Send Telegram Message
Last Modified: February 25, 2024 18:18 CEST

Send-TelegramMessage #

SYNOPSIS #

Sends a message via Telegram API, without requiring a locally installed Telegram app. The function is compatible with PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell Core versions 7.x and above.

SYNTAX # 

Send-TelegramMessage [[-token] <String>] [[-encryptedToken] <String>] [[-secureToken] <SecureString>]
 [[-pathToToken] <String>] [[-chatId] <String>] [[-message] <String>] [[-parseMode] <String>]
 [-disableNotification] [-ProgressAction <ActionPreference>] [<CommonParameters>]

DESCRIPTION #

The Send-TelegramMessage function allows you to send messages using the Telegram API, a cloud-based instant messaging service. It is particularly useful for sending server status updates or notifications as instant messages to a designated group, eliminating the need for a locally installed Telegram app.

This function is designed to work with the Telegram Bot API to send messages from a PowerShell script. It supports both PowerShell 5.1 and higher versions, including PowerShell 7. The function takes various parameters to configure the message, such as the chat ID, the message text, the parse mode, and whether to disable notifications.

It accepts the bot token in several ways, including as a plaintext string, an encrypted string, a secure string, or a path to a file containing the token. For security reasons, the function purges the token from memory after it is used.

The parseMode parameter can be set to either html or markdown, allowing you to format the message text accordingly.

The function returns a boolean value, true if the message was sent successfully, and false if there was an error.

How to generate a secureToken, an encryptedToken, or an XML file with a secureToken is described in another document. Once it becomes available, it will be linked under related links.

EXAMPLES #

Example 1: Sends a simple HTML message via Telegram API # 

PS C:\> Send-TelegramMessage -token 'your_token' -chatId 'your_chatId' -message 'Server status: All systems operational.'

This example sends the message “Server status: All systems operational.” using the specified Telegram bot token and chat ID. The message will be sent in the default HTML parse mode. It is an ideal way to send server status updates as instant messages to a designated Telegram group without requiring a locally installed Telegram app.

Example 2: Sends a Markdown formated message via Telegram API # 

PS C:\> Send-TelegramMessage -token 'your_token' -chatId 'your_chatId' -message 'Attention: **Critical** error occurred in the system.' -parseMode 'markdown'

This example sends the message “Attention: Critical error occurred in the system.” using the specified Telegram bot token and chat ID with Markdown parse mode. The message will be rendered with appropriate formatting on the recipient’s devices. It allows you to send important server notifications as instant messages to the designated Telegram group.

PARAMETERS #

-chatId #

Specifies the chat ID to which the message will be sent. The chat ID can be either the unique identifier for a private chat or the identifier for a group or channel. Create a Telegram group and add the bot to the group to send messages to the group members.

Type: String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: id

Required: False
Position: 4
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-disableNotification #

(Optional) Disables notification for the message. By default, notifications are enabled, and the recipient will receive a notification for the sent message.

Type: SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: noNotify

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-encryptedToken #

This is an encrypted string created from your Telegram bot token. To create an encrypted token from your plaintext token, you can use the ConvertTo-SecureString and ConvertFrom-SecureString cmdlets in PowerShell 7.

Creating an encrypted string in PowerShell 5 is considerably more complicated. A separate document will be provided with detailed information on this process, which will be available under the related links when it becomes available.

Type: String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: eToken

Required: False
Position: 1
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-message #

Specifies the text of the message to be sent. You can include plain text or formatted text using HTML or Markdown syntax, depending on the specified parse mode.

Type: String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: 5
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-parseMode #

(Optional) Specifies the parsing mode for the message. Valid values are ‘HTML’ and ‘Markdown’. By default, the parse mode is set to ‘HTML’. When using HTML parse mode, you can use a subset of HTML tags to format the message. When using Markdown parse mode, you can use Markdown syntax to format the message.

Type: String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: mode
Accepted values: html, markdown

Required: False
Position: 6
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-pathToToken #

This is the path to an XML file holding a secure string version of your Telegram bot token. You can create such a file by exporting a secure token to an XML file using the Export-Clixml cmdlet.

A separate document will be provided with detailed information on this process, which will be available under the related links when it becomes available.

Type: String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: path

Required: False
Position: 3
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-secureToken #

This is a secure string version of your Telegram bot token. The secure string is a string type that provides a measure of security by preventing the value from being displayed or converted to an unencrypted string. To create a secure token from your plaintext token, you can use the ConvertTo-SecureString cmdlet.

Creating an encrypted string in PowerShell 5 is considerably more complicated. A separate document will be provided with detailed information on this process, which will be available under the related links when it becomes available.

Type: SecureString
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: sToken

Required: False
Position: 2
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-token #

Specifies the Telegram bot token required for authentication. To obtain a token, you need to create a bot on Telegram by following the instructions provided in the Telegram Bot API documentation.

Type: String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: 0
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

CommonParameters #

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutVariable, -OutBuffer, -PipelineVariable, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

INPUTS #

None #

OUTPUTS #

System.Boolean #

Returns $true if the message was sent successfully, otherwise $false.

NOTES #

Steps to create a Telegram bot and obtain the token:

  1. Open the Telegram app on your device or visit the Telegram website: https://telegram.org/.
  2. Search for the bot named “BotFather” in the Telegram search and start a conversation with it.
  3. Follow the instructions provided by BotFather to create a new bot. You will be asked to provide a name for the bot, such as “MyAwesomeBot,” and a username that must end with “Bot,” for example, “AwesomeBot” (the complete username will be “@MyAwesomeBot”).
  4. Once you have successfully created the bot, BotFather will provide you with a token. The token will be a combination of numbers and letters and will look something like this: “123456789:ABCdefGhIjKlmnoPQRstUvWXyz”.
  5. Make sure to take note of the token you receive as you will need it to authenticate with the Telegram API and send messages using your bot.

This is a basic guide to obtaining a Telegram bot token using BotFather. Please note that Telegram may have made changes to the user interface or the process, so it’s advisable to consult the official Telegram documentation or online resources for updated information and guides if any changes have been made.

Important: Treat your bot token as a password and do not share it with others. The token grants access to your bot and should be kept secure.

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