.. _telegram-client-example: ======================== Examples with the Client ======================== This section explores the methods defined in the :ref:`telegram-client` with some practical examples. The section assumes that you have imported the ``telethon.sync`` package and that you have a client ready to use. .. note:: There are some very common errors (such as forgetting to add ``import telethon.sync``) for newcomers to ``asyncio``: .. code-block:: python # AttributeError: 'coroutine' object has no attribute 'first_name' print(client.get_me().first_name) # TypeError: 'AsyncGenerator' object is not iterable for message in client.iter_messages('me'): ... # RuntimeError: This event loop is already running with client.conversation('me') as conv: ... That error means you're probably inside an ``async def`` so you need to use: .. code-block:: python print((await client.get_me()).first_name) async for message in client.iter_messages('me'): ... async with client.conversation('me') as conv: ... You can of course call other ``def`` functions from your ``async def`` event handlers, but if they need making API calls, make your own functions ``async def`` so you can ``await`` things: .. code-block:: python async def helper(client): await client.send_message('me', 'Hi') If you're not inside an ``async def`` you can enter one like so: .. code-block:: python import asyncio loop = asyncio.get_event_loop() loop.run_until_complete(my_async_def()) .. contents:: Authorization ************* Starting the client is as easy as calling `client.start() `: .. code-block:: python client.start() ... # code using the client client.disconnect() And you can even use a ``with`` block: .. code-block:: python with client: ... # code using the client .. note:: Remember we assume you have ``import telethon.sync``. You can of course use the library without importing it. The code would be rewritten as: .. code-block:: python import asyncio loop = asyncio.get_event_loop() async def main(): await client.start() ... await client.disconnect() # or async with client: ... loop.run_until_complete(main()) All methods that need access to the network (e.g. to make an API call) **must** be awaited (or their equivalent such as ``async for`` and ``async with``). You can do this yourself or you can let the library do it for you by using ``import telethon.sync``. With event handlers, you must do this yourself. The cleanest way to delete your ``*.session`` file is `client.log_out `. Note that you will obviously need to login again if you use this: .. code-block:: python # Logs out and deletes the session file; you will need to sign in again client.log_out() # You often simply want to disconnect. You will not need to sign in again client.disconnect() Group Chats *********** You can easily iterate over all the :tl:`User` in a chat and do anything you want with them by using `client.iter_participants `: .. code-block:: python for user in client.iter_participants(chat): ... # do something with the user You can also search by their name: .. code-block:: python for user in client.iter_participants(chat, search='name'): ... Or by their type (e.g. if they are admin) with :tl:`ChannelParticipantsFilter`: .. code-block:: python from telethon.tl.types import ChannelParticipantsAdmins for user in client.iter_participants(chat, filter=ChannelParticipantsAdmins): ... Open Conversations and Joined Channels ************************************** The conversations you have open and the channels you have joined are in your "dialogs", so to get them you need to `client.get_dialogs `: .. code-block:: python dialogs = client.get_dialogs() first = dialogs[0] print(first.title) You can then use the dialog as if it were a peer: .. code-block:: python client.send_message(first, 'hi') You can access `dialog.draft ` or you can get them all at once without getting the dialogs: .. code-block:: python drafts = client.get_drafts() Downloading Media ***************** It's easy to `download_profile_photo `: .. code-block:: python client.download_profile_photo(user) Or `download_media ` from a message: .. code-block:: python client.download_media(message) client.download_media(message, filename) # or message.download_media() message.download_media(filename) Remember that these methods return the final filename where the media was downloaded (e.g. it may add the extension automatically). Getting Messages **************** You can easily iterate over all the `messages ` of a chat with `iter_messages `: .. code-block:: python for message in client.iter_messages(chat): ... # do something with the message from recent to older for message in client.iter_messages(chat, reverse=True): ... # going from the oldest to the most recent You can also use it to search for messages from a specific person: .. code-block:: python for message in client.iter_messages(chat, from_user='me'): ... Or you can search by text: .. code-block:: python for message in client.iter_messages(chat, search='hello'): ... Or you can search by media with a :tl:`MessagesFilter`: .. code-block:: python from telethon.tl.types import InputMessagesFilterPhotos for message in client.iter_messages(chat, filter=InputMessagesFilterPhotos): ... If you want a list instead, use the get variant. The second argument is the limit, and ``None`` means "get them all": .. code-block:: python from telethon.tl.types import InputMessagesFilterPhotos # Get 0 photos and print the total photos = client.get_messages(chat, 0, filter=InputMessagesFilterPhotos) print(photos.total) # Get all the photos photos = client.get_messages(chat, None, filter=InputMessagesFilterPhotos) Or just some IDs: .. code-block:: python message_1337 = client.get_messages(chats, ids=1337) Exporting Messages ****************** If you plan on exporting data from your Telegram account, such as the entire message history from your private conversations, chats or channels, or if you plan to download a lot of media, you may prefer to do this within a *takeout* session. Takeout sessions let you export data from your account with lower flood wait limits. To start a takeout session, simply call `client.takeout() `: .. code-block:: python from telethon import errors try: with client.takeout() as takeout: for message in takeout.iter_messages(chat, wait_time=0): ... # Do something with the message except errors.TakeoutInitDelayError as e: print('Must wait', e.seconds, 'before takeout') Depending on the condition of the session (for example, when it's very young and the method has not been called before), you may or not need to ``except errors.TakeoutInitDelayError``. However, it is good practice. Sending Messages **************** Just use `send_message `: .. code-block:: python client.send_message('lonami', 'Thanks for the Telethon library!') The function returns the `custom.Message ` that was sent so you can do more things with it if you want. You can also `reply ` or `respond ` to messages: .. code-block:: python message.reply('Hello') message.respond('World') Sending Markdown or HTML messages ********************************* Markdown (``'md'`` or ``'markdown'``) is the default `parse_mode ` for the client. You can change the default parse mode like so: .. code-block:: python client.parse_mode = 'html' Now all messages will be formatted as HTML by default: .. code-block:: python client.send_message('me', 'Some bold and italic text') client.send_message('me', 'An URL') client.send_message('me', 'code and 
pre\nblocks
') client.send_message('me', 'Mentions') You can override the default parse mode to use for special cases: .. code-block:: python # No parse mode by default client.parse_mode = None # ...but here I want markdown client.send_message('me', 'Hello, **world**!', parse_mode='md') # ...and here I need HTML client.send_message('me', 'Hello, world!', parse_mode='html') The rules are the same as for Bot API, so please refer to https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#formatting-options. Sending Messages with Media *************************** Sending media can be done with `send_file `: .. code-block:: python client.send_file(chat, '/my/photos/me.jpg', caption="It's me!") # or client.send_message(chat, "It's me!", file='/my/photos/me.jpg') You can send voice notes or round videos by setting the right arguments: .. code-block:: python client.send_file(chat, '/my/songs/song.mp3', voice_note=True) client.send_file(chat, '/my/videos/video.mp4', video_note=True) You can set a JPG thumbnail for any document: .. code-block:: python client.send_file(chat, '/my/documents/doc.txt', thumb='photo.jpg') You can force sending images as documents: .. code-block:: python client.send_file(chat, '/my/photos/photo.png', force_document=True) You can send albums if you pass more than one file: .. code-block:: python client.send_file(chat, [ '/my/photos/holiday1.jpg', '/my/photos/holiday2.jpg', '/my/drawings/portrait.png' ]) The caption can also be a list to match the different photos. Reusing Uploaded Files ********************** All files you send are automatically cached, so if you do: .. code-block:: python client.send_file(first_chat, 'document.txt') client.send_file(second_chat, 'document.txt') The ``'document.txt'`` file will only be uploaded once. You can disable this behaviour by settings ``allow_cache=False``: .. code-block:: python client.send_file(first_chat, 'document.txt', allow_cache=False) client.send_file(second_chat, 'document.txt', allow_cache=False) Disabling cache is the only way to send the same document with different attributes (for example, you send an ``.ogg`` as a song but now you want it to show as a voice note; you probably need to disable the cache). However, you can *upload* the file once (not sending it yet!), and *then* you can send it with different attributes. This means you can send an image as a photo and a document: .. code-block:: python file = client.upload_file('photo.jpg') client.send_file(chat, file) # sends as photo client.send_file(chat, file, force_document=True) # sends as document file.name = 'not a photo.jpg' client.send_file(chat, file, force_document=True) # document, new name Or, the example described before: .. code-block:: python file = client.upload_file('song.ogg') client.send_file(chat, file) # sends as song client.send_file(chat, file, voice_note=True) # sends as voice note The ``file`` returned by `client.upload_file ` represents the uploaded file, not an immutable document (that's why the attributes can change, because they are set later). This handle can be used only for a limited amount of time (somewhere within a day). Telegram decides this limit and it is not public. However, a day is often more than enough. Sending Messages with Buttons ***************************** **You must sign in as a bot** in order to add inline buttons (or normal keyboards) to your messages. Once you have signed in as a bot specify the `Button ` or buttons to use: .. code-block:: python from telethon import events from telethon.tl.custom import Button @client.on(events.CallbackQuery) async def callback(event): await event.edit('Thank you for clicking {}!'.format(event.data)) client.send_message(chat, 'A single button, with "clk1" as data', buttons=Button.inline('Click me', b'clk1')) client.send_message(chat, 'Pick one from this grid', buttons=[ [Button.inline('Left'), Button.inline('Right')], [Button.url('Check this site!', 'https://lonamiwebs.github.io')] ]) You can also use normal buttons (not inline) to request the user's location, phone number, or simply for them to easily send a message: .. code-block:: python client.send_message(chat, 'Welcome', buttons=[ Button.text('Thanks!', resize=True, single_use=True), Button.request_phone('Send phone'), Button.request_location('Send location') ]) Forcing a reply or removing the keyboard can also be done: .. code-block:: python client.send_message(chat, 'Reply to me', buttons=Button.force_reply()) client.send_message(chat, 'Bye Keyboard!', buttons=Button.clear()) Remember to check `Button ` for more. Making Inline Queries ********************* You can send messages ``via @bot`` by first making an inline query: .. code-block:: python results = client.inline_query('like', 'Do you like Telethon?') Then access the result you want and `click ` it in the chat where you want to send it to: .. code-block:: python message = results[0].click('TelethonOffTopic') Sending messages through inline bots lets you use buttons as a normal user. It can look a bit strange at first, but you can make inline queries in no chat in particular, and then click a *result* to send it to some chat. Clicking Buttons **************** Let's `click ` the message we sent in the example above! .. code-block:: python message.click(0) This will click the first button in the message. You could also ``click(row, column)``, using some text such as ``click(text='👍')`` or even the data directly ``click(data=b'payload')``. Answering Inline Queries ************************ As a bot, you can answer to inline queries with `events.InlineQuery `. You should make use of the `builder ` property to conveniently build the list of results to show to the user. Remember to check the properties of the `InlineQuery.Event `: .. code-block:: python @bot.on(events.InlineQuery) async def handler(event): builder = event.builder rev_text = event.text[::-1] await event.answer([ builder.article('Reverse text', text=rev_text), builder.photo('/path/to/photo.jpg') ]) Conversations: Waiting for Messages or Replies ********************************************** This one is really useful for unit testing your bots, which you can even write within Telethon itself! You can open a `Conversation ` in any chat as: .. code-block:: python with client.conversation(chat) as conv: ... Conversations let you program a finite state machine with the higher-level constructs we are all used to, such as ``while`` and ``if`` conditionals instead setting the state and jumping from one place to another which is less clean. For instance, let's imagine ``you`` are the bot talking to ``usr``: .. code-block:: text Hi! Hello! Please tell me your name ? Your name didn't have any letters! Try again Lonami Thanks Lonami! This can be programmed as follows: .. code-block:: python with bot.conversation(chat) as conv: conv.send_message('Hi!') hello = conv.get_response() conv.send_message('Please tell me your name') name = conv.get_response().raw_text while not any(x.isalpha() for x in name): conv.send_message("Your name didn't have any letters! Try again") name = conv.get_response().raw_text conv.send_message('Thanks {}!'.format(name)) Note how we sent a message **with the conversation**, not with the client. This is important so the conversation remembers what messages you sent. The method reference for getting a response, getting a reply or marking the conversation as read can be found by clicking here: `Conversation `. Sending a message or getting a response returns a `Message `. Reading its documentation will also be really useful! If a reply never arrives or too many messages come in, getting responses will raise ``asyncio.TimeoutError`` or ``ValueError`` respectively. You may want to ``except`` these and tell the user they were too slow, or simply drop the conversation. Forwarding Messages ******************* You can forward up to 100 messages with `forward_messages `, or a single one if you have the message with `forward_to `: .. code-block:: python # a single one client.forward_messages(chat, message) # or client.forward_messages(chat, message_id, from_chat) # or message.forward_to(chat) # multiple client.forward_messages(chat, messages) # or client.forward_messages(chat, message_ids, from_chat) You can also "forward" messages without showing "Forwarded from" by re-sending the message: .. code-block:: python client.send_message(chat, message) Editing Messages **************** With `edit_message ` or `message.edit `: .. code-block:: python client.edit_message(message, 'New text') # or message.edit('New text') # or client.edit_message(chat, message_id, 'New text') Deleting Messages ***************** With `delete_messages ` or `message.delete `. Note that the first one supports deleting entire chats at once!: .. code-block:: python client.delete_messages(chat, messages) # or message.delete() Marking Messages as Read ************************ Marking messages up to a certain point as read with `send_read_acknowledge `: .. code-block:: python client.send_read_acknowledge(last_message) # or client.send_read_acknowledge(last_message_id) # or client.send_read_acknowledge(messages) Getting Entities **************** Entities are users, chats, or channels. You can get them by their ID if you have seen them before (e.g. you probably need to get all dialogs or all the members from a chat first): .. code-block:: python from telethon import utils me = client.get_entity('me') print(utils.get_display_name(me)) chat = client.get_input_entity('username') for message in client.iter_messages(chat): ... # Note that you could have used the username directly, but it's # good to use get_input_entity if you will reuse it a lot. for message in client.iter_messages('username'): ... # Note that for this to work the phone number must be in your contacts some_id = client.get_peer_id('+34123456789') The documentation for shown methods are `get_entity `, `get_input_entity ` and `get_peer_id `. Note that the utils package also has a `get_peer_id ` but it won't work with things that need access to the network such as usernames or phones, which need to be in your contact list. Getting the Admin Log ********************* If you're an administrator in a channel or megagroup, then you have access to the admin log. This is a list of events within the last 48 hours of different actions, such as joining or leaving members, edited or deleted messages, new promotions, bans or restrictions. You can iterate over all the available actions like so: .. code-block:: python for event in client.iter_admin_log(channel): if event.changed_title: print('The title changed from', event.old, 'to', event.new) You can also filter to only show some text or actions. Let's find people who swear to ban them: .. code-block:: python # Get a list of deleted message events which said "heck" events = client.get_admin_log(channel, search='heck', delete=True) # Print the old message before it was deleted print(events[0].old) You can find here the documentation for `client.iter_admin_log `, and be sure to also check the properties of the returned `AdminLogEvent ` to know what you can access.