// the find
yagop/node-telegram-bot-api
Telegram Bot API for NodeJS
A Node.js wrapper for the Telegram Bot API, covering the full API surface with both polling and webhook modes. It's the oldest and most widely referenced library for Telegram bots in the Node ecosystem — fine for quick scripts and hobby projects, less so for anything production-serious.
- Full Bot API coverage up to v9.6 — you won't hit a missing method for most use cases
- Both polling and webhook modes work out of the box, with webhook examples for Express, HTTPS, and various platforms
- TypeScript types available via @types/node-telegram-bot-api, which is good enough for autocomplete even if it's community-maintained separately
- Large install base means most integration questions have been answered on Stack Overflow already
- No native TypeScript — the types live in a separate DefinitelyTyped package that regularly lags behind the main library
- The API is callback/event-based with Promise support bolted on; no async-first design, which makes complex conversation flows awkward to manage without a higher-level framework on top
- Polling implementation is naive — no built-in backoff, no graceful shutdown that drains in-flight updates before exit, which bites you in production
- Maintenance pace is slow relative to how fast Telegram ships API changes; new features often land weeks or months after the Bot API update