Telegram

Telegram is an instant messaging app that provides a powerful API that enables applications to send messages through bots. LinuxGSM leverages the Telegram Bot API to dispatch alerts to users, enhancing monitoring and management of gaming servers.

Creating a Telegram Bot

1. Initiate Bot Creation: Chat with @BotFather on Telegram to start creating your bot. Begin the conversation by clicking "Start".

2. Register Your Bot: Send /newbot to @BotFather and follow the provided instructions to set up your bot. Upon completion, you will receive an API token.

   

   BotFather Chat

   

   New Bot
3. Configure LinuxGSM: Fill in the API token into your LinuxGSM config as follows:

   # Telegram Alerts | https://docs.linuxgsm.com/alerts/telegram
   telegramapi="api.telegram.org"
   telegramalert="on"  # Enable alerts by changing "off" to "on"
   telegramtoken="XXXXXXXXX:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" # Replace with your bot token
   telegramchatid=""
   telegramthreadid=""
   telegramsilentnotification="false" # Set to "true" to disable notification sounds and send alerts silently
   curlcustomstring=""  # Optional: For proxies, etc.

Configuring Alerts for a Group

New Group Creation

1. Select New Group within Telegram.

2. Name your group.

3. Add your bot by searching its @Username.

Adding to an Existing Group

1. Open group info.

2. Choose to add members.

3. Search and select your bot by its @Username.

Retrieving Your Telegram Chat ID

1. Activate Your Bot: Interact with your bot in Telegram.

2. Form the getUpdates URL: Replace the placeholder with your bot's token in https://api.telegram.org/botXXXXXXXXX:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX/getUpdates.

3. Visit the URL: Use a web browser to access the URL.

4. Locate the Chat ID: In the JSON response, find the id field under the chat object.

   "chat": {
       "id": 123456789,
       "first_name": "Your Name",
       "username": "YourUsername",
       "type": "private"
   }

   Note: The Chat ID for private chats is a positive number and for a group, it's a negative number.

5. Update LinuxGSM Config: Place your Chat ID in the LinuxGSM config file.

   # Telegram Alerts | https://docs.linuxgsm.com/alerts/telegram
   telegramapi="api.telegram.org"
   telegramalert="on"
   telegramtoken="XXXXXXXXX:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
   telegramchatid="123456789" # Fill in your chat ID
   telegramthreadid=""
   telegramsilentnotification="false"
   curlcustomstring=""

Enabling Telegram Topics (Threads)

1. Verify that Topics are enabled for your group by checking the group's settings.

2. If you don't already have a topic created. Create a new Topic by clicking the three dots in the top right corner of the group chat and selecting New Topic.

3. Send a message in the Topic you want to use.

4. Repeat Retrieving Your Telegram Chat ID to retrieve the thread ID by looking for the message_thread_id field in the message object.

   {
       "update_id": 123456,
       "message": {
           "message_id": 123,
           "from": {
               "id": 12345,
               "is_bot": false,
               "first_name": "Sender",
               "username": "SenderUsername",
               "language_code": "en"
           },
           "chat": {
               "id": -123456789,
               "first_name": "Your Name",
               "username": "YourUsername",
               "type": "supergroup"
           },
           "date": 1709691014,
           "message_thread_id": 11, // Use this number as your telegramthreadid
           "forum_topic_created": {
               "name": "LinuxGSM",
               "icon_color": 12345
           },
           "is_topic_message": true
       }
   }

5. Update the telegramthreadid field in the LinuxGSM config with the thread ID.

   # Telegram Alerts | https://docs.linuxgsm.com/alerts/telegram
   telegramapi="api.telegram.org"
   telegramalert="on"
   telegramtoken="XXXXXXXXX:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
   telegramchatid="123456789"
   telegramthreadid="5" # Fill	in your thread ID
   telegramsilentnotification="false"
   curlcustomstring=""

Testing the Configuration

Execute a test alert with ./gameserver test-alert to verify the setup.

If you receive an alert on Telegram in the right place (group or private chat), the configuration is correct.

Advanced Configuration: Custom cURL String

For specific needs such as bypassing network restrictions, you can specify custom cURL arguments in the configuration.

    # Telegram Alerts | https://docs.linuxgsm.com/alerts/telegram
    # You can add a custom cURL string eg proxy (useful in Russia) in "curlcustomstring".
    # For example "--socks5 ipaddr:port" for socks5 proxy see more in "curl --help all".
    telegramapi="api.telegram.org"
    telegramalert="on"
    telegramtoken="XXXXXXXXX:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
    telegramchatid="123456789"
    telegramthreadid="5"
    telegramsilentnotification="false"
    curlcustomstring="--socks5 ipaddr:port" # Fill in your custom cURL string
    ```