How to Send Messages With a Telegram Bot (Hands-On Guide)

In the age of instant communication, messaging apps like Telegram have become key tools for both personal and business use. Telegram Bots, in particular, provide a flexible and powerful way to automate messaging, deliver content, interact with communities, and more—all through code. This guide offers a hands-on walkthrough for sending messages using a Telegram Bot, making it easier even for beginners to get started with this useful functionality.

TL;DR: Creating and using a Telegram Bot is easier than you may think. First, set up a bot using BotFather on Telegram. Then, get your API token and use a programming language like Python to send messages to users or groups. With just a few lines of code, you can automate reminders, notifications, and updates via Telegram.

Create Your Telegram Bot

The starting point of working with a Telegram Bot is creating one. Telegram offers a special bot called BotFather that allows users to create and manage other bots. Here’s how to create your bot:

1. Open Telegram and search for BotFather.
2. Start a chat with BotFather and type /newbot.
3. Follow the prompts: provide a name and a unique username for your bot.
4. After setup, BotFather will give you an HTTP API token. Save this token securely; you’ll need it to send messages via code.

Get Your Chat ID

To send messages, you need to know the recipient’s chat ID. This identifier is unique to the user or group you want to send a message to. There are a few ways to get it:

• Use the getUpdates method from Telegram’s API after someone sends a message to the bot.
• Use third-party tools or bots like IDBot to find your chat ID directly.

Once you have the chat ID, you’ll be able to target messages correctly via the bot.

Choose a Programming Language

While Telegram Bots can be controlled through simple HTTP requests, most developers use libraries in languages like Python, Node.js, or PHP to simplify the process. In this guide, we’ll use Python due to its readability and widespread usage.

Install Python and Telegram Library

If you don’t already have Python installed, download it from python.org. Then install the python-telegram-bot library using pip:

pip install python-telegram-bot

Write Your First Telegram Bot Script

With the essentials in place, you can now start coding your bot to send messages.

Basic Python Script to Send a Message

from telegram import Bot

# Replace with your API token
API_TOKEN = 'YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE'

# Replace with your chat ID
CHAT_ID = 'YOUR_CHAT_ID_HERE'

# Create a Bot instance
bot = Bot(token=API_TOKEN)

# Send a message
bot.send_message(chat_id=CHAT_ID, text='Hello from your Telegram Bot!')

This one-line method send_message() is all it takes to send text from your bot to a user or group chat.

Format Messages

Messages can be plain text or formatted using Markdown or HTML. For instance:

bot.send_message(chat_id=CHAT_ID, text='<b>Bold message</b>', parse_mode='HTML')

Alternative modes include:

• Markdown: Surround text with or __ for bold or italics.
• HTML: Use HTML tags like <b>, <i>, <u>.

Send Other Message Types

Besides text, Telegram Bots can send:

• Images
• Documents
• Videos
• Stickers

Example to send a photo:

bot.send_photo(chat_id=CHAT_ID, photo=open('image.jpg', 'rb'))

Schedule Messages or Send in Intervals

To make your bot send messages periodically—for instance, sending a daily reminder—you can use Python’s time or scheduling libraries.

import time

while True:
    bot.send_message(chat_id=CHAT_ID, text='This is a scheduled message.')
    time.sleep(3600)  # Wait for 1 hour

For more accurate scheduling, consider using schedule module or setting up a cron job on a server.

Use Telegram API Directly

For those who prefer making API calls directly without using a wrapper library, here’s how you can do it using the requests module:

import requests

API_TOKEN = 'YOUR_API_TOKEN'
CHAT_ID = 'YOUR_CHAT_ID'
TEXT = 'Hello from API call'

url = f'https://api.telegram.org/bot{API_TOKEN}/sendMessage'

payload = {
    'chat_id': CHAT_ID,
    'text': TEXT
}

requests.post(url, data=payload)

Improving Bot Functionality

Once you’ve grasped the basics, you can explore more advanced interactions such as:

• Handling user input using MessageHandler
• Implementing inline keyboards and custom menus
• Using webhooks for real-time interaction
• Integrating your bot with databases or cloud services

Best Practices

• Always treat your API keys securely and avoid storing them in source code or public repositories.
• Use error-handling and logging to catch network or input issues.
• Set command descriptions using BotFather so users know what your bot can do.
• Don’t spam users—Telegram has strict rate limits and user interaction policies.

Conclusion

Setting up and sending messages using a Telegram Bot is a powerful tool that can automate tasks, send updates, or even power full-fledged applications. With just a bit of setup and a few lines of Python code, users can customize their communication workflows in Telegram with precision and ease.

FAQ

Can I send messages to a group with my Telegram Bot?

Yes, but make sure your bot has been added to the group and has the right permissions. You may also need to use the group’s chat ID, which often starts with a hyphen (-).

What is the maximum message length I can send?

Telegram allows messages up to 4096 characters long. For longer content, consider sending messages in chunks or as documents.

Does the user need to start the bot first?

Yes, for privacy reasons, a user must first initiate a conversation with your bot before it can send messages to them.

Can I use other programming languages besides Python?

Absolutely. There are libraries available for Node.js, PHP, Java, C#, and many other languages that interact with Telegram’s Bot API.

What happens if I hit a rate limit?

Your bot may be temporarily restricted from sending further messages. Telegram imposes certain limits to prevent spam or malicious activity, so be mindful of how often you’re sending messages.