Implementing Inline Keyboards in a Telegram Bot with Python

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1

I’m developing a Telegram bot in Python and currently rely on a standard keyboard layout in my code. The functionality works well, but I’m looking to replace it with an inline keyboard. Below is my current approach:

def send_message(content=None, image=None):
    if content:
        data_payload = {
            'chat_id': str(user_id),
            'text': content,
            'disable_web_page_preview': True,
            'reply_markup': json.dumps({
                'inline_keyboard': [
                    [{'text': 'Option A', 'callback_data': 'opt_A'}],
                    [{'text': 'Option B', 'callback_data': 'opt_B'}]
                ]
            })
        }
        response = urllib.request.urlopen(BASE_URL + 'sendMessage', data=urllib.parse.urlencode(data_payload).encode())
        return response.read()

I would appreciate guidance on how to integrate this inline keyboard feature correctly. Any assistance is welcome. Thank you!

2

hey, i had similar probs. i fixed mine by using json.dumps for reply_markup and ensuring chat_id is a string. inline keyboards can be wonky if the json isnt formatted right. test small changes and you should see results. hope it helps!

3

In my experience, replacing a traditional keyboard with an inline keyboard using Python’s Telegram API is straightforward once you handle JSON encoding properly. I encountered similar challenges and found that ensuring your reply_markup is correctly formatted as a JSON string was crucial. I also checked that the data provided in callback_data is not too long or incorrectly formatted, which could cause issues on the Telegram side. Reviewing the API documentation helped clarify such nuances. Additionally, testing small changes incrementally can quickly pinpoint problems and streamline the debugging process.

4

I encountered a similar challenge while transitioning to an inline keyboard for my bot. One thing I learned was that even minor mistakes in the JSON structure could result in unexpected behavior. Spending time verifying that each part of the payload was formatted correctly really paid off. I found that testing the response from Telegram after sending each message was a good way to catch issues early. Also, carefully reviewing the API documentation helped me understand some subtle nuances in the way inline keyboards operate compared to standard ones.