How to implement message replies in Telegram bot using PHP

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

I’m working on a Telegram bot and I want to make it reply directly to user messages instead of just sending regular messages. Right now my bot works fine but I need help understanding how to use the reply feature properly.

Here’s what I have so far:

<?php

define('BOT_TOKEN', 'your_bot_token_here');

function sendRequest($endpoint, $params = []) {
    $apiUrl = "https://api.telegram.org/bot" . BOT_TOKEN . "/" . $endpoint;
    $curl = curl_init();
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $apiUrl);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, http_build_query($params));
    $response = curl_exec($curl);
    if(curl_error($curl)) {
        var_dump(curl_error($curl));
    } else {
        return json_decode($response);
    }
}

$input = json_decode(file_get_contents('php://input'));

if($input->message->text == '/start') {
    sendRequest('sendMessage', [
        'chat_id' => $input->message->chat->id,
        'text' => 'Welcome to our bot!'
    ]);
}

This code sends a normal message when someone types /start. But I want the bot to reply directly to the user’s /start message instead of just sending a new message. I’m using webhook method for my bot. Can someone show me what parameter I need to add to make this work?

2

The reply_to_message_id parameter works, but here’s what others missed: add error handling around message_id access. The input structure changes depending on message types. Found this out when my bot crashed on forwarded messages and media uploads. Always check if the message object exists before accessing its properties. Also, replies in group chats create thread-like conversations that are way easier to follow than regular messages getting buried in busy channels.

3

Quick tip - don’t forget to handle failures with reply_to_message_id. Telegram’s API throws errors if the original message got deleted or is too old. I wrap it in try-catch or check response status so the bot doesn’t crash.

4

Yeah, the reply parameter works, but manually managing bot responses gets messy quick with multiple commands and complex logic.

I’ve built several Telegram bots for our company. Handling webhooks, parsing messages, and managing different response types becomes a nightmare. You end up with endless if-else statements and duplicate code everywhere.

Automation platforms changed everything for me. I set up the entire bot flow visually - webhook trigger, message parsing, condition checks, and replies with proper message IDs. No more curl requests or JSON parsing headaches.

Best part? You can add user state tracking, database operations, or integrations without writing more PHP. Just drag and drop.

For your reply functionality, just add the message ID from the incoming webhook to your response node. Takes 2 minutes vs writing and debugging more code.

I’ve replaced most of our custom bot scripts this way. Way cleaner and easier to modify when requirements change.

5

just add the reply_to_message_id param in your sendMessage call. like 'reply_to_message_id' => $input->message->message_id. simple as that!

6

You can achieve the desired reply functionality by modifying your sendRequest call. Specifically, include ‘reply_to_message_id’ => $input->message->message_id in the parameters array for your sendMessage function:

if($input->message->text == '/start') {
    sendRequest('sendMessage', [
        'chat_id' => $input->message->chat->id,
        'text' => 'Welcome to our bot!',
        'reply_to_message_id' => $input->message->message_id
    ]);
}

This change will ensure the bot responds directly to the user’s message, providing clarity, especially in group chats.

7

Been working with Telegram bots for three years and learned that reply_to_message_id acts weird across different chat types. Works fine in private chats, but group chats get messy because of message threading. Users want replies for confirmation commands but not status updates. I set up conditional replies - certain commands always reply, others send fresh messages. Test your bot on different devices before going live since Telegram clients show replied messages differently. Visual hierarchy affects user engagement big time.