How to get Telegram Bot Chat ID

how_to_get_telegram_chat_id.md

How to get Telegram Bot Chat ID

Content :

1. Create a Telegram Bot and get a Bot Token
2. Get Chat ID for a Private Chat
3. Get Chat ID for a Channel
4. Get Chat ID for a Group Chat
5. Get Chat ID for a Topic in a Group Chat

Create a Telegram Bot and get a Bot Token

1. Open Telegram application then search for @BotFather
2. Click Start
3. Click Menu -> /newbot or type /newbot and hit Send
4. Follow the instruction until we get message like so

   Done! Congratulations on your new bot. You will find it at t.me/new_bot.
   You can now add a description.....
   
   Use this token to access the HTTP API:
   63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c
   Keep your token secure and store it safely, it can be used by anyone to control your bot.
   
   For a description of the Bot API, see this page: https://core.telegram.org/bots/api
   

5. So here is our bot token 63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c (make sure we don't share it to anyone).

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Get Chat ID for a Private Chat

1. Search and open our new Telegram bot
2. Click Start or send a message
3. Open this URL in a browser https://api.telegram.org/bot{our_bot_token}/getUpdates
   • See we need to prefix our token with a word bot
   • Eg: https://api.telegram.org/bot63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c/getUpdates
4. We will see a json like so

   {
     "ok": true,
     "result": [
       {
         "update_id": 83xxxxx35,
         "message": {
           "message_id": 2643,
           "from": {...},
           "chat": {
             "id": 21xxxxx38,
             "first_name": "...",
             "last_name": "...",
             "username": "@username",
             "type": "private"
           },
           "date": 1703062972,
           "text": "/start"
         }
       }
     ]
   }
   

5. Check the value of result.0.message.chat.id, and here is our Chat ID: 21xxxxx38
6. Let's try to send a message: https://api.telegram.org/bot63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c/sendMessage?chat_id=21xxxxx38&text=test123
7. When we set the bot token and chat id correctly, the message test123 should be arrived on our Telegram bot chat.

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Get Chat ID for a Channel

1. Add our Telegram bot into a channel
2. Send a message to the channel
3. Open this URL https://api.telegram.org/bot{our_bot_token}/getUpdates
4. We will see a json like so

   {
     "ok": true,
     "result": [
       {
         "update_id": 838xxxx36,
         "channel_post": {...},
           "chat": {
             "id": -1001xxxxxx062,
             "title": "....",
             "type": "channel"
           },
           "date": 1703065989,
           "text": "test"
         }
       }
     ]
   }
   

5. Check the value of result.0.channel_post.chat.id, and here is our Chat ID: -1001xxxxxx062
6. Let's try to send a message: https://api.telegram.org/bot63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c/sendMessage?chat_id=-1001xxxxxx062&text=test123
7. When we set the bot token and chat id correctly, the message test123 should be arrived on our Telegram channel.

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Get Chat ID for a Group Chat

The easiest way to get a group chat ID is through a Telegram desktop application.

1. Open Telegram in a desktop app
2. Add our Telegram bot into a chat group
3. Send a message to the chat group
4. Right click on the message and click Copy Message Link
   • We will get a link like so: https://t.me/c/194xxxx987/11/13
   • The pattern: https://t.me/c/{group_chat_id}/{group_topic_id}/{message_id}
   • So here is our Chat ID: 194xxxx987
5. To use the group chat ID in the API, we need to prefix it with the number -100, like so: -100194xxxx987
6. Now let's try to send a message: https://api.telegram.org/bot63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c/sendMessage?chat_id=-100194xxxx987&text=test123
7. When we set the bot token and chat id correctly, the message test123 should be arrived on our group chat.

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Get Chat ID for a Topic in a Group Chat

In order to send a message to a specific topic on Telegram group, we need to get the topic ID.

1. Similar to steps above, after we click the Copy Message Link, we will get a link like: https://t.me/c/194xxxx987/11/13, so the group Topic ID is 11.
2. Now we can use it like so (see message_thread_id): https://api.telegram.org/bot783114779:AAEuRWDTFD2UQ7agBtFSuhJf2-NmvHN3OPc/sendMessage?chat_id=-100194xxxx987&message_thread_id=11&text=test123
3. When we set the bot token and chat id correctly, the message test123 should be arrived inside our group chat topic.

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Solution for {“ok” : true, “result”:[ ] }

TL;DR

disable privacy mode using BotFather (/mybots → select your bot → "Bot settings" → "Group privacy" → choose "Disable")

Context

I got the problem of "result": [] during the setup for Get Chat ID for a Private Chat. With the solution above, I no longer have the problem.

Solution for {“ok” : true, “result”:[ ] }

TL;DR

disable privacy mode using BotFather (/mybots → select your bot → "Bot settings" → "Group privacy" → choose "Disable")

Context

I got the problem of "result": [] during the setup for Get Chat ID for a Private Chat. With the solution above, I no longer have the problem.

thanks, It works for me

t

thank you is working now

Hi, I'm new to github, and looking for help with my telegram bot.
I'm building a system to deliver timed messages.
I've built the backend and the features of the bot which all work and correspond with my sheets.
But I'm having difficulties with sending the texts.. /start runs and collects telegram id.
But I cannot get it to collect the chat id which is what I believe is failing?!
I can force send the messages to all users.
But that's only from inside the code. If I use a command like startover from telegram rather than the script, it wipes my sheet but does not send the first text.

So the webhook and api appear to be working..?
But I'm not sure if this is due to the privacy described a few comments ago. Or is somewhere else

Here is a snippet of the code I'm using during my onboarding phase of my script.

function doPost(e) {
try {
const contents = JSON.parse(e.postData.contents);
const message = contents.message;
if (!message || !message.chat || !message.from) return;

const userId = message.from.id;
const chatId = message.chat.id;
const text = message.text ? message.text.trim() : "";
const sheet = SpreadsheetApp.openById(SPREADSHEET_ID).getSheetByName("Users");
const userRow = findOrCreateUserRow(sheet, userId);

Any help and I would be most greatful