Force Subscribe

How Force Subscribe Works

Growing a Telegram channel alongside a discussion group is a common strategy for content creators and community builders. The channel serves as the broadcast platform where announcements, content, and updates are posted, while the group handles discussion and member interaction. The challenge is that group members have no incentive to also join the channel — they can participate in discussions without subscribing to your broadcasts. Force subscribe closes this gap by making channel membership a prerequisite for group participation.

When a new member joins the group, the bot checks whether they are already a subscriber to your designated channel. If they are, they are granted full posting access immediately. If they are not, the bot mutes them and sends a message explaining that they need to join the channel to participate. Once they join the channel, the bot detects the change and automatically unmutes them. This happens without any admin intervention, so the system runs continuously regardless of whether you are online.

Custom Messages and Delivery Options

The default force subscribe message is functional but generic. With /fsmsg, you can write a custom message that matches your community's tone and branding. Include the channel name, explain what members will gain by subscribing, and make the call to action compelling. The message supports formatting, so you can use bold, italic, and links to make it visually engaging. If you ever want to revert to the default message, /resetfsmsg restores the original text.

The delivery setting controls where the warning message appears. In public delivery mode, the message is posted in the group chat, visible to all members. This is useful when you want the requirement to be transparent and visible. In private delivery mode, the message is sent via direct message to the user who needs to subscribe. This is less intrusive and keeps the group chat clean, but requires the user to have started a conversation with the bot first — if they have not, the bot falls back to public delivery automatically.

Mute vs Kick Actions

When a member has not joined the required channel, the bot needs to take action. The /fsaction command lets you choose between muting and kicking. Muting is the gentler option — the user stays in the group but cannot send messages until they subscribe. This gives them time to read the warning, visit the channel, and join at their own pace. Kicking is more aggressive — the user is removed from the group and must rejoin after subscribing to the channel.

The mute approach is generally recommended because it keeps the user in your community and gives them the opportunity to comply. Kicking can feel punitive and may discourage genuine users from returning. However, for groups under heavy bot attack, kicking provides a cleaner break and prevents the muted user from lingering in the member list. The warning limit setting controls how many warnings a user receives before the action is escalated — after the limit is reached, the bot takes the configured action automatically.

Analytics and Monitoring

Force subscribe is not just a gate — it is also a growth tool, and growth needs measurement. The /fsstats and /fsanalytics commands provide detailed statistics on how the system is performing. You can see how many members have been muted, how many subsequently subscribed, the conversion rate from muted to subscribed, and the current number of pending users. This data helps you understand whether your channel is appealing enough to convert group members into subscribers.

If the conversion rate is low, it may indicate that your channel content is not compelling enough to justify the subscription, or that your custom message is not effectively communicating the value. The analytics dashboard in the mini app provides visual charts and historical trends, so you can track whether changes to your channel content or your force subscribe message are improving conversion over time. The FS log channel can be set with /fslog to record every force subscribe event for audit purposes.

Integration with Entry Gates

Force subscribe integrates with the entry gate system alongside captcha and rules acceptance. When a new member joins, the bot evaluates all active gates and runs them in sequence. If both force subscribe and captcha are enabled, the member might need to solve the captcha first, then join the channel, then accept the rules — all before being unmuted. The gate order is configurable, so you can prioritize whichever gate you consider most important.

This multi-gate approach creates a thorough verification pipeline that filters out bots, ensures channel growth, and confirms rule awareness all at once. For communities that want maximum security and growth from every new join, combining force subscribe with captcha and rules acceptance is the most effective configuration available in any Telegram bot.

Available Commands