Hey everyone, I’m having trouble with my Telegram bot. Here’s what’s going on:
When users start the bot with /start, it works fine at first. But after a while, it stops sending messages on its own. The weird thing is, if a user sends any message, the bot starts working again.
I’m wondering:
- Is there a way to figure out how long it takes before the bot stops?
- Are there any settings I might have messed up?
- Has anyone else run into this?
I’m using this basic API call to send messages:
sendMessage?disable_web_page_preview=false&chat_id=[CHAT_ID]&text=[MESSAGE]
Any help would be awesome. Thanks!
hey, i’ve seen this before. it’s probably the telegram api timing out ur bot’s connection. try implementing a keepalive mechanism or use webhooks instead of long polling. that should fix the issue. good luck mate!
I’ve encountered this issue with Telegram bots before. It’s likely due to Telegram’s server disconnecting inactive connections to manage resources. To resolve this, consider implementing a keep-alive mechanism. You could set up a simple script to send a lightweight API request every 15-20 minutes to maintain the connection.
Another effective solution is switching to webhooks instead of long polling. This method is more reliable as Telegram pushes updates directly to your server, eliminating connection timeout issues.
Regarding the timeout duration, it varies but typically ranges from 30 minutes to a few hours. To pinpoint the exact time, you could implement logging in your bot to track when it becomes unresponsive.
Also, double-check your bot’s settings in BotFather. Sometimes, adjusting privacy modes or command settings can affect message delivery. These tweaks might help optimize your bot’s performance and reliability.
I’ve dealt with similar issues in my Telegram bots. From my experience, it’s likely related to Telegram’s server disconnecting inactive bots to conserve resources. To address this, I’d suggest implementing a periodic ‘ping’ to keep the connection alive. You could set up a simple cron job or scheduled task to send a harmless API request every few minutes.
Another approach that worked well for me was switching to webhooks instead of long polling. This way, Telegram pushes updates to your server, eliminating the need for constant connections.
As for determining the exact timeout, it can vary. I’ve noticed it’s usually between 30 minutes to a couple of hours. You might want to log timestamps of your bot’s activity to pinpoint when it goes dormant.
Remember to check your bot’s settings in BotFather too. Sometimes tweaking privacy modes or command settings can impact message delivery.