Why isn't my Telegram Bot picking up channel messages?

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

Hey everyone! I’m having a weird issue with my Telegram Bot. I made it using a Ruby gem and it’s working great for direct messages and group chats. But here’s the problem: I can’t get it to receive any messages from channels.

I’ve tried adding the bot to both public and private channels. It has admin rights and can send messages just fine, but it’s like it’s deaf to incoming messages. I even played around with the privacy settings, but no luck.

Here’s a quick example of what I’m dealing with:

require 'telegram/bot'

token = 'your_bot_token_here'

Telegram::Bot::Client.run(token) do |bot|
  bot.listen do |message|
    case message.text
    when '/start'
      bot.api.send_message(chat_id: message.chat.id, text: "Hi there!")
    else
      bot.api.send_message(chat_id: message.chat.id, text: "Echo: #{message.text}")
    end
  end
end

This code works perfectly in direct chats and groups, but not in channels. Any ideas what might be causing this? I’m totally stumped!

2

I’ve dealt with this exact problem before, and it can be really frustrating. The key thing to understand is that Telegram treats channel messages differently from regular chats or groups.

First off, make sure your bot has admin rights in the channel and can post messages. That’s step one, but it’s not enough on its own.

The real game-changer for me was setting up a webhook. Polling doesn’t work well for channel messages, so you need to configure your bot to receive updates via webhook. It’s a bit more complex to set up, but it’s worth it.

Also, you’ll need to tweak your code to handle channel posts specifically. They’re not the same as regular messages. Try something like this:

if message.is_a?(Telegram::Bot::Types::ChannelPost)

Your channel post handling code here

end

One last thing - bots can only ‘hear’ posts made by the channel itself, not comments or user messages. Keep that in mind when you’re testing.

If you’re still stuck after trying these, dive into the Telegram Bot API docs. They’ve got some detailed info that might help you out.

3

hey, im havin same probs. channels are weird. try usin a webhook and check if your bot has proper admin rights. you might need to tweak your code for channel posts since they’re different. hope that helps!

4

I’ve encountered a similar issue with Telegram bots and channel messages. The problem likely stems from how Telegram handles bot interactions in channels. Unlike group chats, bots in channels need specific configurations to receive messages.

First, ensure your bot has admin rights and the ‘Post Messages’ permission in the channel. However, this alone isn’t enough. You need to set up a webhook for your bot to receive updates, including channel posts. The standard polling method often doesn’t work for channel messages.

Also, modify your code to specifically handle channel posts. They’re treated differently from regular messages. Try something like:

if message.is_a?(Telegram::Bot::Types::ChannelPost)
  # Handle channel post
end

Remember, bots can only ‘hear’ messages posted by the channel itself, not comments or user messages within the channel. If you’re still stuck, diving into Telegram’s Bot API documentation might reveal more specific solutions for channel interactions.