Running the Telegram Bot

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• Required packages: python-telegram-bot, python-dotenv

Setup

1. Install the required packages:

pip install python-telebot python-dotenv

2. Create a .env file in the root directory with your bot token:

INDICARE_BOT_TOKEN=your_bot_token_here

3. Configure allowed users by updating the allowed_user_ids list in src/indicare.py with the appropriate Telegram usernames or phone numbers.

Running the Bot

1. Navigate to the project directory
2. Run the bot:

python src/indicare.py

The bot will start and respond to messages from authorized users. It will:

• Respond to /start or /hello commands with a welcome message
• Format any text messages with Indicare's contact information
• Only respond to authorized users listed in the allowed_user_ids

Deploy using Cloudflare webhook/worker:

1. Deploy to Cloudflare:

   • Go to dash.cloudflare.com and log in/sign up
   • Navigate to Workers & Pages in the left menu
   • For first-time deployment:
     • Click "Create application" -> "Create Worker"
     • Give it a name and click "Deploy"
   • For existing deployment:
     • Click the worker name
     • Press "Edit code" to update it

2. Set Environment Variables:

   • Click "Settings" -> "Environment Variables"
   • Add variable named API_KEY with your Telegram bot token as the value
   • Save and deploy

3. Check Current Webhook Status:

   curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_BOT_TOKEN>/getWebhookInfo"

   Response will look like:

   {"ok":true,"result":{"url":"","has_custom_certificate":false,"pending_update_count":1}}

   If the "url":"" is empty, it means no webhook is set up.

4. Set Up Webhook:

   curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_BOT_TOKEN>/setWebhook?url=<YOUR_WORKER_URL>"

   Replace:

   • <YOUR_BOT_TOKEN> with your Telegram bot token
   • <YOUR_WORKER_URL> with your Cloudflare Worker URL (e.g., https://your-worker.your-subdomain.workers.dev)

5. Verify Webhook Setup:

   • Run the getWebhookInfo command again
   • The response should now show your Worker URL:

   {"ok":true,"result":{"url":"https://your-worker.your-subdomain.workers.dev","has_custom_certificate":false}}

Note: When the webhook is properly set up, you don't need to run the Python bot (src/indicare.py). The bot will work through the Cloudflare Worker instead.

Features

• Message formatting for Indicare's promotional content
• User authorization system
• Logging system for tracking bot usage
• Markdown support for formatted messages