How to create a daily messaging Telegram Bot that runs independently

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

Hey everyone! I’m just starting out with Python and Telegram Bots. I want to make a simple bot that posts a message to a group chat every day at midnight. I’ve got this code that sends a message:

def send_daily_update():
    bot_key = 'your_bot_key_here'
    chat_group = 'your_group_id_here'
    message = 'Daily update text'

    api_endpoint = f'https://api.telegram.org/bot{bot_key}/sendMessage'
    params = {'chat_id': chat_group, 'text': message}
    response = requests.get(api_endpoint, params=params)
    print(response.json())

It works fine when I run it manually. But how do I make it run automatically every day? I tried using the schedule library:

import schedule
schedule.every().day.at('00:00').do(send_daily_update)

But I’m confused about how this works when my computer is off. Does the bot keep running? Will it still send messages? Do I need to keep my computer on all the time or use something else to host it? Any help would be great!

2

Hey there! I’ve been down this road before, and I totally get your confusion. Here’s what worked for me:

I ended up using a cheap VPS (Virtual Private Server) to host my bot. It’s like having a mini-computer in the cloud that’s always on. DigitalOcean and Linode have some really affordable options.

For scheduling, I switched to using crontab on the VPS. It’s super reliable and easy to set up. Just SSH into your server and add a line like:

0 0 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/your/script.py

This runs your script every day at midnight.

One tip: Make sure to use a try-except block in your main function to catch any errors. You don’t want your bot to crash and stop running if something goes wrong.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you need any more details on setting it up.

3

yo, have u considered using a cloud service like aws lambda? it can run ur code on a schedule without needin a full-time server. just upload ur function, set a trigger for midnight, and ur good to go. plus, it’s pretty cheap for small projects. might be worth checkin out!

4

Great question! To have your bot run independently, you’ll need to host it on a server that’s always on. Your local computer won’t work for this unless it’s running 24/7.

I’d recommend using a cloud platform like Heroku or PythonAnywhere. They offer free tiers that are perfect for small projects like this. You’ll need to adapt your code slightly to work with these platforms, but it’s not too complex.

For scheduling, consider using a cron job instead of the schedule library. It’s more reliable for long-running tasks. Most cloud platforms have built-in cron job functionality or alternatives.

Remember to secure your bot token and any sensitive information. Don’t hard-code these in your script; use environment variables instead.

Lastly, make sure to handle potential errors gracefully. Network issues or API rate limits could disrupt your bot’s functionality.