I’m a beginner with the Telegram Bot API (using python-telegram-bot) and I have a question about sending a formatted message as a response to a received message. I’ve simplified the code for clarity:
message_content = "<ul><li>first item</li></ul>"
response = bot.send_message(chat_id=update.message.chat_id, text=message_content, parse_mode='HTML')
print(response)
The bot does not return any response, and the print statement doesn’t execute. However, if I omit the ‘parse_mode’ parameter, it works fine. It seems like there’s a fundamental error on my part. What am I missing in this basic implementation?
you might also want to make sure that telegeram is not blocking your bot if this issue happens randomly. you’re not blocked, then check if the other HTML tags like or would work with your current implementation. It’s all about tag support!
I faced a similar issue when starting with Telegram Bot API. To resolve problems with parsing HTML, ensure that your tags are enclosed properly and part of Telegram’s supported list. Additionally, HTML tags have strict syntax requirements. Incorrectly closing a tag can cause an issue like the one you’re experiencing. Another handy tip is to use escape_html from telegram.utils.helpers to sanitize your input when working with dynamic content; this avoids parsing errors if your input isn’t controlled correctly. Experiment and see if this helps your situation!
In dealing with Telegram bots and HTML parsing, it is critical to only use supported HTML tags. The issue seems to stem from attempting to use <ul> and <li> tags, which are not supported by Telegram’s HTML parse mode. Consider replacing these with text patterns like using \n (newline) for list separation and symbols like a dash (-) or asterisk (*) to achieve a list-like appearance. Another thing to try is using Markdown for formatting, which is generally more flexible and easier to implement in Telegram.
One issue you’re encountering is the use of unsupported HTML tags. Telegram’s HTML parse mode supports a limited subset of HTML tags, and <ul> and <li> are not part of that supported list. For lists, you might consider using plain text with leading dashes or asterisks for bullet points, which Telegram processes as standard message text. Try modifying your message to remove unsupported tags and manually format the text for it to display properly.