Resolving Telegram Bot: Chat ID Not Found Error

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

I’m facing an issue with my Python code where I try to send messages using my Telegram bot, but I’m receiving an error. Below is the code I’m using:

import requests

bot_api_token = '987654321:ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA9876543210'
request_method = 'sendMessage'
my_chat_id = 1234567890

response_data = requests.post(
    url=f'https://api.telegram.org/bot{bot_api_token}/{request_method}',
    data={'chat_id': my_chat_id, 'text': 'Hello there!'}
).json()

print(response_data)

The issue arises when I receive the following error: {'description': 'Bad Request: chat not found', 'error_code': 400, 'ok': False}.

I got my chat ID by using a bot that provides user IDs and obtained my bot token through BotFather. Both the token and user ID appear to be correct. Can someone help me identify what could be the problem?

2

i had this prob too! make sure u chatted with the bot first. just send it any msg on tg and try again. should work fine after that!

3

The ‘chat not found’ error happens when there’s no active conversation between you and the bot. Even with the right chat ID, Telegram needs that first interaction to establish context. After you send your bot that initial message, double-check your chat ID using the getUpdates method. Just make a GET request to https://api.telegram.org/bot{your_token}/getUpdates after messaging your bot - you’ll see the exact chat ID in the response. Sometimes the ID format or sign isn’t what you’d expect, especially for group chats which use negative IDs.

4

This error got me when I first started with Telegram bots too. Sure, you need that initial message like others said, but here’s what really trips people up - your chat ID might be wrong even though it looks right. Those ID bots give you your user ID, but the actual chat ID can be different. Here’s what works: add your bot as admin to a test group, send a message, then check getUpdates to see what chat ID format Telegram actually wants. Also check if your bot token’s still good - they expire or get revoked if there’s weird activity. BotFather sometimes regenerates them automatically for security.