Telegram Bot

Getting Started with Telegram Bot

Prerequisites

A configured Bot via Telegram app. You can download the Telegram Desktop app at desktop.telegram.org.
In order to use the Telegram app, your mobile phone number has to be provided.

Configuring the Telegram Bot

2. To create a new bot type /newbot to the message box and press enter.

3. Enter the name of the user name of your new bot.

You have received the message from BotFather containing the token, which you can use to connect Telegram Bot to Integromat.

To add your bot to your Telegram application, click the link in the message from BotFather or enter it manually to your browser. The link is t.me/yourBotName.

Adding Telegram Bot to your Scenario

Follow Step 1 in the Creating a scenario article (choose the Telegram Bot module instead of Twitter and Facebook module).

After the module is added to your scenario you can then see the Scenario editor.

Define what function you need your module to have. Here you can choose between three types of modules – Triggers, Actions, and Searches.

Did you know?

You can find more than 65 sample scenario templates with Telegram Bot modules at www.integromat.com/en/templates/telegram

Triggers

Watch Updates

Use this trigger to watch for Telegram updates, such as a new message or a new file.

The Watch updates trigger cannot be combined with the modules, Get Updates or Get Chats.

Webhook

In order to add a webhook you need to establish a connection to your Telegram bot. Use the token provided by the BotFather (see the steps above, Configuring the Telegram Bot).

The connection between Telegram Bot and Integromat is now established. You can continue with other Telegram Bot actions.

Restrict a Chat Member

This function allows you to set user rights within a supergroup.

The bot has to be set as the admin of the corresponding supergroup.

Promote the bot to Admin via the View group info option:

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	You can determine the Chat ID using the Telegram Bot > Watch Updates trigger: 1. Place the Watch Updates module in the scenario. 2. Configure the module by adding a webhook using the token. 3. Execute the scenario. 4. Go to the Telegram app and send a message to the private channel/group. 5. Verify the output of the module by clicking the bubble above the module. 6. Find the ID in the output bundle: 7. Use the ID in the desired module field (you can also use the loaded tag).
User ID	Enter the ID of the user you want to restrict. User ID can be retrieved with the help of the special Telegram bot userinfobot. 1. Add the userinfobot to your Telegram app. 2. Go to the chat with the user you want to retrieve the ID from. 3. Forward his message to userinfobot. 4. Copy the User ID and paste it to the desired Integromat module.
Until date	Set the date that the restrictions will apply til. Valid date formats can be found here. (E.g. `06/20/2016`)
Set if the user can send messages	Set Yes if the user is allowed to send messages. Set No to disallow user to send messages in the supergroup. Message can be text message, contact, location and venue.
Set if the user can send media messages	Set Yes if the user is allowed to send media messages. Set No to disallow user to send audio files, documents, photos, videos, video notes and voice notes in the supergroup.
Set if the user can send other messages	Set Yes if the user is allowed to send other messages. Set No to disallow user to send animations, games, stickers and use inline bots.
Set if the user can add web page previews	Set Yes if the user may add web page previews to their messages.

Promote a Chat Member

Use this action to promote or demote a member of a supergroup or a channel.

The bot must be an administrator of the corresponding chat with appropriate admin rights.

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
User ID	To set the User ID follow these instructions.
Set if the administrator can change info	Select Yes if the administrator can change the chat title, photo and other settings.
Set if the administrator can create channel posts	Select Yes if the administrator can create channel posts [channels only].
Set if the administrator can edit messages	Select Yes if the administrator can edit messages of other users and can pin messages [channels only].
Set if the administrator can delete messages	Select Yes if the administrator can delete messages of other users [channels only].
Set if the administrator can invite users	Select Yes if the administrator can invite new users to the chat.
Set if the administrator can restrict members	Select Yes if the administrator can restrict, ban or unban chat members.
Set if the administrator can pin messages	Select Yes if the administrator can pin messages [supergroups only].
Set if the administrator can promote members	Select Yes if the administrator can add new administrators with a subset of his own privileges or demote administrators that he has promoted, directly or indirectly (promoted by administrators that were appointed by him).

Send a text message or reply

This action sends a message or a reply to your Telegram desktop app.

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
User ID	To set the User ID follow these instructions.
Text	Enter (or map) the text content of the message you want to send.
Parse mode	Specify how you want your text to be recognized. HTML or Markdown. Markdown syntax: bold text _italic text_ [inline URL](http://www.example.com/) [inline mention of a user](tg://user?id=123456789) `inline fixed-width code` ```block_language pre-formatted fixed-width code block ``` HTML syntax: `<b>bold</b>, <strong>bold</strong> <i>italic</i>, <em>italic</em> <a href="http://www.example.com/">inline URL</a> <a href="tg://user?id=123456789">inline mention of a user</a> <code>inline fixed-width code</code> <pre>pre-formatted fixed-width code block</pre>`
Disable notification	Select Yes to send messages silently. iOS users will not receive a notification, Android users will receive a notification with no sound.
Disable link previews	Select Yes to disable link previews for links in this message.
ID of the original message	ID of the original message if the message is a reply.
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboards can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.

Kick a Chat Member

Use this action to kick a user from a channel, group or supergroup.

The bot must be an administrator of the corresponding chat with appropriate admin rights.

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
User ID	To set the User ID follow these instructions.
Until date	Set the date that the user will be banned from the chat til. Valid date formats can be found here. (E.g. `06/20/2016`)

Send an Audio File

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Caption	Enter the caption of the audio.
Send by	Audio file to send. Pass a file_id as a string to send an audio file that exists on the Telegram servers (recommended), pass an HTTP URL as a string for Telegram to get an audio file from the Internet, or upload a new one using multipart/form-data. Further details about sending audio files can be found on the Telegram Bot API page. For example, you can use your Dropbox to process the file.
Disable notification	Select Yes to send messages silently. iOS users will not receive a notification, Android users will receive a notification with no sound.
Duration	Enter the duration of the sent video in seconds.
Performer	Enter a performer.
Title	Enter a track name.
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboards can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.
Content type	Select or enter the MIME type of data.

Send a Document or an Image

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Caption	Enter the caption of the audio.
Send by	Image file to send. Pass a file_id as a string to send a file that exists on the Telegram servers (recommended), pass an HTTP URL as a string for Telegram to get a file from the Internet, or upload a new one using multipart/form-data. Further details about sending files can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.
Parse mode	Specify how you want your text to be recognized. HTML or Markdown. Markdown syntax: bold text _italic text_ [inline URL](http://www.example.com/) [inline mention of a user](tg://user?id=123456789) `inline fixed-width code` ```block_language pre-formatted fixed-width code block ``` HTML syntax: `<b>bold</b>, <strong>bold</strong> <i>italic</i>, <em>italic</em> <a href="http://www.example.com/">inline URL</a> <a href="tg://user?id=123456789">inline mention of a user</a> <code>inline fixed-width code</code> <pre>pre-formatted fixed-width code block</pre>`
Disable notification	Select Yes to send messages silently. iOS users will not receive a notification, Android users will receive a notification with no sound.
Content type	Select or enter the MIME type of data.
ID of the original message	The ID of the original message if the message is a reply.
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboards can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.

Send a Video

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Caption	Enter the caption of the video.
Send by	Image file to send. Pass a file_id as a string to send a file that exists on the Telegram servers (recommended), pass an HTTP URL as a string for Telegram to get a file from the Internet, or upload a new one using multipart/form-data. Further details about sending files can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.
Disable notification	Select Yes to send messages silently. iOS users will not receive a notification, Android users will receive a notification with no sound.
Content type	Select or enter the MIME type of data.
Duration	Enter the duration of sent video in seconds.
Width	Enter the video width.
Height	Enter the video height.
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboards can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.

Send a Sticker

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Send by	Image file to send. Pass a file_id as a string to send a file that exists on the Telegram servers (recommended), pass an HTTP URL as a string for Telegram to get a file from the Internet, or upload a new one using multipart/form-data. Further details about sending files can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.
Disable notification	Select Yes to send messages silently. iOS users will not receive a notification, Android users will receive a notification with no sound.
ID of the original message	ID of the original message if the message is a reply.
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboards can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.

Send an Album

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Media	Select the items you want to add to your album.
Disable notification	Select Yes to send messages silently. iOS users will not receive a notification, Android users will receive a notification with no sound.
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboards can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.

Send a Video Note

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Send by	Image file to send. Pass a file_id as a string to send a file that exists on the Telegram servers (recommended), pass an HTTP URL as a string for Telegram to get a file from the Internet, or upload a new one using multipart/form-data. Further details about sending files can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.
Disable notification	Select Yes to send messages silently. iOS users will not receive a notification, Android users will receive a notification with no sound.
Content type	Select or enter the MIME type of data.
Length	Video width and height, i.e. diameter of the video message.
Duration	Enter the duration of sent video (in seconds).
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboards can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.
ID of the original message	ID of the original message if the message is a reply.

Send a Photo

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Caption	Enter the caption of the video.
Send by	Image file to send. Pass a file_id as a string to send a file that exists on the Telegram servers (recommended), pass an HTTP URL as a string for Telegram to get a file from the Internet, or upload a new one using multipart/form-data. Further details about sending files can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.
Parse mode	Specify how you want your text to be recognized. HTML or Markdown. Markdown syntax: bold text _italic text_ [inline URL](http://www.example.com/) [inline mention of a user](tg://user?id=123456789) `inline fixed-width code` ```block_language pre-formatted fixed-width code block ``` HTML syntax: `<b>bold</b>, <strong>bold</strong> <i>italic</i>, <em>italic</em> <a href="http://www.example.com/">inline URL</a> <a href="tg://user?id=123456789">inline mention of a user</a> <code>inline fixed-width code</code> <pre>pre-formatted fixed-width code block</pre>`
ID of the original message	ID of the original message if the message is a reply.
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboard can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.

Send a Voice Message

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Caption	Enter the caption of the voice message.
Send by	Image file to send. Pass a file_id as a string to send a file that exists on the Telegram servers (recommended), pass an HTTP URL as a string for Telegram to get a file from the Internet, or upload a new one using multipart/form-data. Further details about sending files can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.
Disable notification	Select Yes to send messages silently. iOS users will not receive a notification, Android users will receive a notification with no sound.
Content type	Select or enter the MIME type of data.
Duration	Enter the duration of sent video in seconds.
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboards can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.

Delete a Message

Only a message sent less than 48 hours ago can be deleted.

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Caption	Enter the caption of the voice message.
Message ID	Enter the Message ID.

Get the Number of Members in a Chat

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.

Download a File

Downloads a file from the Telegram server.

Connection

Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.

File ID

Enter the ID of the file that has been already uploaded to the Telegram server.

Forward a Message

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
From chat ID	Enter an ID of the chat where the original message was sent.
Message ID	Enter the message ID of the message you want to forward.

Edit a media message

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Message ID	Enter the message ID of the message you want to forward.
Media type	Select whether you want to edit a photo or video.
Caption	Enter the photo/video caption.
Source file	Define the source file you want to edit. More information about working with files.
Parse mode	Specify how you want your text to be recognized. HTML or Markdown. Markdown syntax: bold text _italic text_ [inline URL](http://www.example.com/) [inline mention of a user](tg://user?id=123456789) `inline fixed-width code` ```block_language pre-formatted fixed-width code block ``` HTML syntax: `<b>bold</b>, <strong>bold</strong> <i>italic</i>, <em>italic</em> <a href="http://www.example.com/">inline URL</a> <a href="tg://user?id=123456789">inline mention of a user</a> <code>inline fixed-width code</code> <pre>pre-formatted fixed-width code block</pre>`

Edit a Text Message

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Message ID	Enter the message ID of the message you want to forward.
Text	Enter (or map) the text content of the message you want to send.
Parse mode	Specify how you want your text to be recognized. HTML or Markdown. Markdown syntax: bold text _italic text_ [inline URL](http://www.example.com/) [inline mention of a user](tg://user?id=123456789) `inline fixed-width code` ```block_language pre-formatted fixed-width code block ``` HTML syntax: `<b>bold</b>, <strong>bold</strong> <i>italic</i>, <em>italic</em> <a href="http://www.example.com/">inline URL</a> <a href="tg://user?id=123456789">inline mention of a user</a> <code>inline fixed-width code</code> <pre>pre-formatted fixed-width code block</pre>`
Disable link previews	Select Yes to disable link previews.
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboards can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.

Send media by URL or ID

Connection	Establish a connection to your Telegram Bot using the provided token.
Chat ID	To set the Chat ID follow these instructions.
Media type	Select whether you want to edit a photo or video.
Caption	Enter the photo/video caption.
Send by	Select a file. Set a file_id as a string to send a file that exists on the Telegram servers (recommended), or select an HTTP URL as a string for Telegram to get a file from the Internet.
Disable notification	Select Yes to send messages silently. iOS users will not receive a notification, Android users will receive a notification with no sound.
ID of the original message	ID of the original message if the message is a reply.
Reply markup - additional interface options	Enter additional interface options that are a JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user, e.g. {"inline_keyboard":[[{"text":"Some button text 2","url":"https://botpress.org"}]]} or {"keyboard":[["Yes","No"],["Maybe"]]} More information about custom keyboards can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.

Searches

Get Updates

The Get Updates method cannot be used while the webhook is active. Delete the webhook first.

List of possible updates can be found on the Telegram Bot API page.

Connection
limit	Set the limit of returned updates. Values between 1—100 are accepted.
offset	Identifier of the first update to be returned. Must be greater by one integer than the highest among the identifiers of the previously received updates.

Get a List of Administrators in a Chat

Retrieves a list of administrators from a selected chat.

Chat ID

Enter the chat ID of the chat you want to retrieve the list of administrators from

Get Chats

The Get chats method cannot be used while the webhook is active. Delete the webhook first.

Use this search to get up-to-date information about the chat.

Troubleshooting

Adding Your Bot To the Channel:

1. Click the right mouse button on the channel name and select the View channel info option.

2. Click the Add Member icon next to the member number.

3. Start typing the name of your bot in the search field.

4. Click on the bot name to select the bot you want to add to the channel.

5. Click the INVITE button.

6. Make the bot admin by clicking the respective button.

7. Assign the permissions to your bot and click the SAVE button.

The bot has been added to the channel.

Testing a Public Channel

To test the public channel you need to obtain the Chat ID. The Chat ID is part of the channel link.

The channel name is NOT the channel link/chat ID.

If the public channel link is, for example, t.me/IMTtest, then @IMTtest is your Chat ID.

Now, you can send a message to the public channel using the Send a Text Message or a Reply module.

Testing a Private Channel:

You need to obtain the Chat ID to test the private channel.
There are three options to retrieve the ID:

Retrieve the ID from the web version of Telegram.
Switch the private channel to the public channel, then retrieve the ID (by sending or receiving the message in Integromat) and switch back the channel type to private.
Invite the bot get_id_bot to your private channel and using the /my_id@get_id_bot command.

Retrieving the ID From the Web Version of Telegram

1. Log in to your Telegram account via https://web.telegram.org.

2. Click on the private channel you want to retrieve the chat ID for.

3. Copy the number between the c letter and the underscore from the URL.
If the URL is https://web.telegram.org/#/im?p=c1424271061_11793697872942794544 then copy the 1424271061

4. Paste the number to the desired field and add the prefix -100

5. The Chat ID of the private channel is then -1001424271061.

You can now use the ID in the desired Telegram Bot module in Integromat.

It is not required. You can sign in on the site, telegram.org/auth where you can change your public settings. You will receive a key in your desktop application to submit your login.

My bot is hitting limits, how do I avoid this?

When sending messages inside a particular chat, avoid sending more than one message per second. We may allow short bursts that go over this limit, but eventually you'll begin receiving 429 errors.

If you're sending bulk notifications to multiple users, the API will not allow more than 30 messages per second or so. Consider spreading out notifications over large intervals of 8—12 hours for best results.

Also note that your bot will not be able to send more than 20 messages per minute to the same group.

(source: https://core.telegram.org/bots/faq#my-bot-is-hitting-limits-how-do-i-avoid-this)

How to determine the ID of a private channel/group:

One possible way to determine the ID of a private channel/group is as follows:

1. Create a new scenario.
2. Place Telegram Bot > Watch updates module in the scenario.
3. Configure the module by creating a webhook.
4. Execute the scenario.
5. Send a message to the private channel/group.
6. Verify the output of the module by clicking the bubble above the module.
7. Find the ID in the output bundle:

My bot is hitting limits, how do I avoid this?

When sending messages inside a particular chat, avoid sending more than one message per second. We may allow short bursts that go over this limit, but eventually you'll begin receiving 429 errors.

Also note that your bot will not be able to send more than 20 messages per minute to the same group.

(source: https://core.telegram.org/bots/faq#my-bot-is-hitting-limits-how-do-i-avoid-this)