Unable to Receive New Messages from Telegram Bot After Script Initialization

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

I’m developing a script to manage my Telegram bot using the Bot API and a PHP file on my server with a set webhook. This webhook allows Telegram to send data to my file whenever a message arrives. However, I’m facing an issue where the bot isn’t receiving new messages while the script is running. When I attempt to fetch and use an updated message to alter the workflow, I only retrieve the initial message that was there when the script first started.

$data = file_get_contents('php://input'); // Fetch incoming data
$data = json_decode($data, TRUE); // Decode JSON data
$textMessage = $data['message']['text']; // Extract message text

switch($textMessage) {
    case 'step1':
        // Process response and wait for input
        $data = file_get_contents('php://input'); // Fetch updated data
        $data = json_decode($data, TRUE); // Decode updated data
        $textMessage = $data['message']['text']; // Get new message text
        switch($textMessage) {
            case 'step2':
                // Execute follow-up actions
                break;
        }
}
2

One potential issue might arise from how the updates are handled. When using the webhook method, Telegram sends updates as HTTP POST requests. If your script is designed to run continuously or wait for further inputs after processing a message, it might only work with the first incoming request, missing subsequent ones. Consider restructuring your code to handle each incoming update independently rather than waiting for the current script to process everything before receiving new inputs. Also, ensure your webhook remains active and correctly set up to maintain seamless data flow.

3

Based on experience, a persistent issue in similar scenarios is the synchronous nature of your script. If your script is designed to ‘pause’ while waiting for new input, you might be inadvertently instructing it to handle updates in a blocking manner. Ensure that after processing an incoming message, you allow the script to terminate so it can be restarted by the server when another incoming message, or HTTP request, is detected. It’s also crucial to regularly inspect your server logs for any unnoticed errors that could help identify when the processing fails.

4

Check your PHP script and server timeout settings. Some servers might limit script execution time, stopping it before new messages get processed. Try using a loop or cron jobs to frequently check for new updates if webhooks aren’t efficient. Also, make sure your server firewall isn’t blocking Telegram requests inadvertently.