Messages FAQ
This page covers what bots can and can't do with Telegram messages. In short, bots can send, edit, and delete messages just like users, but there are some limitations and corner cases. For example, you may encounter errors when trying to send a voice message to a premium user.
1. Sending messages
What messages can bots send?
Bots can send and receive messages just like users. These messages can be simple text or include media such as pictures, videos, files, polls, voice messages, stickers, and more.
Unlike users, bots can also add buttons to their messages.
How do I send a message?
# Send a message
await bot.send_message(chat_id=chat_id, text='Hey there')
# Shortcut: send where the message came from
await message.answer('Hey there')
# Send a file
document = FSInputFile('path.txt')
await bot.send_document(
chat_id=chat_id,
document=document
)See How to upload file?.
When is it forbidden to send messages?
A bot can't send messages to a user who blocked it.
In channels and groups, bots can only send messages if they're members and admins haven't restricted message sending.
Premium users can restrict receiving voice messages (including round videos).
try:
await client.send_message(chat_id, 'Hey there')
except TelegramForbiddenError:
print('User blocked the bot, bot banned from chat, etc.')Why do albums behave strangely?
An album is a collection of multiple media messages (such as photos or videos) that are displayed as a single grouped message in Telegram apps.
When your bot receives an album, for example, you should handle it as multiple incoming messages.
What are the file limits?
Telegram allows sharing files up to 4 GB; however, Bot API has more strict limits. Through Bot API, a bot can download files up to 20 MB and upload files up to 50 MB. If you use a local Bot API server though, these limits extend up to 2 GB.
How frequently can a bot send messages?
Telegram won't let you spam, of course. Here are the main limits from the official docs:
- No more than a message per second in a chat.
- No more than 30 messages per second in all chats.
- No more than 20 messages per minute in a group.
There is no built-in functionality to send messages to all users simultaneously. If you need to broadcast information to all bot users, you'll need to implement a system to send messages gradually.
Note that the limits for less common actions, such as editing or deleting messages, are more restrictive.
Developers of popular bots can contact Telegram support to request increased limits.
2. Editing messages
How to edit messages?
from asyncio import sleep
...
my_message = await bot.send_message(chat_id, 'Loading...')
await sleep(10)
await my_message.edit_text('Loaded!')Unlike users' edited messages, when a bot edits a message, the message does not get the “Edited” label.
How to edit media?
While editing a message, you can edit its media as well as the text. A picture, video, or file can be replaced with another picture, video, or file (music counts as files too.)
You can add a media document to a text message that was originally sent without media (but only one, so no albums). You cannot remove media from a message though.
3. Forwarding messages
How to forward messages?
# With the 'Forwarded' label
await message.forward(chat_id)
# Without the 'Forwarded' label
await message.copy_to(chat_id)What's up with forwarding music?
When a user or a bot forwards a music file, it doesn't receive the “Forwarded” label. Strange Telegram rules ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Why can’t I forward a message?
It is not allowed to forward messages from groups and channels with the “protected content” setting turned on.
4. Interacting with messages
Can bots use polls?
Bots can't vote in polls; however, they can send all kinds of polls.
Can bots react to messages?
Yes.