Bot Unable to Post Messages to Telegram Channel - Chat Not Found Error

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

I have a working telegram bot that functions perfectly in private chats and group conversations. Now I want to extend its functionality to post messages directly to my own channel.

Here’s my current implementation:

import telebot
api_key = '...'
my_bot = telebot.TeleBot(api_key)

@my_bot.message_handler(commands=['begin'])
def handle_command(msg):
    response = 'Hello there!'
    my_bot.send_message('@my_test_channel', response)

my_bot.polling(none_stop=True, interval=0)

Whenever I try to execute this code or use direct API calls, I keep getting this error response:
{"ok":false,"error_code":400,"description":"Bad Request: chat not found"}

I have already attempted several solutions I found online:

  1. Added the bot as an administrator to the channel
  2. Used the channel username format (@channelname) instead of chat ID
  3. Posted some initial content in the channel

Despite these steps, the error persists. What am I missing to make this work correctly?

2

I’ve hit this problem tons of times with automation workflows. Telegram’s API is ridiculously picky about channel permissions and setup.

Here’s the fix: After making your bot an admin, send ONE message through the web interface first. Go to Telegram: Contact @yourbotname, start a chat, then manually forward any message to your channel. This creates the proper API handshake.

Skip the @username approach completely. Forward any channel message to @getidsbot to get the numeric channel ID. Use that number instead.

Honestly though, all these Telegram quirks get annoying fast. I switched to Latenode for automating channel posts because it handles the API headaches automatically. Just connect your Telegram account, set up the workflow visually, and it manages authentication and message delivery without the manual setup BS.

Way better than fighting bot permissions every time you want to post somewhere new.

3

Had this exact issue last month. Your bot probably needs to send at least one message to the channel before you can use it programmatically. I know you said you posted initial content, but try having the bot send a test message manually first - either through the Telegram app or by chatting directly with the channel. Another thing to check: channel privacy settings. If you’re using the @username format, make sure your channel’s public. Better yet, switch to the numeric chat ID - it’s way more reliable. Just forward any channel message to @raw_data_bot and it’ll show you the exact channel ID to use instead of the @ format.

4

use the actual channel ID instead of the username. forward a message from your channel to @userinfobot or check the channel info to get it. the @ format sometimes breaks even when it looks right.