Integrating a Telegram bot into a Laravel application opens up amazing possibilities. Instead of running separate background scripts, you can handle user messages directly within your application's lifecycle.

In this guide, we will use Webhooks, the most efficient method for modern web applications, to connect Laravel with Telegram in real-time.

Prerequisites

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Step 1: Bot Setup and Token

Everything starts with BotFather inside the Telegram app:

1. Search for @BotFather.
2. Send the /newbot command.
3. Choose a display name and a username (must end in "bot").
4. Copy the API Token and add it to your .env file:

TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11

Step 2: Create Route and Controller

We need an endpoint to receive the data. Let's create a Controller:

php artisan make:controller TelegramBotController

Then, add the route in routes/web.php:

use App\Http\Controllers\TelegramBotController;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

Route::post('/telegram/webhook', [TelegramBotController::class, 'handle']);

Step 3: Writing the Bot Logic

Here is the complete Controller code to reply to messages:

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;

class TelegramBotController extends Controller
{
    public function handle(Request $request)
    {
        $update = $request->all();
        
        // Check if the update contains a text message
        if (isset($update['message'])) {
            $chatId = $update['message']['chat']['id'];
            $text = $update['message']['text'] ?? '';

            if ($text === '/start') {
                $response = "Welcome to your Laravel Bot!";
            } else {
                $response = "You said: " . $text;
            }

            $this->sendMessage($chatId, $response);
        }

        return response()->json(['status' => 'ok']);
    }

    private function sendMessage($chatId, $text)
    {
        $token = env('TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN');
        $url = "https://api.telegram.org/bot{$token}/sendMessage";

        Http::post($url, [
            'chat_id' => $chatId,
            'text' => $text,
        ]);
    }
}

Step 4: Activating the Webhook

To link the bot to your app, visit this URL in your browser (after replacing placeholders):

https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_TOKEN>/setWebhook?url=https://your-domain.com/telegram/webhook