PHP
A pure PHP library for building Telegram bots using the official Bot API, supporting webhooks, getUpdates, and full API coverage.
What is PHP?
PHP Telegram Bot is a pure PHP library that provides a complete interface to the Telegram Bot API, allowing developers to build and manage Telegram bots. It handles all bot interactions, from sending messages and media to managing channels and processing inline queries, solving the need for a robust, extensible bot framework in PHP.
PHP developers looking to create Telegram bots for automation, customer service, notifications, or interactive applications, especially those who prefer a self-hosted, library-based approach over SaaS bot platforms.
Developers choose this library for its full compliance with the official Telegram Bot API, extensible command system, and the ability to self-host with database integration, offering more control and customization compared to cloud-based bot services.
Overview
PHP Telegram Bot based on the official Telegram Bot API
Use Cases
Best For
- Building custom Telegram bots for community management or notifications
- Creating interactive bots with complex command and conversation flows
- Developing admin interfaces to manage Telegram channels via a bot
- Implementing inline bots that provide quick responses or media within chats
- Self-hosting a Telegram bot with persistent data storage using MySQL
- Extending bot functionality with custom plugins and commands
Not Ideal For
- Projects requiring immediate updates to the latest Telegram Bot API features, as development is on hold
- Teams preferring serverless or SaaS bot platforms without managing PHP servers and databases
- Applications built on non-PHP tech stacks like Node.js or Python, where language-specific libraries are better suited
- Simple notification bots that don't need the overhead of MySQL integration or complex command systems
Pros & Cons
Pros
Supports all Telegram Bot API 7.1 methods and types, including inline queries and keyboards, ensuring comprehensive bot functionality as stated in the README.
Allows easy creation of custom commands and leverages predefined admin commands for bot management, with configuration options detailed in the Commands section.
Enables persistent storage of messages, users, and chats in MySQL, facilitating advanced features like conversation handling and data analysis, with setup instructions provided.
Supports both webhook (with HTTPS) and getUpdates methods, offering deployment flexibility; the README compares these options in a table for easy decision-making.
Cons
The project is officially on hold, meaning no active maintenance, bug fixes, or updates to newer Telegram API versions, as highlighted in the large notice at the top of the README.
Requires configuring webhooks with HTTPS, database setup for getUpdates, and Composer dependency management, which can be cumbersome for developers new to bot development or PHP.
For optimal performance with getUpdates, MySQL database is recommended or required, adding infrastructure overhead and potential compatibility issues, as noted in the installation guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
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GoTelebot is a Telegram bot framework in Go.
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