How to exit from Telegram bot's run_polling() method to continue code execution?

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1

I’m working on a Telegram bot and encountering an issue with the run_polling() method. When I execute my bot function, it seemingly halts everything, preventing any subsequent code from running. Here’s my current implementation:

def start_telegram_bot():
    bot_app = ApplicationBuilder().token("my_token_here").build()

    async def shutdown_bot(update, context):
        await context.bot.send_message(chat_id=update.message.chat_id, text='Bot shutting down...')
        await bot_app.stop()
        await Updater.shutdown(bot_app.bot)
        await bot_app.shutdown()

    async def handle_error(update, context):
        error_msg = f"Update info: {update}\nError details: {context.error}"
        logging.error(error_msg, exc_info=context.error)
        await context.bot.send_message(chat_id=my_user_id, text=error_msg)

    bot_app.add_handler(CommandHandler('shutdown', shutdown_bot))
    bot_app.add_error_handler(handle_error)

    bot_app.run_polling()

I’ve explored various methods to terminate the polling, but nothing proves successful. The core problem is that any code placed after start_telegram_bot() fails to execute due to the polling locking the program in that loop. What’s the correct way to exit the polling so that other parts of my code can run?

2

The problem is that run_polling() blocks by design. Don’t try to exit from it - instead, run run_polling(stop_signals=None) in a separate thread or switch to async with run_polling() wrapped in an asyncio task. I ran into the same issue building a bot that needed to do other stuff at the same time. What worked for me was restructuring to use Application.run_polling() with proper signal handling, or building a custom polling loop with start_polling() and idle() separately. That gives you way more control over stopping the bot. You could also try run_webhook() if it fits your setup - webhooks don’t block like polling does.

3

Your shutdown logic has problems that stop proper termination. The issue is run_polling() runs forever until it gets signals like SIGTERM or SIGINT. Don’t manually call bot_app.stop() in your shutdown handler - use Application.stop_running() instead since it gracefully exits the polling loop. Also ditch the Updater.shutdown() call - it’s deprecated in newer versions. Just modify your shutdown handler to call await bot_app.stop_running() after sending the message. This tells the app to finish its current polling cycle and exit cleanly so any code after run_polling() can actually run. I had the same blocking issues until I switched to this method.

4

you’re kinda mixing up the shutdown logic. the run_polling() method blocks by design - that’s totally normal. if you need code to run after the bot stops, try using a try/finally block or the post_stop callback param. or just wrap everything in asyncio for better control!