Polling

Polling is a mode where your server periodically requests updates from Telegram. Suitable for development and testing.

Advantages

• ✅ Does not require public URL
• ✅ Simple setup
• ✅ Suitable for development
• ✅ Can be used locally

Disadvantages

• ❌ Delay in receiving updates
• ❌ Inefficient resource usage
• ❌ Not recommended for production with high load

Setup

1. Configuration in config/hybridgram.php

'bots' => [
    [
        'token' => env('BOT_TOKEN'),
        'bot_id' => 'main',
        'update_mode' => UpdateModeEnum::POLLING,
        'routes_file' => base_path('routes/telegram.php'),
        'polling_limit' => env('TELEGRAM_POLLING_LIMIT', 100),
        'polling_timeout' => env('TELEGRAM_POLLING_TIMEOUT', 0),
        'allowed_updates' => explode(',', env('ALLOWED_TELEGRAM_UPDATES', '')),
    ],
],

2. Environment Variables

BOT_TOKEN=your_token
BOT_ID=main
TELEGRAM_UPDATE_MODE=POLLING
TELEGRAM_POLLING_LIMIT=100
TELEGRAM_POLLING_TIMEOUT=0
ALLOWED_TELEGRAM_UPDATES=message,callback_query

3. Starting Polling

Basic Run

php artisan hybridgram:polling main

With Hot-reload (for development)

php artisan hybridgram:polling main --hot-reload

Hot-reload automatically restarts command when code changes.

With Watch Settings

php artisan hybridgram:polling main \
    --hot-reload \
    --watch=app,routes,config,src \
    --watch-interval=1

Parameters:

• --watch — directories to watch (comma-separated)
• --watch-interval — check interval in seconds

Limiting Update Types

php artisan hybridgram:polling main --allowed-updates=message,callback_query

Or in config:

'allowed_updates' => ['message', 'callback_query'],

hybridgram:polling command options

Option	Short	Description
--log-updates	-L	Print a one-line summary for every received update
--full	-F	Print full update payload as pretty JSON (implies --log-updates)
--hot-reload	-R	Auto-restart on code changes (for development)
--watch=	-W=	Comma-separated paths to watch (default: app,routes,config,src)
--watch-interval=1	-I	Seconds between file scans in hot-reload mode

Examples with short aliases:

php artisan hybridgram:polling main -L
php artisan hybridgram:polling main -F
php artisan hybridgram:polling main -R -W=app,routes -I 2

Polling Parameters

polling_limit

Maximum number of updates per request (1-100):

'polling_limit' => 100, // Maximum

More updates = fewer requests, but more delay.

polling_timeout

Request timeout in seconds (0 = short polling):

'polling_timeout' => 0, // Short polling

For long polling:

'polling_timeout' => 60, // Long polling (up to 60 seconds)

Long polling reduces number of requests but increases response delay to commands.

Hot-reload in Development

Hot-reload automatically restarts command when files change:

php artisan hybridgram:polling main --hot-reload --watch=app,routes

This allows:

• Not restarting command manually
• Quickly seeing code changes
• Convenient local development

Running via Supervisor (production)

For continuous operation in production:

[program:telegram-polling]
command=php /path/to/artisan hybridgram:polling main
directory=/path/to/project
autostart=true
autorestart=true
stopasgroup=true
killasgroup=true
user=www-data
redirect_stderr=true
stdout_logfile=/path/to/storage/logs/polling.log

Limitations

allowed_updates

Limit update types to reduce load:

'allowed_updates' => [
    'message',
    'callback_query',
    // Only needed types
],

One Process per Bot

Don’t run multiple polling processes for the same bot simultaneously — this may lead to duplicate updates.

Debugging

Logging

To see received updates in the console, use -L (one-line summary per update) or -F (full JSON):

php artisan hybridgram:polling main -L
php artisan hybridgram:polling main -F

Example output with -L:

Processing update 12345...
Processing update 12346...

Status Check

Check that polling is working:

ps aux | grep "hybridgram:polling"

Transitioning from Polling to Webhook

When ready for production:

1. Set up webhook:

   php artisan hybridgram:set-webhook main

2. Stop polling:

   # Find and stop process
   pkill -f "hybridgram:polling"

3. Delete webhook (if need to return to polling):

   php artisan hybridgram:delete-webhook main

Recommendations

For Development

• ✅ Use hot-reload
• ✅ Limit allowed_updates to only needed types
• ✅ Use polling_limit = 10-20 for fast response

For Production

• ❌ Not recommended to use polling in production
• ✅ Use webhook instead of polling
• ✅ If necessary, use long polling with timeout

When to Use Polling

Use polling when:

• Developing bot locally
• Testing functionality
• No ability to set up HTTPS
• Low load and no critical delays

Don’t use polling when:

• Production environment
• High load
• Critical update delays
• Maximum performance needed

What’s Next?

• Webhook — recommended mode for production
• Sending Messages — working with TelegramBotApi