sendAnimation — Botlify Cloud Docs

Use this method to send animation files (GIF or H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video without sound). On success, the sent Message is returned. Bots can currently send animation files of up to 50 MB in size, this limit may be changed in the future.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`business_connection_id`	String	Optional	Unique identifier of the business connection on behalf of which the message will be sent
`chat_id`	Integer or String	Yes	Unique identifier for the target chat or username of the target bot, supergroup or channel in the format `@username`
`message_thread_id`	Integer	Optional	Unique identifier for the target message thread (topic) of a forum; for forum supergroups and private chats of bots with forum topic mode enabled only
`direct_messages_topic_id`	Integer	Optional	Identifier of the direct messages topic to which the message will be sent; required if the message is sent to a direct messages chat
`ephemeral_message_parameters`	EphemeralMessageParameters	Optional	A JSON-serialized object containing the parameters of the ephemeral message to send
`animation`	InputFile or String	Yes	Animation to send. Pass a file_id as String to send an animation that exists on the Telegram servers (recommended), pass an HTTP URL as a String for Telegram to get an animation from the Internet, or upload a new animation using multipart/form-data. More information on Sending Files »
`duration`	Integer	Optional	Duration of sent animation in seconds
`width`	Integer	Optional	Animation width
`height`	Integer	Optional	Animation height
`thumbnail`	InputFile or String	Optional	Thumbnail of the file sent; can be ignored if thumbnail generation for the file is supported server-side. The thumbnail should be in JPEG format and less than 200 kB in size. A thumbnail's width and height should not exceed 320. Ignored if the file is not uploaded using multipart/form-data. Thumbnails can't be reused and can be only uploaded as a new file, so you can pass "attach://<file_attach_name>" if the thumbnail was uploaded using multipart/form-data under <file_attach_name>. More information on Sending Files »
`caption`	String	Optional	Animation caption (may also be used when resending animation by file_id), 0-1024 characters after entities parsing
`parse_mode`	String	Optional	Mode for parsing entities in the animation caption. See formatting options for more details.
`caption_entities`	Array of MessageEntity	Optional	A JSON-serialized list of special entities that appear in the caption, which can be specified instead of parse_mode
`show_caption_above_media`	Boolean	Optional	Pass True if the caption must be shown above the message media
`has_spoiler`	Boolean	Optional	Pass True if the animation needs to be covered with a spoiler animation
`disable_notification`	Boolean	Optional	Sends the message silently. Users will receive a notification with no sound.
`protect_content`	Boolean	Optional	Protects the contents of the sent message from forwarding and saving
`allow_paid_broadcast`	Boolean	Optional	Pass True to allow up to 1000 messages per second, ignoring broadcasting limits for a fee of 0.1 Telegram Stars per message. The relevant Stars will be withdrawn from the bot's balance.
`message_effect_id`	String	Optional	Unique identifier of the message effect to be added to the message; for private chats only
`suggested_post_parameters`	SuggestedPostParameters	Optional	A JSON-serialized object containing the parameters of the suggested post to send; for direct messages chats only. If the message is sent as a reply to another suggested post, then that suggested post is automatically declined.
`reply_parameters`	ReplyParameters	Optional	Description of the message to reply to
`reply_markup`	InlineKeyboardMarkup or ReplyKeyboardMarkup or ReplyKeyboardRemove or ForceReply	Optional	Additional interface options. A JSON-serialized object for an inline keyboard, custom reply keyboard, instructions to remove a reply keyboard or to force a reply from the user.

Example

PHP — Call sendAnimation on Botlify Cloud

<?php
// ── Botlify Cloud .env — auto-injected, never hardcode secrets ──
$BOT_TOKEN     = getenv('BOT_TOKEN');     // Telegram bot token from @BotFather
$ADMIN_CHAT_ID = getenv('ADMIN_CHAT_ID'); // Your numeric admin Telegram user ID
$BOT_USERNAME  = getenv('BOT_USERNAME');  // Bot username without @

$resp = bot('sendAnimation', [
    'chat_id' => $chatId,
    'animation' => 'value',
]);

if ($resp['ok'] ?? false) {
    $result = $resp['result']; // handle the response
}

Botlify Cloud Runtime
Credentials are auto-injected in .env — always load them with getenv(): BOT_TOKEN, ADMIN_CHAT_ID, BOT_USERNAME. Main database: database.db (SQLite, WAL mode). Runtime errors: error.log. Quick test: send to $ADMIN_CHAT_ID. Full details: Runtime Reference.