Long Polling

Telegram-compatible getUpdates endpoint for pull-based integrations

Long polling provides a pull-based alternative to push proxy. External bots/backends can call getUpdates via BotMux instead of Telegram — no code changes needed, just change the API base URL.

Setup

1. Enable the Long Poll toggle in bot settings
2. In your backend, change the Telegram API base URL:

# Before (direct to Telegram)
https://api.telegram.org/bot{TOKEN}/getUpdates

# After (via BotMux)
http://localhost:8080/tgapi/bot{TOKEN}/getUpdates

That’s it — no other code changes needed.

How It Works

Telegram ──getUpdates──> BotMux (polls Telegram)
                            │
                            ├── saves to UpdateQueue (ring buffer, 1000 updates)
                            ├── Management: tracks chats/messages in DB
                            │
Backend ──getUpdates──> /tgapi/ (long poll) ──> returns from UpdateQueue
Backend ──sendMessage──> /tgapi/ (proxy) ──> Telegram API

Parameters

Response format is identical to Telegram: {"ok": true, "result": [...]}.

Parameter	Description
offset	Identifier of the first update to return
limit	Maximum number of updates (max 100)
timeout	Long polling timeout in seconds (max 60)

Features

• Telegram-compatible — same request/response format as Telegram API
• Multiple clients can poll the same bot simultaneously
• Works alongside push proxy — both can be active for the same bot
• In-memory ring buffer — 1000 updates per bot with waiter notification
• Authenticated API also available: GET /api/updates/poll?bot_id=X (Bearer or session)

If your backend also sends messages, point those at /tgapi/ too to capture outgoing messages in BotMux.