Bot methods

Reference for BJS Bot methods including sending and editing messages, keyboards, command calls, scheduling, properties, caching, chat blocking, and Git operations.

Use Bot for Bots.Business actions such as sending a reply, running a command, saving a property, or scheduling work. Most action methods queue work; they do not return a Telegram response. Use Api callbacks when you need a sent message's ID.

Send and inspect messages

/hello

// Command: /hello
Bot.sendMessage("Hello!");
Bot.sendMessage("Literal *characters*", { parse_mode: null });

Method	Parameters and behavior
Bot.sendMessage(text, options)	Text for the current chat; optional message options such as parse_mode
Bot.sendMessage({text, ...})	Object form; text is required; additional supported message options go in the same object
Bot.inspect(value)	Formats a value as JSON and sends it as plain text; useful for test data
Bot.sendMessageToChat(name, text, options)	Sends to a chat already known to this bot, matched by its title
Bot.sendMessageToChatWithId(id, text, options)	Sends to a known chat by its Telegram chat ID, such as chat.chatid

Prefer an explicit chat ID over a title when titles could be duplicated or changed. These helpers do not discover arbitrary chats. Never inspect an entire token-bearing object or a response containing credentials in a public chat.

For precise Telegram options such as message_thread_id, media, reply parameters, or callbacks, use Api.

Edit messages

Method	Parameters
Bot.editMessage(text, message_id, options)	Edit a bot message in the current chat
Bot.editMessageInChat(chat_id, text, message_id)	Edit a bot message in another known chat; chat_id is the Telegram chat ID
Bot.editInlineKeyboard(buttons, message_id, chat_id)	Replace an inline keyboard; use Telegram message/chat IDs

Keep the Telegram message_id together with its chat ID: pass both in options for a next or scheduled handler, and save them in a property when a later independent command needs them. A message ID is unique within its chat, not across every chat of your bot. Telegram also limits which messages a bot can edit. Telegram Message reference.

For a complete send-result-edit example, see Telegram API.

Keyboards

Command /menu:

/menu

Bot.sendInlineKeyboard([
  { title: "Help", command: "/help" },
  { title: "Website", url: "https://bots.business/" }
], "Choose an option:");

Create /help separately:

Keyboards · Example 3

Bot.sendMessage("Send /menu to see your options.");

Method	Use
Bot.sendKeyboard(buttons, text, options)	Reply keyboard; button labels become messages. See the reply keyboard guide.
Bot.sendInlineKeyboard(buttons, text, options)	Inline buttons attached to the message; buttons use title and command or url
Bot.sendInlineKeyboardToChatWithId(chat_id, buttons, text, options)	Inline keyboard sent to a Telegram chat ID

Nested arrays group inline buttons into rows. Api.sendMessage uses Telegram's different keyboard shape (text, callback_data, inline_keyboard); do not mix the two formats. See inline interactions.

Remove a reply keyboard

Send a message with Telegram's keyboard-removal markup from an incoming-chat command:

Remove a reply keyboard · Example 4

if (!chat) { return; }
Api.sendMessage({
  chat_id: chat.chatid,
  text: "You can type your next message.",
  reply_markup: { remove_keyboard: true }
});

This removes a reply keyboard. To change inline buttons attached to a specific message, use the inline editing methods instead.

Run and schedule commands

Method	Behavior
Bot.runCommand(command, options)	Run a named command with optional structured options
Bot.run({command, options, ...})	Command call with explicit scheduling/context options
Bot.clearRunAfter({label})	Delete this bot's pending scheduled requests with the label
Bot.runAll({command, ...})	Create a task that runs a command for multiple chats

For a next handler, pass its input in options; it does not need an intermediate property. See structured options and the media handoff example. Leave Wait for answer off when the target should process the supplied value immediately.

Bot.run supports run_after in seconds, label, internal bot_id, user_id, chat_id, Telegram user_telegramid, and ignoreMissingCommand. A custom destination may cause the runtime to schedule a one-second delay even when no delay was supplied. The background field is not forwarded by this method; use run_after for delayed execution.

Bot.clearRunAfter() without a label clears pending requests for the whole bot. Use a specific label for a user's reminder. See scheduling and hooks and broadcasts.

Data and cached commands

Methods	Reference
setProp, getProp, deleteProp	User and bot properties; setProperty and getProperty remain compatible names
setCache(seconds), clearCache(command_name)	Caching

Chat access and imports

Bot.blockChat(chat.id) marks an internal chat as blocked by the administrator. Bot.unblockChat(chat.id) removes that administrator block; it cannot make a Telegram user unblock the bot. These methods use internal chat IDs, unlike the send-to-chat helpers above.

Bot.importCSV() starts an import using the bot's configured CSV source. Bot.importGit({branch, success}) and Bot.exportGit({branch, success}) use its Git configuration; success names a callback command. Export is refused for protected bots. Imports can change bot commands, so run them deliberately after configuring and checking the source in the app.

Troubleshooting

If nothing happens, check the destination's ID type, the callback command's name, bot permissions, and the error log. If several command calls stop partway through, reduce the chain: nested command execution is limited. A misspelled or obsolete method is not an alias; prefer the methods listed here and diagnose BJS errors.