Send updates, alerts, and files to Telegram; read replies; run ask-and-wait approval flows. Pure bash + curl + jq — no install beyond a bot token.

First run: scripts/telegram.sh setup (guided BotFather walkthrough).

Commands

scripts/telegram.sh send "Deploy finished ✅"                    # basic alert
scripts/telegram.sh send "low priority" --silent                # no notification sound
scripts/telegram.sh send "*bold* alert" --format md             # MarkdownV2 (falls back to plain)
scripts/telegram.sh send "hi" --to alerts --bot work            # named target + named bot
scripts/telegram.sh file report.pdf "Q3 report"                 # document (photos auto-detected)
scripts/telegram.sh read                                        # new incoming messages since last read
ANSWER=$(scripts/telegram.sh ask "Deploy to prod?" --options "Yes,No" --timeout 300)
# exit 0 = answered (stdout = answer), 2 = timeout