sendMessage — Botlify Cloud Docs

Botlify Native Shorthand:
tg_send($chatId, $text, $extra);
Fastest way to send formatted HTML messages in Botlify Cloud without manually constructing arrays. See Native Helpers Guide.

Use this method to send text messages. On success, the sent Message is returned.

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
`text`	String	Yes	Text of the message to be sent, 1-4096 characters after entities parsing
`parse_mode`	String	Optional	Mode for parsing entities in the message text. See formatting options for more details.
`entities`	Array of MessageEntity	Optional	A JSON-serialized list of special entities that appear in message text, which can be specified instead of parse_mode
`link_preview_options`	LinkPreviewOptions	Optional	Link preview generation options for the message
`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 The relevant Stars will be withdrawn from the bot's balance.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 sendMessage 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('sendMessage', [
    'chat_id' => $chatId,
    'text' => 'Hello from Botlify Cloud!',
]);

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.