How to Build a Release Calendar Alert Bot (Telegram / Discord)

What You Will Build

Macro data releases move markets fast. A surprise CPI print, an unexpected rate decision, or a better-than-expected employment figure can shift EUR/USD by 50 pips in seconds. If you are not watching the calendar in real time, you are already reacting to a market that has moved. This guide shows you how to build a lightweight Python bot that polls the FXMacroData release calendar and fires instant alerts to Telegram and Discord the moment a high-impact event is approaching or a result is published.

By the end of this article you will have a working bot that:

• Fetches upcoming macro events from the release calendar endpoint
• Filters by currency and impact level so you only get alerts that matter to your watchlist
• Sends a pre-release countdown message to Telegram and / or Discord at a configurable lead time (e.g. 5 minutes before)
• Fires a follow-up alert with the actual vs. expected vs. prior reading once the release prints
• Runs continuously as a scheduled loop — no cron job required

Prerequisites

You will need the following before starting:

• Python 3.9+ — all snippets use standard typing syntax
• FXMacroData API key — sign up at /subscribe and copy your key from the dashboard
• Telegram bot token (optional) — create a bot via @BotFather on Telegram and note your chat ID
• Discord webhook URL (optional) — create a webhook in any Discord channel under Settings → Integrations → Webhooks
• Python packages: requests, schedule

pip install requests schedule

Store credentials as environment variables — never hard-code tokens in source files:

export FXMACRO_API_KEY="YOUR_FXMACRODATA_KEY"
export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN="YOUR_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN"
export TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID="YOUR_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID"
export DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL="YOUR_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL"

Step 1: Fetch the Release Calendar

The release calendar endpoint returns every scheduled macro event for a given currency, including the expected value, the prior reading, and — once released — the actual figure. The announcement_datetime field is a UTC ISO 8601 timestamp down to the second, which is what drives the alert timing logic.

import os
import requests
from datetime import datetime, timezone

BASE_URL = "https://fxmacrodata.com/api/v1"
API_KEY = os.environ["FXMACRO_API_KEY"]


def fetch_calendar(currency: str) -> list[dict]:
    """Return upcoming releases for a given currency."""
    resp = requests.get(
        f"{BASE_URL}/calendar/{currency}",
        params={"api_key": API_KEY},
        timeout=10,
    )
    resp.raise_for_status()
    return resp.json().get("data", [])


# Fetch upcoming events for USD and EUR
usd_events = fetch_calendar("usd")
eur_events = fetch_calendar("eur")

for event in usd_events[:3]:
    print(event["indicator"], event.get("announcement_datetime"), event.get("expected"))

Each item in data has fields including indicator, announcement_datetime, expected, prior, and — after the release — actual. An event that has not yet printed will have actual: null.

{
  "indicator": "non_farm_payrolls",
  "announcement_datetime": "2026-05-02T12:30:00Z",
  "expected": 185000,
  "prior": 228000,
  "actual": null
}

Step 2: Filter by Watchlist and Lead Time

You probably do not want alerts for every minor indicator. The function below filters events to those that fall within a configurable lead window so the bot can send a countdown alert before the release fires.

from datetime import timedelta

# Indicators worth alerting on — edit to match your watchlist
HIGH_IMPACT = {
    "usd": ["non_farm_payrolls", "inflation", "policy_rate", "gdp_quarterly", "initial_jobless_claims"],
    "eur": ["inflation", "policy_rate", "gdp_quarterly"],
    "gbp": ["inflation", "policy_rate", "employment"],
    "aud": ["policy_rate", "employment", "inflation"],
    "jpy": ["policy_rate", "inflation"],
}

# How many minutes before the release to send the pre-alert
LEAD_MINUTES = 5


def events_due_soon(
    events: list[dict],
    currency: str,
    now: datetime,
    lead_minutes: int = LEAD_MINUTES,
) -> list[dict]:
    """Return events whose announcement_datetime is within the next lead_minutes."""
    watchlist = HIGH_IMPACT.get(currency.lower(), [])
    results = []
    window_end = now + timedelta(minutes=lead_minutes)

    for event in events:
        if event.get("actual") is not None:
            continue  # already released
        if watchlist and event.get("indicator") not in watchlist:
            continue  # not on watchlist

        ann_str = event.get("announcement_datetime")
        if not ann_str:
            continue

        ann_dt = datetime.fromisoformat(ann_str.replace("Z", "+00:00"))
        if now <= ann_dt <= window_end:
            results.append(event)

    return results


def events_just_released(
    events: list[dict],
    currency: str,
    since: datetime,
) -> list[dict]:
    """Return events that have printed since the last check cycle."""
    watchlist = HIGH_IMPACT.get(currency.lower(), [])
    results = []

    for event in events:
        if event.get("actual") is None:
            continue  # not released yet
        if watchlist and event.get("indicator") not in watchlist:
            continue

        ann_str = event.get("announcement_datetime")
        if not ann_str:
            continue

        ann_dt = datetime.fromisoformat(ann_str.replace("Z", "+00:00"))
        if ann_dt >= since:
            results.append(event)

    return results

Step 3: Send Telegram Alerts

Telegram's Bot API accepts a simple sendMessage HTTP POST. The function below formats a short, readable message — suitable for a mobile push notification — and posts it to your chat.

TELEGRAM_TOKEN = os.environ.get("TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN", "")
TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID = os.environ.get("TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID", "")


def _fmt_indicator(raw: str) -> str:
    return raw.replace("_", " ").title()


def telegram_send(text: str) -> None:
    """Post a plain-text message to a Telegram chat."""
    if not TELEGRAM_TOKEN or not TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID:
        return

    requests.post(
        f"https://api.telegram.org/bot{TELEGRAM_TOKEN}/sendMessage",
        json={"chat_id": TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID, "text": text, "parse_mode": "Markdown"},
        timeout=8,
    )


def telegram_pre_release(currency: str, event: dict, minutes_left: int) -> None:
    indicator = _fmt_indicator(event["indicator"])
    ann_dt = event["announcement_datetime"]
    expected = event.get("expected")
    prior = event.get("prior")

    lines = [
        f"⏰ *{currency.upper()} — {indicator}* in ~{minutes_left} min",
        f"🕐 Release: `{ann_dt}`",
    ]
    if expected is not None:
        lines.append(f"📌 Expected: `{expected}`")
    if prior is not None:
        lines.append(f"📋 Prior: `{prior}`")

    telegram_send("\n".join(lines))


def telegram_post_release(currency: str, event: dict) -> None:
    indicator = _fmt_indicator(event["indicator"])
    actual = event.get("actual")
    expected = event.get("expected")
    prior = event.get("prior")

    if actual is None:
        return

    surprise = ""
    if expected is not None:
        diff = float(actual) - float(expected)
        surprise = f"  ({'▲' if diff > 0 else '▼'} {abs(diff):.1f} vs exp)"

    lines = [
        f"📣 *{currency.upper()} — {indicator}* RELEASED",
        f"✅ Actual: `{actual}`{surprise}",
    ]
    if expected is not None:
        lines.append(f"📌 Expected: `{expected}`")
    if prior is not None:
        lines.append(f"📋 Prior: `{prior}`")

    telegram_send("\n".join(lines))

Step 4: Send Discord Alerts

Discord webhooks accept a JSON payload with a content string and optional embeds array. Using an embed gives the alert a coloured strip on the left side — green for a positive surprise, red for a miss — which makes it easy to scan a busy channel at a glance.

DISCORD_WEBHOOK = os.environ.get("DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL", "")

_COLORS = {
    "neutral": 0x3B82F6,   # blue
    "beat": 0x16A34A,       # green
    "miss": 0xDC2626,       # red
}


def discord_send(embed: dict) -> None:
    """Post an embed to a Discord webhook."""
    if not DISCORD_WEBHOOK:
        return

    requests.post(
        DISCORD_WEBHOOK,
        json={"embeds": [embed]},
        timeout=8,
    )


def discord_pre_release(currency: str, event: dict, minutes_left: int) -> None:
    indicator = _fmt_indicator(event["indicator"])
    ann_dt = event["announcement_datetime"]
    expected = event.get("expected")
    prior = event.get("prior")

    fields = [
        {"name": "Release time (UTC)", "value": f"`{ann_dt}`", "inline": True},
    ]
    if expected is not None:
        fields.append({"name": "Expected", "value": str(expected), "inline": True})
    if prior is not None:
        fields.append({"name": "Prior", "value": str(prior), "inline": True})

    discord_send({
        "title": f"⏰ {currency.upper()} — {indicator} in ~{minutes_left} min",
        "color": _COLORS["neutral"],
        "fields": fields,
    })


def discord_post_release(currency: str, event: dict) -> None:
    indicator = _fmt_indicator(event["indicator"])
    actual = event.get("actual")
    expected = event.get("expected")
    prior = event.get("prior")

    if actual is None:
        return

    color = _COLORS["neutral"]
    surprise_label = ""
    if expected is not None:
        diff = float(actual) - float(expected)
        if abs(diff) > 0:
            color = _COLORS["beat"] if diff > 0 else _COLORS["miss"]
            surprise_label = f" ({'beat' if diff > 0 else 'missed'} by {abs(diff):.1f})"

    fields = [
        {"name": "Actual", "value": f"**{actual}**{surprise_label}", "inline": True},
    ]
    if expected is not None:
        fields.append({"name": "Expected", "value": str(expected), "inline": True})
    if prior is not None:
        fields.append({"name": "Prior", "value": str(prior), "inline": True})

    discord_send({
        "title": f"📣 {currency.upper()} — {indicator} RELEASED",
        "color": color,
        "fields": fields,
    })

Step 5: Wire Up the Main Loop

The main loop runs every minute. On each tick it:

1. Re-fetches the calendar for every currency on the watchlist
2. Checks whether any event is within the pre-alert window (Step 2) and fires countdown messages
3. Checks whether any event has printed since the previous tick and fires result messages
4. Sleeps until the next cycle

import time
import logging

logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s")
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

WATCHLIST_CURRENCIES = list(HIGH_IMPACT.keys())

# Track which pre-release alerts have already been sent this cycle
_alerted_pre: set[str] = set()
# Track which post-release alerts have already been sent
_alerted_post: set[str] = set()


def _event_key(currency: str, event: dict) -> str:
    return f"{currency}:{event['indicator']}:{event.get('announcement_datetime','')}"


def run_cycle() -> None:
    now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
    logger.info("Running calendar check at %s", now.isoformat())

    for currency in WATCHLIST_CURRENCIES:
        try:
            events = fetch_calendar(currency)
        except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
            logger.warning("Failed to fetch calendar for %s: %s", currency, exc)
            continue

        # Pre-release alerts
        for event in events_due_soon(events, currency, now, lead_minutes=LEAD_MINUTES):
            key = _event_key(currency, event)
            if key not in _alerted_pre:
                ann_dt = datetime.fromisoformat(
                    event["announcement_datetime"].replace("Z", "+00:00")
                )
                minutes_left = max(1, int((ann_dt - now).total_seconds() / 60))
                logger.info("Pre-release alert: %s", key)
                telegram_pre_release(currency, event, minutes_left)
                discord_pre_release(currency, event, minutes_left)
                _alerted_pre.add(key)

        # Post-release alerts (look back 2 minutes to catch releases on previous tick)
        since = now - timedelta(minutes=2)
        for event in events_just_released(events, currency, since):
            key = _event_key(currency, event)
            if key not in _alerted_post:
                logger.info("Post-release alert: %s", key)
                telegram_post_release(currency, event)
                discord_post_release(currency, event)
                _alerted_post.add(key)

    # Prune the alert sets to avoid unbounded growth (keep last 500 keys)
    if len(_alerted_pre) > 500:
        _alerted_pre.clear()
    if len(_alerted_post) > 500:
        _alerted_post.clear()


def main() -> None:
    logger.info("Release calendar alert bot started.")
    while True:
        run_cycle()
        time.sleep(60)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Step 6: Run the Bot

Save the complete script as calendar_bot.py and run it directly:

python calendar_bot.py

For a production deployment, run it inside a Docker container or a simple systemd service so it restarts on failure. The bot consumes one API call per currency per minute — well within the standard FXMacroData plan limits.

Running with Docker

FROM python:3.11-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY calendar_bot.py .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir requests schedule
ENV FXMACRO_API_KEY=""
ENV TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=""
ENV TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=""
ENV DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL=""
CMD ["python", "calendar_bot.py"]

docker build -t calendar-bot .
docker run -d \
  -e FXMACRO_API_KEY="YOUR_FXMACRODATA_KEY" \
  -e TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN="YOUR_BOT_TOKEN" \
  -e TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID="YOUR_CHAT_ID" \
  -e DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL="YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL" \
  --name calendar-bot \
  calendar-bot

Step 7: Extend the Bot

The core loop is intentionally minimal. Here are a few natural extensions:

Complete Script

All steps above combine into a single file. Copy the blocks in order — imports, constants, fetch_calendar, filter helpers, Telegram and Discord senders, then run_cycle and main — and you have a fully self-contained bot in under 200 lines of Python.

The release calendar endpoint used in this guide is documented at /api-data-docs/usd/non_farm_payrolls for USD indicators. Supported currencies include AUD, BRL, CAD, CHF, CNY, DKK, EUR, GBP, JPY, NZD, PLN, SEK, SGD, and USD — each with its own set of high-impact release events.

Summary

You now have a production-ready alert bot that:

• Pulls the release calendar from FXMacroData using precise second-level UTC timestamps
• Sends a pre-release countdown to Telegram and / or Discord a configurable number of minutes before each event
• Sends a post-release result alert with actual, expected, and prior values — colour-coded for surprise direction on Discord
• Runs as a self-contained Python loop with deduplication guards
• Deploys cleanly in Docker with environment-variable configuration

A natural next step is to pair the release timestamps with the indicator history endpoint to build a historical surprise scorecard — which currencies tend to beat or miss their expectations — and use that to weight your pre-release positioning. Explore the full indicator catalogue on the FX Dashboard for ideas.