minipostiz-telegram-setup

name	minipostiz-telegram-setup
description	Telegram Bot API setup for minipostiz-cli — create bot via BotFather, get token + chat ID, store credentials
type	setup

minipostiz-cli — Telegram Setup

Telegram posting uses a Bot. You need a bot token and the ID of the chat/channel to post to.

What you need

Credential	Flag
Bot Token	--botToken
Chat ID	--chatId

---

Step 1 — Create a Bot via BotFather

1. Open Telegram → search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot
3. Follow prompts: enter a display name, then a username (must end in bot)
4. Copy the token — format: 123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrSTUvwxYZ

Store the token securely — it gives full control over your bot.

---

Step 2 — Get the Chat ID

The chat ID depends on where you want to post:

Option A — Post to a group or supergroup

1. Add your bot to the group (search bot username → Add to Group)
2. Send any message in the group
3. Open in browser: https://api.telegram.org/botTOKEN/getUpdates (replace TOKEN with your bot token)
4. Find "chat": {"id": -XXXXXXXXXX} — that negative number is your chat ID

Option B — Post to a channel

1. Add your bot as an admin of the channel (Manage Channel → Administrators → Add Admin)
2. Forward any message from the channel to @username_to_id_bot (or use getUpdates)
3. Channel chat IDs are negative numbers starting with -100

Option C — Post to yourself (DM)

1. Send any message to your bot from your personal account
2. Open: https://api.telegram.org/botTOKEN/getUpdates
3. Find "from": {"id": XXXXXXXXX} — that positive number is your personal chat ID

---

Step 3 — Store in minipostiz-cli

minipostiz auth --platform telegram \
  --botToken "123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrSTUvwxYZ" \
  --chatId "-1001234567890"

# Or via supercli
sc minipostiz auth set-telegram \
  --botToken "123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrSTUvwxYZ" \
  --chatId "-1001234567890"

---

Step 4 — Test

minipostiz auth verify --platform telegram
minipostiz publish --platform telegram --message "Hello from minipostiz-cli"

---

Troubleshooting

Error	Cause	Fix
chat not found	Bot not in chat, or wrong chatId	Add bot to group/channel; re-check chatId from getUpdates
Forbidden: bot can't send messages to the bot	chatId is the bot's own ID	Use a group/channel ID, not the bot's ID
Forbidden: bot is not a member	Bot not added to channel	Add bot as admin in channel settings
Unauthorized	Invalid bot token	Regenerate via BotFather: /token → select your bot

Token lifetime

Bot tokens do not expire unless revoked via BotFather (/revoke).