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# How to get Telegram Bot Chat ID?

### Create a Telegram Bot and get a Bot Token

1. Open Telegram application then search for `@BotFather`
2. Click Start
3. Click Menu -> /newbot or type `/newbot` and hit Send
4. Follow the instruction until we get message like so

   ```
   Done! Congratulations on your new bot. You will find it at t.me/new_bot.
   You can now add a description.....

   Use this token to access the HTTP API:
   63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c
   Keep your token secure and store it safely, it can be used by anyone to control your bot.

   For a description of the Bot API, see this page: https://core.telegram.org/bots/api
   ```
5. So here is our bot token `63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c` (make sure we don't share it to anyone).

### Get Chat ID for a Private Chat

1. Search and open our new Telegram bot
2. Click Start or send a message
3. Open this URL in a browser `https://api.telegram.org/bot{our_bot_token}/getUpdates`
   * See we need to prefix our token with a word `bot`
   * Eg: `https://api.telegram.org/bot63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c/getUpdates`
4. We will see a json like so

   ```
   {
     "ok": true,
     "result": [
       {
         "update_id": 83xxxxx35,
         "message": {
           "message_id": 2643,
           "from": {...},
           "chat": {
             "id": 21xxxxx38,
             "first_name": "...",
             "last_name": "...",
             "username": "@username",
             "type": "private"
           },
           "date": 1703062972,
           "text": "/start"
         }
       }
     ]
   }
   ```
5. Check the value of `result.0.message.chat.id`, and here is our Chat ID: `21xxxxx38`
6. Let's try to send a message: `https://api.telegram.org/bot63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c/sendMessage?chat_id=21xxxxx38&text=test123`
7. When we set the bot token and chat id correctly, the message `test123` should be arrived on our Telegram bot chat.

### Get Chat ID for a Channel

1. Add our Telegram bot into a channel
2. Send a message to the channel
3. Open this URL `https://api.telegram.org/bot{our_bot_token}/getUpdates`
4. We will see a json like so

   ```
   {
     "ok": true,
     "result": [
       {
         "update_id": 838xxxx36,
         "channel_post": {...},
           "chat": {
             "id": -1001xxxxxx062,
             "title": "....",
             "type": "channel"
           },
           "date": 1703065989,
           "text": "test"
         }
       }
     ]
   }
   ```
5. Check the value of `result.0.channel_post.chat.id`, and here is our Chat ID: `-1001xxxxxx062`
6. Let's try to send a message: `https://api.telegram.org/bot63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c/sendMessage?chat_id=-1001xxxxxx062&text=test123`
7. When we set the bot token and chat id correctly, the message `test123` should be arrived on our Telegram channel.

### Get Chat ID for a Group Chat

The easiest way to get a group chat ID is through a Telegram desktop application.

1. Open Telegram in a desktop app
2. Add our Telegram bot into a chat group
3. Send a message to the chat group
4. Right click on the message and click `Copy Message Link`
   * We will get a link like so: `https://t.me/c/194xxxx987/11/13`
   * The pattern: `https://t.me/c/{group_chat_id}/{group_topic_id}/{message_id}`
   * So here is our Chat ID: `194xxxx987`
5. To use the group chat ID in the API, we need to prefix it with the number `-100`, like so: `-100194xxxx987`
6. Now let's try to send a message: `https://api.telegram.org/bot63xxxxxx71:AAFoxxxxn0hwA-2TVSxxxNf4c/sendMessage?chat_id=-100194xxxx987&text=test123`
7. When we set the bot token and chat id correctly, the message `test123` should be arrived on our group chat.

### Get Chat ID for a Topic in a Group Chat

In order to send a message to a specific topic on Telegram group, we need to get the topic ID.

1. Similar to steps above, after we click the `Copy Message Link`, we will get a link like: `https://t.me/c/194xxxx987/11/13`, so the group Topic ID is `11`.
2. Now we can use it like so (see `message_thread_id`): `https://api.telegram.org/bot783114779:AAEuRWDTFD2UQ7agBtFSuhJf2-NmvHN3OPc/sendMessage?chat_id=-100194xxxx987&message_thread_id=11&text=test123`
3. When we set the bot token and chat id correctly, the message `test123` should be arrived inside our group chat topic.

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