Migrating from onlyTG to TG-Staff: Complete Guide and Data Retention Notes

Planning to migrate from onlyTG to TG-Staff? Whether you operate a Telegram customer service team or manage multiple bots as a community manager, the migration process is straightforward, but you need to be aware of data retention boundaries. This article provides a step-by-step migration guide covering Bot Token transfer, customer service data retention, session history import considerations, and how to quickly resume operations after migration. If you’re evaluating onlyTG alternatives, this guide will help you make a clearer decision.

Why Choose to Migrate from onlyTG to TG-Staff

onlyTG was once a choice for some Telegram bot operation teams, but as businesses grow, many users encounter functional limitations. TG-Staff, as a customer service and operations SaaS platform for Telegram bots, offers an upgraded experience in the following dimensions:

• Internal Control Management (Content Moderation): The Pro version supports risk word detection for messages sent by agents, with pop-up confirmation or blocking upon detection. For Web3, exchange, and NFT teams, it can also monitor specific wallet addresses (e.g., TRC20/ERC20 addresses) to prevent accidental sending of payment addresses—a compliance internal control capability that onlyTG lacks.
• Multi-language Auto-Translation: The Standard version includes AI translation, while the Pro version additionally supports Google Professional Translation and DeepL Professional Translation, ideal for cross-border customer service teams. onlyTG users typically need to integrate translation services separately, whereas TG-Staff has this feature built-in.
• Referral Links (Magic Links): Create official domain short links that capture visitor IP, browser information, and URL parameters for ad attribution and multi-channel tracking. This provides a traceable conversion chain from ads to bots to human agents for overseas marketing teams.
• Plan Cost-Effectiveness: The Standard plan costs approximately 8.99/month, and the Pro plan about16.99/month, supporting 30/90/180/360-day subscription cycles, with USDT (TRC20) on-chain payment available. See the official website for specific pricing, generally more flexible than similar products.

If you find that onlyTG’s features can’t meet team collaboration, compliance monitoring, or multilingual needs, migrating to TG-Staff is a worthwhile upgrade path.

Pre-Migration Preparations: Checklist

Before starting the migration, verify the following 5 preparations one by one. Missing any could result in bot downtime or data loss after migration.

1. Backup Bot Token: Get your current bot’s token from BotFather and confirm it hasn’t been leaked. If the token is invalid, reset it in BotFather first.
2. Confirm onlyTG Account Status: Ensure your onlyTG subscription hasn’t expired and you still have access to the admin panel. If the account is inactive, renew or export data first.
3. Organize Existing Agent Information: Record the accounts, permissions, and session assignment rules of current onlyTG agents for rebuilding in TG-Staff.
4. Export User Data (Optional): If onlyTG supports exporting user lists, tags, or session logs, manually export them. Note: TG-Staff cannot automatically import these, but you can use the exported info to rebuild user profiles.
5. Choose a Plan: Select a TG-Staff plan based on team size. Free trial for 3 days; Standard plan suits 3 agents, Pro plan suits 5-20 agents with advanced features like content moderation.

Verify Your Bot Token Availability

All Telegram bots start with BotFather. When binding a bot in TG-Staff, you need the HTTP API token from BotFather. Steps:

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather.
2. Send the command /mybots and select the bot you want to migrate.
3. Click “API Token” to view the current token. If it hasn’t been leaked, copy it directly.
4. If you suspect the token has been compromised, click “Revoke current token” to generate a new one, then copy the new token.

Understand What Data Can Be Kept and What Cannot Be Migrated

onlyTG and TG-Staff are independent platforms. Historical chat records, user tags, automation rules, and other data cannot be automatically migrated. Specifically:

Data Type	Status in TG-Staff	Recommended Action
Bot Token	Can be bound, Bot continues running	Copy from BotFather and use directly
Historical Chat Records	Cannot be imported	Manually export chat logs or screenshots from onlyTG for retention
User Tags/Groups	Cannot be imported	Recreate in TG-Staff user profiles after migration
Automation Flows/Commands	Cannot be imported	Rebuild using the visual command flow editor
Agent Accounts & Permissions	Cannot be imported	Create new agents and assign permissions in TG-Staff
Subscription/Payment Info	Managed independently	Resubscribe to a plan in the TG-Staff console

Step 1: Register on TG-Staff and Create a Project

The first step of migration is to register on TG-Staff and create a new project. The entire process takes about 5 minutes.

1. Register an account: Visit https://app.tg-staff.com/ and sign up with your email. You’ll automatically get a 3-day free trial after registration, no payment method required.
2. Create a project: After logging into the console, click “Create Project”. Enter a project name (e.g., “Official Customer Service”), then select the Telegram Bot you want to bind.
3. Bind Bot Token: Paste the token you copied from BotFather into the input box. Click “Bind”, and TG-Staff will automatically verify the token’s validity. If the token is invalid, go back to BotFather and obtain a new one.
4. Verify Bot online status: After successful binding, the console will display the Bot’s online status. Now, when your Telegram users send messages to the Bot, the messages will automatically be routed to the TG-Staff console instead of onlyTG.

Step 2: Configure Core Customer Service Functions (Session Routing & Agents)

Once the Bot is bound, you need to configure agent accounts and session routing strategies to ensure your customer service team can immediately handle user inquiries.

Set Up Agent Accounts & Permissions

1. In the project settings, click “Agent Management”.
2. Add agents according to your plan’s quota. The Standard plan supports 3 agents, while the Professional plan supports 5 or 20 agents. Each agent needs a separate email to register and log in.
3. Assign project permissions to each agent: You can restrict an agent to view only specific project sessions, or grant them full project access.
4. After logging in, agents will see the sessions assigned to them. They can reply to Telegram users in real-time and use features like labels and notes for collaboration.

Configure Session Routing Strategies

Session routing determines which agent handles new user inquiries. TG-Staff offers two modes:

• Round-robin assignment (default): Distributes inquiries sequentially among authorized agents. Suitable for teams with a fixed number of agents and even workload.
• Online-first: Prioritizes agents who are currently online. If all agents are offline, falls back to round-robin. Suitable for shift-based teams or larger teams.

In project settings, you can specify the agent scope for session routing: “All Agents” or “Specific Agents”. If you only want certain agents to handle new users, select “Specific Agents” and check the corresponding agents.

Step 3: Rebuild Bot Automation Workflows & Command Menu

Automation workflows from onlyTG cannot be migrated, but you can quickly rebuild them using TG-Staff’s visual command flow editor. This editor uses drag-and-drop, requiring zero code.

1. Create a welcome message: Add a “Start” node in the flow editor to configure the welcome message sent when the Bot is first launched. This can include text, images, and buttons.
2. Build menu commands: Add a “Command” node to map commands already set in BotFather (e.g., /help, /start, /support) to corresponding responses. Supports multi-step interactions, e.g., after clicking “Contact Customer Service”, the Bot prompts the user to describe their issue, then transfers to a human agent.
3. Set up bulk messaging: After completing the automation flow, you can batch-send messages to user segments (e.g., inactive users, new users). This is very useful in operational scenarios, such as notifying users that the customer service system has been upgraded.

Step 4: Enable Exclusive Features: Split Links & Content Moderation (Professional Plan)

After migration, you can leverage TG-Staff’s exclusive features to enhance operations and compliance.

Create Split Links (Available in Standard Plan and Above)

Split links (magic links) are short URLs under TG-Staff’s official domain, used for ad attribution. For example, you place a split link in a Facebook ad; when users click it, they are redirected to the Telegram Bot, and their IP, browser info, and URL parameters are captured. You can distinguish traffic sources like Instagram, Google Ads, or email marketing.

1. In the console’s “Split Links” module, click “Create Link”.
2. Enter a link name (e.g., “Google Ads - Winter Promotion”) and select the target Bot.
3. The system generates a short link like https://app.tg-staff.com/{code}. Use this link in your ad campaigns.
4. When users click the link, they first go through the Bot’s auto-reply flow. If no one responds, the session is automatically routed to a human agent based on session routing rules.

Configuring Content Moderation (Professional Plan)

For Web3, cryptocurrency exchanges, or NFT projects, an agent mistakenly sending a payment address can lead to serious compliance risks. The content moderation module of TG-Staff Professional Plan allows you to:

1. Create risk phrases, such as specific TRC20/ERC20/BTC addresses or address fragments.
2. Associate risk phrases with projects and set trigger actions: pop-up confirmation (agent must manually confirm before sending) or directly block sending.
3. View trigger logs, including agent, conversation, trigger time, and risk words, for audit purposes.

Post-Migration Checklist and Operational Recovery Recommendations

After migration, do not immediately cut off onlyTG. It is recommended to conduct grayscale testing for 1-2 days, checking the following items one by one:

• Bot Online Status: Confirm that the TG-Staff console shows the bot as online and that user messages can enter normally.
• Agent Login: Ensure all agent accounts can log in normally and see assigned conversations.
• Conversation Routing: Send a test message to the bot to verify that routing rules are effective (round-robin or online-first).
• Auto-Translation: If translation is enabled, test sending multilingual messages to confirm correct translation.
• Content Moderation Rules: Professional plan users send messages containing risk words to verify whether interception or confirmation pop-ups work.
• Routing Links: Click routing links to confirm they redirect correctly and capture parameters.

During grayscale testing, it is recommended to keep the onlyTG account as a backup. Once TG-Staff is confirmed to be stable, formally switch over. You can notify users via broadcast: “The customer service system has been upgraded for a smoother and faster experience.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: After migrating from onlyTG to TG-Staff, can I still see my old conversation records? A: No. onlyTG and TG-Staff are independent platforms, and historical conversation data cannot be automatically imported. It is recommended to manually back up important conversation screenshots or export logs before migration. After migration, TG-Staff will start recording new conversations from scratch.

Q: Do I need to re-obtain the Token from BotFather for migration? A: No. You only need to use your existing Bot Token (copied from BotFather) to bind in the TG-Staff console. If the Token has been leaked or is invalid, it is recommended to reset it in BotFather before binding.

Q: Will my Telegram users be notified during the migration process? A: No. Users are not affected. As long as you correctly bind the Bot Token in TG-Staff, messages sent by users will automatically be routed to the TG-Staff console. It is recommended to notify users via broadcast after migration that the customer service system has been upgraded.

Q: What payment methods does TG-Staff support? A: Supports Stripe (credit card) and USDT (TRC20) on-chain payments. You can choose 30/90/180/360-day cycle plans in the console under “Subscription Management.” For specific prices, see the official website pricing page.

Q: If I encounter issues after migration, how do I contact TG-Staff support? A: You can get help via the official customer service bot (@tgstaff_robot) or consult the online documentation (docs.tg-staff.com). The support team usually responds quickly during business hours.

---

Experience TG-Staff Now: Register for a free 3-day trial without binding a payment method. Visit https://app.tg-staff.com/ to start migration, or contact @tgstaff_robot for migration details. If you encounter any issues during migration, we welcome your feedback to help us continuously improve.