Telegram Forward Bot

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Forward messages between Telegram chats using a simple, file‑configured bot. Users can register themselves, add forwarding rules, list or delete their own rules, while admins can inspect users and their forwards.

Features

• Forward channel posts or group messages from one chat to another
• High concurrency
• YAML configuration with log level and admin controls

Requirements

• Python >= 3.12
• Dependencies installed from requirements.txt or pyproject.toml

Configuration

The bot reads config.yaml at startup. On first run, if config.yaml does not exist, a default file is created and the program exits. Edit the file and restart.

Example config.yaml:

log:
  level: INFO
telegram:
  token: "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN"
  only_admin_add_forward: false
  admins: [123456789]

• log.level: Logging verbosity (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL).
• telegram.token: Bot token from BotFather.
• telegram.only_admin_add_forward: If true, regular users cannot add forwards.
• telegram.admins: Telegram user IDs who are considered admins.

Running

Needs Python 3.12 or newer.

# If uv is available
uv sync && uv run main.py

# If uv is not available
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Start the bot
python main.py

Notes:

• Invite the bot to the source and destination chats.
• For channels, ensure the bot has permission to read posts; for groups, it must be present and able to read messages.
• The first successful run initializes data.db and creates tables.

Commands

User

• /start — Register yourself with the bot.
• /add <from_chat> <to_chat> — Add a forwarding rule. Example:

  /add -1001234567890 -1009876543210
  

  from_chat and to_chat are numeric chat IDs. Use /chat_id in a group/channel to get its ID.
• /list — List your forwarding rules. Chat names are shown when known.
• /del <forward_id> — Delete one of your rules by its ID.
• /chat_id — In a group/channel, returns the chat’s numeric ID.

Admin

• /list_users — Show all registered users.
• /list_forwards <user_id> — Show all forwards for a specific user.

Forwarding Behavior

• Channel posts are handled and forwarded when a matching rule exists.
• Group messages are handled and forwarded when a matching rule exists.
• Private chats are ignored (aside from registration via /start).

Data Storage

• SQLite database file: data.db
• Tables:
  • forwards(id, user_id, from_chat, to_chat)
  • users(id, user_id, name)
  • chats(id, chat_id, name)

Tips

• Telegram supergroup and channel IDs are typically negative numbers (e.g., -100...).
• If forwarding does not occur, verify the bot’s permissions and the chat IDs.