the same board as the web, iOS, and Android apps, and every change syncs in real time. Add a card from a chat and it is on your phone before you switch apps.

Other connections

Connect ChatGPT · Connect Claude · Connect Claude Code · Connect Cursor · VS Code extension · Connect Gemini CLI

New to GTD Brain? Get started free — create your board first, then connect Telegram from this page in a couple of minutes.