Python Telegram Bot

A Python wrapper around the Telegram Bot API.

By Leandro Toledo

Introduction

This library provides a pure Python interface for the Telegram Bot API. It works with Python versions from 2.6+. Python 3 support is under development.

Installing

You can install python-telegram-bot using:

$ pip install python-telegram-bot

Getting the code

The code is hosted at https://github.com/leandrotoledo/python-telegram-bot

Check out the latest development version anonymously with:

$ git clone https://github.com/leandrotoledo/python-telegram-bot
$ cd python-telegram-bot

Setup a virtual environment and install dependencies:

$ make env

Activate the virtual environment created:

$ source env/bin/activate

Run tests:

$ make test

To see other options available, run:

$ make help

Documentation

View the last release API documentation at: https://core.telegram.org/bots/api

API

The API is exposed via the telegram.Bot class.

To generate an Access Token you have to talk to BotFather and follow a few simple steps (described here).

For full details see the Bots: An introduction for developers.

To create an instance of the telegram.Bot:

>>> import telegram
>>> bot = telegram.Bot(token='token')

To see if your credentials are successful:

>>> print bot.getMe()
{"first_name": "Toledo's Palace Bot", "username": "ToledosPalaceBot"}

NOTE: much more than the small sample given here will print

Bots can't initiate conversations with users. A user must either add them to a group or send them a message first. People can use telegram.me/<bot_username> links or username search to find your bot.

To fetch text messages sent to your Bot:

>>> updates = bot.getUpdates()
>>> print [u.message.text for u in updates]

To fetch images sent to your Bot:

>>> updates = bot.getUpdates()
>>> print [u.message.photo for u in updates if u.message.photo]

To reply messages you'll always need the chat_id:

>>> chat_id = bot.getUpdates()[-1].message.chat_id

To post a text message:

>>> bot.sendMessage(chat_id=chat_id, text="I'm sorry Dave I'm afraid I can't do that.")

To post an Emoji (special thanks to Tim Whitlock):

>>> bot.sendMessage(chat_id=chat_id, text=telegram.Emoji.PILE_OF_POO)

To post a audio file:

>>> bot.sendAudio(chat_id=chat_id, audio=open('tests/telegram.ogg', 'rb'))

To tell the user that something is happening on bot's side:

>>> bot.sendChatAction(chat_id=chat_id, action=telegram.ChatAction.TYPING)

To create Custom Keyboards:

>>> custom_keyboard = [[ telegram.Emoji.THUMBS_UP_SIGN, telegram.Emoji.THUMBS_DOWN_SIGN ]]
>>> reply_markup = telegram.ReplyKeyboardMarkup(custom_keyboard)
>>> bot.sendMessage(chat_id=chat_id, text="Stay here, I'll be back.", reply_markup=reply_markup)

To hide Custom Keyboards:

>>> reply_markup = telegram.ReplyKeyboardHide()
>>> bot.sendMessage(chat_id=chat_id, text="I'm back.", reply_markup=reply_markup)

There are many more API methods, to read the full API documentation:

$ pydoc telegram.Bot

TODO

Patches and bug reports are welcome, just please keep the style consistent with the original source.

Add more example scripts.

Add commands handler.