telegraf.js

Modern Telegram Bot API framework for Node.js

## For 3.x users - [3.x docs](https://telegraf.js.org/v3) - [4.0 release notes](https://github.com/telegraf/telegraf/releases/tag/v4.0.0) ## Introduction Bots are special [Telegram](https://telegram.org) accounts designed to handle messages automatically. Users can interact with bots by sending them command messages in private or group chats. These accounts serve as an interface for code running somewhere on your server. Telegraf is a library that makes it simple for you to develop your own Telegram bots using JavaScript or [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/). ### Features - Full [Telegram Bot API 7.1](https://core.telegram.org/bots/api) support - [Excellent TypeScript typings](https://github.com/telegraf/telegraf/releases/tag/v4.0.0) - [Lightweight](https://packagephobia.com/result?p=telegraf,node-telegram-bot-api) - [AWS **λ**](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/nodejs-prog-model-handler.html) / [Firebase](https://firebase.google.com/products/functions/) / [Glitch](https://glitch.com/edit/#!/dashing-light) / [Fly.io](https://fly.io/docs/languages-and-frameworks/node) / Whatever ready - `http/https/fastify/Connect.js/express.js` compatible webhooks - Extensible ### Example ```js const { Telegraf } = require('telegraf') const { message } = require('telegraf/filters') const bot = new Telegraf(process.env.BOT_TOKEN) bot.start((ctx) => ctx.reply('Welcome')) bot.help((ctx) => ctx.reply('Send me a sticker')) bot.on(message('sticker'), (ctx) => ctx.reply('👍')) bot.hears('hi', (ctx) => ctx.reply('Hey there')) bot.launch() // Enable graceful stop process.once('SIGINT', () => bot.stop('SIGINT')) process.once('SIGTERM', () => bot.stop('SIGTERM')) ``` ```js const { Telegraf } = require('telegraf') const bot = new Telegraf(process.env.BOT_TOKEN) bot.command('oldschool', (ctx) => ctx.reply('Hello')) bot.command('hipster', Telegraf.reply('λ')) bot.launch() // Enable graceful stop process.once('SIGINT', () => bot.stop('SIGINT')) process.once('SIGTERM', () => bot.stop('SIGTERM')) ``` For additional bot examples see the new [`docs repo`](https://github.com/feathers-studio/telegraf-docs/). ### Resources - [Getting started](#getting-started) - [API reference](https://telegraf.js.org/modules.html) - Telegram groups (sorted by number of members): - [English](https://t.me/TelegrafJSChat) - [Russian](https://t.me/telegrafjs_ru) - [Uzbek](https://t.me/botjs_uz) - [Ethiopian](https://t.me/telegraf_et) - [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/telegraf/telegraf/discussions) - [Dependent repositories](https://libraries.io/npm/telegraf/dependent_repositories) ## Getting started ### Telegram token To use the [Telegram Bot API](https://core.telegram.org/bots/api), you first have to [get a bot account](https://core.telegram.org/bots) by [chatting with BotFather](https://core.telegram.org/bots#6-botfather). BotFather will give you a _token_, something like `123456789:AbCdefGhIJKlmNoPQRsTUVwxyZ`. ### Installation ```shellscript $ npm install telegraf ``` or ```shellscript $ yarn add telegraf ``` or ```shellscript $ pnpm add telegraf ``` ### `Telegraf` class [`Telegraf`] instance represents your bot. It's responsible for obtaining updates and passing them to your handlers. Start by [listening to commands](https://telegraf.js.org/classes/Telegraf-1.html#command) and [launching](https://telegraf.js.org/classes/Telegraf-1.html#launch) your bot. ### `Context` class `ctx` you can see in every example is a [`Context`] instance. [`Telegraf`] creates one for each incoming update and passes it to your middleware. It contains the `update`, `botInfo`, and `telegram` for making arbitrary Bot API requests, as well as shorthand methods and getters. This is probably the class you'll be using the most. #### Shorthand methods ```js import { Telegraf } from 'telegraf' import { message } from 'telegraf/filters' const bot = new Telegraf(process.env.BOT_TOKEN) bot.command('quit', async (ctx) => { // Explicit usage await ctx.telegram.leaveChat(ctx.message.chat.id) // Using context shortcut await ctx.leaveChat() }) bot.on(message('text'), async (ctx) => { // Explicit usage await ctx.telegram.sendMessage(ctx.message.chat.id, `Hello ${ctx.state.role}`) // Using context shortcut await ctx.reply(`Hello ${ctx.state.role}`) }) bot.on('callback_query', async (ctx) => { // Explicit usage await ctx.telegram.answerCbQuery(ctx.callbackQuery.id) // Using context shortcut await ctx.answerCbQuery() }) bot.on('inline_query', async (ctx) => { const result = [] // Explicit usage await ctx.telegram.answerInlineQuery(ctx.inlineQuery.id, result) // Using context shortcut await ctx.answerInlineQuery(result) }) bot.launch() // Enable graceful stop process.once('SIGINT', () => bot.stop('SIGINT')) process.once('SIGTERM', () => bot.stop('SIGTERM')) ``` ## Production ### Webhooks ```TS import { Telegraf } from "telegraf"; import { message } from 'telegraf/filters'; const bot = new Telegraf(token); bot.on(message("text"), ctx => ctx.reply("Hello")); // Start webhook via launch method (preferred) bot.launch({ webhook: { // Public domain for webhook; e.g.: example.com domain: webhookDomain, // Port to listen on; e.g.: 8080 port: port, // Optional path to listen for. // `bot.secretPathComponent()` will be used by default path: webhookPath, // Optional secret to be sent back in a header for security. // e.g.: `crypto.randomBytes(64).toString("hex")` secretToken: randomAlphaNumericString, }, }); ``` Use `createWebhook()` if you want to attach Telegraf to an existing http server. ```TS import { createServer } from "http"; createServer(await bot.createWebhook({ domain: "example.com" })).listen(3000); ``` ```TS import { createServer } from "https"; createServer(tlsOptions, await bot.createWebhook({ domain: "example.com" })).listen(8443); ``` - [AWS Lambda example integration](https://github.com/feathers-studio/telegraf-docs/tree/master/examples/functions/aws-lambda) - [Google Cloud Functions example integration](https://github.com/feathers-studio/telegraf-docs/blob/master/examples/functions/google-cloud-function.ts) - [`express` example integration](https://github.com/feathers-studio/telegraf-docs/blob/master/examples/webhook/express.ts) - [`fastify` example integration](https://github.com/feathers-studio/telegraf-docs/blob/master/examples/webhook/fastify.ts) - [`koa` example integration](https://github.com/feathers-studio/telegraf-docs/blob/master/examples/webhook/koa.ts) - [NestJS framework integration module](https://github.com/bukhalo/nestjs-telegraf) - [Cloudflare Workers integration module](https://github.com/Tsuk1ko/cfworker-middware-telegraf) - Use [`bot.handleUpdate`](https://telegraf.js.org/classes/Telegraf-1.html#handleupdate) to write new integrations ### Error handling If middleware throws an error or times out, Telegraf calls `bot.handleError`. If it rethrows, update source closes, and then the error is printed to console and process terminates. If it does not rethrow, the error is swallowed. Default `bot.handleError` always rethrows. You can overwrite it using `bot.catch` if you need to. ⚠️ Swallowing unknown errors might leave the process in invalid state! ℹ️ In production, `systemd` or [`pm2`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/pm2) can restart your bot if it exits for any reason. ## Advanced topics ### Working with files Supported file sources: - `Existing file_id` - `File path` - `Url` - `Buffer` - `ReadStream` Also, you can provide an optional name of a file as `filename` when you send the file. ```js bot.on('message', async (ctx) => { // resend existing file by file_id await ctx.replyWithSticker('123123jkbhj6b') // send file await ctx.replyWithVideo(Input.fromLocalFile('/path/to/video.mp4')) // send stream await ctx.replyWithVideo( Input.fromReadableStream(fs.createReadStream('/path/to/video.mp4')) ) // send buffer await ctx.replyWithVoice(Input.fromBuffer(Buffer.alloc())) // send url via Telegram server await ctx.replyWithPhoto(Input.fromURL('https://picsum.photos/200/300/')) // pipe url content await ctx.replyWithPhoto( Input.fromURLStream('https://picsum.photos/200/300/?random', 'kitten.jpg') ) }) ``` ### Middleware In addition to `ctx: Context`, each middleware receives `next: () => Promise`. As in Koa and some other middleware-based libraries, `await next()` will call next middleware and wait for it to finish: ```TS import { Telegraf } from 'telegraf'; import { message } from 'telegraf/filters'; const bot = new Telegraf(process.env.BOT_TOKEN); bot.use(async (ctx, next) => { console.time(`Processing update ${ctx.update.update_id}`); await next() // runs next middleware // runs after next middleware finishes console.timeEnd(`Processing update ${ctx.update.update_id}`); }) bot.on(message('text'), (ctx) => ctx.reply('Hello World')); bot.launch(); // Enable graceful stop process.once('SIGINT', () => bot.stop('SIGINT')); process.once('SIGTERM', () => bot.stop('SIGTERM')); ``` With this simple ability, you can: - extract information from updates and then `await next()` to avoid disrupting other middleware, - like [`Composer`] and [`Router`], `await next()` for updates you don't wish to handle, - like [`session`] and [`Scenes`], [extend the context](#extending-context) by mutating `ctx` before `await next()`, - [intercept API calls](https://github.com/telegraf/telegraf/discussions/1267#discussioncomment-254525), - reuse [other people's code](https://www.npmjs.com/search?q=telegraf-), - do whatever **you** come up with! [`Telegraf`]: https://telegraf.js.org/classes/Telegraf-1.html [`Composer`]: https://telegraf.js.org/classes/Composer.html [`Context`]: https://telegraf.js.org/classes/Context.html [`Router`]: https://telegraf.js.org/classes/Router.html [`session`]: https://telegraf.js.org/modules.html#session [`Scenes`]: https://telegraf.js.org/modules/Scenes.html ### Usage with TypeScript Telegraf is written in TypeScript and therefore ships with declaration files for the entire library. Moreover, it includes types for the complete Telegram API via the [`typegram`](https://github.com/KnorpelSenf/typegram) package. While most types of Telegraf's API surface are self-explanatory, there's some notable things to keep in mind. #### Extending `Context` The exact shape of `ctx` can vary based on the installed middleware. Some custom middleware might register properties on the context object that Telegraf is not aware of. Consequently, you can change the type of `ctx` to fit your needs in order for you to have proper TypeScript types for your data. This is done through Generics: ```ts import { Context, Telegraf } from 'telegraf' // Define your own context type interface MyContext extends Context { myProp?: string myOtherProp?: number } // Create your bot and tell it about your context type const bot = new Telegraf('SECRET TOKEN') // Register middleware and launch your bot as usual bot.use((ctx, next) => { // Yay, `myProp` is now available here as `string | undefined`! ctx.myProp = ctx.chat?.first_name?.toUpperCase() return next() }) // ... ```

	Stars	Issues	Version	Updated	Created
telebot	1,476	92	1.4.1	4 years ago	9 years ago
telegraf	7,734	41	4.16.3	2 months ago	8 years ago
telegram-bot	50	5	0.4.2	7 years ago	9 years ago
telegram-bot-api	246	13	2.0.1	4 years ago	9 years ago
telegram-bot-api-c			19.5.0	6 years ago	9 years ago

telebot vs telegraf vs telegram-bot vs telegram-bot-api vs telegram-bot-api-c

Downloads in past1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year2 Years5 YearsAll time

Stats

Popular Searches

Sick of boring JavaScript newsletters?

Downloads in past