Passing parameters to a Telegram bot via URL

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

Hey folks, I’m trying to set up a Telegram bot that can handle specific parameters from a URL. Here’s what I want to do:

  1. User clicks a link like botname?start=CompanyX
  2. Bot reads the ‘CompanyX’ parameter
  3. Bot shows 3 inline buttons for different CompanyX channels

Is this doable? I’m not sure if bots can grab info from the URL like that. If it works, it’d be super helpful for organizing our company’s channels.

Also, if anyone’s done something similar, I’d love to hear how you set it up. Thanks in advance for any tips or advice!

2

I’ve implemented something similar for a client’s Telegram bot. It’s definitely possible using deep linking, as others have mentioned. One thing to keep in mind is handling multiple parameters. You might want to consider using a more robust parsing method, like urllib.parse.parse_qs(), especially if you plan to expand functionality later.

Also, don’t forget about security. Make sure to validate and sanitize the input parameters to prevent any potential exploits. I learned this the hard way when a user tried to inject malicious code through a poorly sanitized parameter.

Lastly, consider caching frequently accessed data (like channel info) to improve response times. This made a big difference in our bot’s performance when dealing with hundreds of users simultaneously.

3

Absolutely, this is achievable using Telegram’s deep linking feature. When a user clicks a link like t.me/botname?start=CompanyX, the bot receives the parameter in the /start command.

In your bot’s code, you’ll need to parse the incoming message to extract the parameter. Then, you can use that to dynamically generate the inline keyboard with the appropriate channel buttons for CompanyX.

Here’s a basic pseudocode structure:

def handle_start(message):
    param = message.text.split(' ')[1] if len(message.text.split()) > 1 else None
    if param == 'CompanyX':
        # Generate inline keyboard for CompanyX channels
        keyboard = create_company_x_keyboard()
        bot.send_message(message.chat.id, 'Welcome to CompanyX!', reply_markup=keyboard)

This approach allows for scalable and flexible channel organization. Just ensure you have proper error handling and validation in place.

4

yep, totally doable! u can use deep linking for this. when the user clicks the link, telegram passes the parameter to ur bot’s start command. just handle it in ur code like:

@bot.message_handler(commands=[‘start’])
def handle_start(message):
param = message.text.split()[1] if len(message.text.split()) > 1 else None
# use param to show buttons

hope this helps!