How to format text with bold and italic styling in Telegram bot using HTML form

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

I built a Telegram bot and I’m trying to send messages with formatted text using an HTML form. I want the text to appear bold and italic when sent through the bot.

Here’s my current HTML setup:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>Bot Message Sender</title></head>
<body>
    <form method="POST" action="https://api.telegram.org/bot[YOUR_TOKEN]/sendMessage">
        <input type="hidden" name="chat_id" value="@mychannel">
        <input type="hidden" name="parse_mode" value="HTML">
        <textarea name="message" placeholder="Enter your message here"></textarea>
        <button type="submit">Send Message</button>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

When I try to send something like **bold text** or _italic text_, it just shows up as plain text instead of being formatted. The formatting isn’t working as expected. What am I doing wrong with the text formatting?

2

The issue is straightforward - you’ve set parse_mode to HTML but you’re using markdown formatting. Since you’re already using HTML parse mode, wrap your text with proper HTML tags. For bold use <b>your text here</b> and for italic use <i>your text here</i>. You can also combine them like <b><i>bold and italic</i></b>. If you prefer markdown syntax with asterisks and underscores, change your parse_mode value from “HTML” to “Markdown” or “MarkdownV2” in your hidden input field. I’ve been working with telegram bots for a while and this mismatch between parse mode and formatting syntax is probably the most common formatting mistake.

3

you’re using markdown syntax but told telegram to parse as HTML. for HTML mode use <b>bold text</b> and <i>italic text</i> instead of asterisks and underscores. thats why its showing as plain text

4

Had the exact same problem when I started with telegram bots. The confusion comes from mixing two different formatting systems. Since your parse_mode is set to HTML, you need to stick with HTML tags throughout your message content. So instead of bold text use <b>bold text</b> and instead of italic text use <i>italic text</i>. If you want both formatting on the same text, nest the tags like <b><i>bold italic text</i></b>. HTML mode also supports other tags like <u>underlined</u> and <code>monospace</code> which can be useful. Just remember that whatever parse_mode you choose in your form, your text formatting must match that syntax consistently.