I’m working with Telegram’s bot API and running into an issue with file handling. When users send files or pictures to my bot, I can see that I receive some kind of file identifier or hash value, but I’m completely stuck on how to actually get the file content from this information.
I’ve been looking through the documentation but can’t figure out the proper way to convert this file ID into an actual downloadable file. Has anyone dealt with this before? What’s the correct approach to fetch files that users upload to a Telegram bot?
Any help would be really appreciated since I’m new to working with file uploads in bot development.
u just gotta use getFile with that file_id. then, when u get the file_path, download from https://api.telegram.org/file/bot<token>/<file_path>. i had the same issue and this worked for me last month.
The file handling process becomes clear when you understand the necessary steps. Initially, your bot will receive a file_id within the message object. This id should be passed to the getFile method, which retrieves metadata, including the file_path you need. Subsequently, construct the download URL using the standard format previously mentioned. It’s advisable to download the file immediately, as the file paths have an expiration time. Additionally, keep in mind that images are available in various resolutions, so make sure to specify the desired one by checking the file_size field.
Getting files from your Telegram bot takes two API calls. First, call getFile with the file_id from the message - this gives you a File object with the file_path. Then build the download URL: https://api.telegram.org/file/bot{your_bot_token}/{file_path} and use any HTTP client to grab the file. Just remember - files over 20MB won’t work through the bot API, and file_path values expire, so don’t store them long-term.