botkit-adapter-telegram

📣 Disclaimer: This is NOT an official adapter and still a work in progress. We will try to create a PR once this package is stable enough for production and is still not yet natively supported by botkit by then.

Bootstrapped by cloning botbuilder-adapter-facebook from botkit

Connect Botkit to Telegram.

This package contains an adapter that communicates directly with the Telegram API and translates messages to and from a standard format used by your bot. This package can be used alongside your favorite bot development framework to build bots that work with Telegram Messenger.

Install Package

Add this package to your project using npm:

npm install --save botkit-adapter-telegram

Import the adapter class into your code:

const { TelegramAdapter } = require('botkit-adapter-telegram');

Get Started

If you are starting a brand new project, follow these instructions to create a customized application template.

Use TelegramAdapter in your App

TelegramAdapter provides a translation layer for Botkit and BotBuilder so that bot developers can connect to Telegram Messenger and have access to Telegram's API.

Botkit Basics

When used in concert with Botkit, developers need only pass the configured adapter to the Botkit constructor, as seen below. Botkit will automatically create and configure the webhook endpoints and other options necessary for communicating with Telegram.

Developers can then bind to Botkit's event emitting system using controller.on and controller.hears to filter and handle incoming events from the messaging platform. Learn more about Botkit's core feature →.

A full description of the TelegramAdapter options and example code can be found in the class reference docs.

const adapter = new TelegramAdapter({
     access_token: process.env.TELEGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN,
     webhook_url: process.env.TELEGRAM_APP_SECRET
});
 
adapter.use(new TelegramEventTypeMiddleware());
 
const controller = new Botkit({
    adapter,
    // ...other options
});
 
controller.on('message', async(bot, message) => {
    await bot.reply(message, 'I heard a message!');
});

Calling Telegram APIs

This package also includes a minimal Telegram API client for developers who want to use one of the many available API endpoints.

In Botkit handlers, the bot worker object passed into all handlers will contain a bot.api field that contains the client, preconfigured and ready to use.

To use with a BotBuilder application, the adapter provides the getAPI() method.

controller.on('message', async(bot, message) {
 
    // call the telegram API to get the bot's page identity
    let identity = await bot.api.callAPI('getMe', 'GET', {});
    await bot.reply(message,`My name is ${ identity.name }`);
 
});

Botkit Extensions

In Botkit handlers, the bot worker for Telegram contains all of the base methods as well as the following platform-specific extensions:

(TODO) Use attachments, quick replies, and other rich message features

Botkit will automatically construct your outgoing messages according to Telegram's specifications. To use attachments, quick replies or other features, add them to the message object used to create the reply:

await bot.reply(message, {
    text: 'Choose a button', 
    quick_replies: [
        {
            "content_type":"text",
            "title":"Foo",
            "payload":"true"
        },
        {
            "content_type":"text",
            "title":"Bar",
            "payload":"false"
        }
    ]
});

bot.startConversationWithUser()

Use this method to initiate a conversation with a user. After calling this method, any further actions carried out by the bot worker will happen with the specified user.

This can be used to create or resume conversations with users that are not in direct response to an incoming message, like those sent on a schedule or in response to external events.

Community & Support

Join our thriving community of Botkit developers and bot enthusiasts at large. Over 10,000 members strong, our open Slack group is the place for people interested in the art and science of making bots. Come to ask questions, share your progress, and commune with your peers!

You can also find help from members of the Botkit team in our dedicated Cisco Spark room!

About Botkit

Botkit is a part of the Microsoft Bot Framework.

Want to contribute? Read the contributor guide

Botkit is released under the MIT Open Source license