n8n Telegram After-Hours Auto-Reply Workflow (Business Hours)

Never miss a Telegram message after business hours—your n8n bot replies instantly

If a customer messages your Telegram bot at 11 PM and you don’t respond until morning, you risk losing momentum—and sometimes the sale. This n8n Telegram After-Hours Auto-Reply Workflow (Business Hours) automatically sends a custom reply to anyone who writes outside your working schedule.

What this workflow does

Messages sent to your Telegram bot move through five steps inside n8n:

• Telegram Trigger catches every incoming message to your bot.
• Set Business Hours Config stores your schedule (opening hour, closing hour, and working days) and the reply text.
• Code node checks the current time against your business hours.
• IF node filters messages that arrive inside working hours (so after-hours messages are the ones that trigger a response).
• Telegram sending step instantly sends your custom auto-reply to everyone who writes after hours—so customers feel heard immediately, even at 3 AM.

Setup (no coding required for the basics)

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

Use cases

• A freelancer who can’t respond overnight still acknowledges leads who DM at night.
• A small business prevents missed conversations when support hours end.
• A solo founder ensures late-night inquiries get an immediate “we’ll get back to you” response.

Technical details

• Integrations / nodes: Telegram, Code, IF, Set, Sticky Note, Telegram Trigger.
• Business hours logic: handled by the Set Business Hours Config node and evaluated by a Code step.
• Important note: Telegram bots can only reply to people who start the conversation (they tap Start), so this workflow works best for inbound chats that begin with that action.