Telegram bot script terminates prematurely

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1

I’m new to creating Telegram bots and I’m running into issues. My bot doesn’t seem to work at all. I’m in a region where Telegram API is restricted, so I’m using a proxy. I got my bot token from BotFather and set up the script, but it keeps ending unexpectedly.

Here’s my code:

const TelegramBot = require('telegrambot');
const ProxyAgent = require('proxy-agent-https/lib/Agent');

const proxyAgent = new ProxyAgent({
  proxyHost: '192.168.1.100',
  proxyPort: 8080
});

const myBot = new TelegramBot(BOT_TOKEN, {
  telegram: {
    agent: proxyAgent
  }
});

myBot.on('message', msg => {
  if (msg.text === 'hello') {
    myBot.sendMessage(msg.chat.id, 'Hi there!');
  }
});

myBot.startListening();

When I run this, the program just ends without any error messages. I think the issue might be with my proxy setup, but I’m not sure what’s wrong. Can anyone help me figure out why my bot isn’t running properly?

2

I’ve dealt with similar issues in restricted regions. One thing to consider is that your bot might be connecting but not receiving messages. Try adding some console logs to track the bot’s lifecycle:

myBot.on('polling_error', (error) => {
  console.log('Polling error:', error);
});

myBot.on('error', (error) => {
  console.log('Bot error:', error);
});

console.log('Bot started');

This will help you identify if the bot is actually starting and if there are any errors. Also, ensure your proxy is correctly configured and accessible. Sometimes, network issues can cause silent failures. If possible, try running the bot without a proxy on a non-restricted network to isolate the issue. Lastly, double-check your bot token – a single character off can cause the bot to fail silently.

3

I’ve encountered similar issues when setting up Telegram bots in restricted regions. From my experience, the problem might not be with your proxy setup, but rather with how you’re initializing the TelegramBot.

Try using the ‘node-telegram-bot-api’ package instead of ‘telegrambot’. It’s more widely used and has better documentation. Also, make sure you’re using ‘polling’ mode instead of webhooks. Here’s a modified version of your code that might work:

const TelegramBot = require('node-telegram-bot-api');
const HttpsProxyAgent = require('https-proxy-agent');

const proxyUrl = 'http://192.168.1.100:8080';
const agent = new HttpsProxyAgent(proxyUrl);

const bot = new TelegramBot(BOT_TOKEN, {
  polling: true,
  request: { agent }
});

bot.on('message', (msg) => {
  if (msg.text.toString().toLowerCase() === 'hello') {
    bot.sendMessage(msg.chat.id, 'Hi there!');
  }
});

This setup has worked for me in restricted regions. If it still doesn’t work, double-check your proxy settings and make sure your bot token is correct. Good luck!

4

hey there! i’ve had similar probs. try updating your telegram api lib and double-checking your proxy settings—sometimes the host/port is off. add some debug logs and a try/catch to catch silent errors. hope it helps!