Telegram Bot Handbook

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Telegram Bots Sending, Editing, and Forwarding Messages ​

This page collects some tips about Telegram messages and related limitations. It may be a good idea to make sure that your bot works correctly in the described edge cases.

Sending messages ​

Bots can send and receive messages just like users. Those can be either just text messages or messages with media: pictures, videos, files, polls, voice messages, stickers, and so on.

Unlike users, bots may also add buttons to its messages.

What are albums? ​

An album is multiple messages with pictures which are displayed like one message in Telegram apps.

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? ​

Of course, Telegram won't let you spam. The following average limits are named:

  • 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 such option as sending messages to all users at once. If you want to broadcast some information among all bot users, you'll have to send messages gradually.

Note that the limits concerning more rare actions, such as editing or deleting messages, are more strict.

Developers of popular bots can contact the tech support and ask to increase the limits.

When is it forbidden to send messages? ​

A bot may not send messages to a user who blocked it. A bot may not send messages in a channel or group where the bot is not a member or the admins have restricted sending messages.

Premium users can forbid sending voice messages to them (including those round videos.)

Editing ​

Unlike users, when bot edits a message, the note "Edited" does not appear on a message.

How to edit media? ​

While editing a message, one 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.)

Media can't be added to messages sent without media.

Forwarding ​

When one forwards a music file, it doesn't get the "Forwarded" label. Strange Telegram rules.

It is not allowed to forward messages from groups and channels with the "protected content" setting turned on.