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.

  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
    ```
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