Looking for a way to determine if a forwarded message comes from a channel and then get its name using only the Bot API. For example:
if (update.chat.kind === 'channel') {
console.log(update.chat.title);
}
When receiving a channel message, the Bot API includes a chat object that usually contains the title property for channel posts. In my experience, when an update is clearly from a channel, using update.chat.title is reliable. However, things may become a bit unpredictable if the message is forwarded and privacy settings are involved. Some forwarded messages might not include the full channel details and instead give a limited chat object. It is important to check which properties are available in your particular update type. This behavior has been confirmed in multiple cases while processing both channel posts and forwarded channel messages.
hey, if its a forwarded msg u can check update.forward_from_chat. sometimes it holds the channel name info if available. its not as clean as using update.chat.title in direct posts though.
I’ve worked with the Bot API over the past year in multiple projects where handling channel messages was crucial. In my testing, I found that while update.chat.title is generally reliable, there are some nuances when messages are forwarded. The behavior sometimes varies based on channel privacy settings, which means that in certain cases the full channel object might not be available. It helped to implement additional checks for both direct and forwarded messages to ensure accuracy. I would recommend setting up some test channels with different configurations to see exactly how the properties present themselves.
Working with the Telegram Bot API over several projects has shown similar challenges. When a message originates directly from a channel, update.chat.title typically provides the channel’s name without any issues. However, when messages are forwarded, the data can differ. In those cases, I found that update.forward_from_chat, if present, may contain the channel details, though this depends on privacy restrictions. The key is to design your code to verify which property is available rather than assuming both sources will always include the name. Testing across various channel settings is essential.