| name | tg-rich-streaming |
| description | Use when streaming LLM or AI-generated replies to Telegram in real time (ChatGPT-style progressive output in a bot), showing a model thinking indicator, or delivering token-by-token text as an animated rich message draft that finalizes into a permanent message. |
| license | MIT |
| compatibility | Requires network access to api.telegram.org; sending requires TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN env var; draft endpoints (sendRichMessageDraft) work only with private integer chat_id. |
tg-rich-streaming
Stream AI-generated text into a Telegram private chat with native draft animation and a "thinking" indicator — the same UX as ChatGPT or Claude, directly inside the bot.
Core pattern
Four mandatory steps. Skip step 3 and the draft disappears after ~30 seconds.
Step 1 — open draft with Thinking block
Send the first sendRichMessageDraft immediately after the LLM call starts.
draft_id is any non-zero integer you generate once per response; keep it for all updates.
RichBlockThinking signals the model is working.
POST /sendRichMessageDraft
{
"chat_id": <integer>, // private chat only — no @username
"draft_id": 42,
"rich_message": {
"markdown": "<tg-thinking>Thinking…</tg-thinking>"
}
}
Rich HTML tags (like <tg-thinking>) are valid pass-through inside the markdown field — spec explicitly allows HTML tags in Rich Markdown.
RichBlockThinking is only valid in sendRichMessageDraft. It is never stored in a Message.
Step 2 — update draft as tokens arrive
Call sendRichMessageDraft again with the same draft_id each time you have enough new text. The client animates the transition.
Throttle: send at most once every 1–2 seconds. The draft is ephemeral (~30 s window) — keep sending updates or move to step 3 before the window closes.
Drop the Thinking block from the first update that contains real content.
# pseudocode — generic async LLM stream
draft_id = generate_nonzero_id()
accumulated = ""
last_sent = 0
send_draft(chat_id, draft_id, thinking_markdown()) # step 1
for chunk in llm.stream(prompt):
accumulated += chunk.text
now = time.monotonic()
if now - last_sent >= 1.5: # throttle
send_draft(chat_id, draft_id, accumulated)
last_sent = now
finalize(chat_id, accumulated) # step 3 — mandatory
Step 3 — finalize with sendRichMessage (mandatory)
After the LLM stream ends, call sendRichMessage. This creates the permanent message. If you skip this, the draft vanishes.
POST /sendRichMessage
{
"chat_id": <integer>,
"rich_message": {
"markdown": "<full generated text>"
}
}
Step 4 — edits after finalization
Use editMessageText with the rich_message parameter to update the permanent message later (corrections, appended content, etc.).
POST /editMessageText
{
"chat_id": <integer>,
"message_id": <id from step 3 response>,
"rich_message": {
"markdown": "<revised text>"
}
}
text and rich_message are mutually exclusive in editMessageText — use exactly one.
Pitfalls
| Trap | What happens | Fix |
|---|
Skipped sendRichMessage after stream ends | Draft disappears after ~30 s, no permanent message | Always call sendRichMessage with full text as last step |
chat_id is a String or @username | sendRichMessageDraft returns error | Only Integer chat_id supported for drafts; fall back to sendMessage + editMessageText in groups/channels |
| Sending a draft update every token | Flood / rate limit, poor animation | Batch tokens, send at most every 1–2 s |
RichBlockThinking in sendRichMessage | Not stored in Message; spec prohibits it | Remove Thinking block before finalization |
| Partial Markdown mid-stream | Unclosed ``` or ** renders broken | Either send complete blocks only, or use raw text during streaming and apply Markdown only at finalization |
| 30-second window expires mid-stream | Draft gone | If stream is slow, send a keep-alive draft update (even unchanged text) before the window closes |
Group / channel fallback
sendRichMessageDraft is private-chat only. For groups and channels:
- Send initial
sendMessage with "⌛ Generating…" placeholder.
- Edit with
editMessageText (rich_message) when done.
No real-time animation, but the final message is rich-formatted.
Request reference
sendRichMessageDraft POST /bot<TOKEN>/sendRichMessageDraft
chat_id Integer required — private chat only
draft_id Integer required — non-zero; same id = animated update
rich_message InputRichMessage required
sendRichMessage POST /bot<TOKEN>/sendRichMessage
chat_id Integer or String required
rich_message InputRichMessage required
→ returns Message (use .message_id for edits)
editMessageText POST /bot<TOKEN>/editMessageText
chat_id Integer or String
message_id Integer
rich_message InputRichMessage (mutually exclusive with "text")
InputRichMessage fields: exactly one of html or markdown, optional is_rtl, optional skip_entity_detection.
Related
