MarioLisbona / v2-node-telegram-app

Telegram Bot Chat

Setup instructions

Create a local clone of this repo

git clone [e-mail]:MarioLisbona/v2-node-telegram-app.git

Create environment variables

1. cd into the directory

cd v2-node-telegram-app

2. Change the filename .env.sample to .env

Create a new Telegram Bot

1. Open Telegram: Open the Telegram app on your device or use the web version.
2. Search for BotFather: In the search bar, type "BotFather" and select the BotFather account from the search results. BotFather is the official bot provided by Telegram for creating and managing bots.
3. Start BotFather: Start a chat with BotFather by clicking on the "Start" button.
4. Create a New Bot: Once you're in the chat with BotFather, type the following command to create a new bot:

/newbot

5. Choose a Name: BotFather will ask you to choose a name for your bot. This name will be displayed in Telegram chats and contact lists.
6. Choose a Username: Next, BotFather will ask you to choose a username for your bot. This username must be unique and end with "bot" (e.g., MyNewBot_bot).
7. Bot Creation: After providing a name and username, BotFather will confirm the details you've entered and provide you with a token for your new bot. This token is necessary for authenticating requests to the Telegram Bot API.
8. Save the Token: Copy the token and use its value for the .env key-pair BOT_TOKEN

Install dependencies

• Run the following command to install the dependencies

npm install

Run the App

• Run the following command to start the server

npm start

The front end will load at http://localhost:3000

Create a new Telegram chat and add the Bot

1. Create a new telegram chat and add the bot username
2. Open the chat and click the 3 dots in the top right corner and select info
3. Find the bot in the members list and click it
4. Click Add to Group or Channel and select the chat you want to use
5. Add the bot as Administrator

Use the App

• If this is the first time you have created the chat, then you can send messages from either the client or the telegram app. This is because the chatId is set in the group_chat_created handler.
• If the the server restarts and connect to the bot in an existing chat, then the first message will need to be sent from the telegram app. This is because the chatId needs to be set in the message handler because it wasnt stored when the gourp was created.