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Inline Keyboards

Buttons inside the message bubble — not the chunky reply keyboard at the bottom of the screen. Users tap them; Telegram sends a callback query; you respond with Api.

Reply keyboards ("Help, About") send plain text when tapped. Inline buttons send structured callback data. Different beasts. Don't mix them up at parties.

What are inline keyboards?

An inline_keyboard is a grid of buttons attached to a message. Two main button types:

Button type User sees Your bot receives
url Opens browser / in-app view Nothing
callback_data Stays in chat Callback query update

Mix them freely in the same keyboard.

New to TBL?

Bot, chat, and user are globals available in every command. Callback handling tutorial: Handling Callbacks.

How to use it

A minimal keyboard

Api.sendMessage({
  text: "Choose:",
  reply_markup: {
    inline_keyboard: [
      [{ text: "Website", url: "https://telebothost.com" }],
      [{ text: "Help", callback_data: "help" }]
    ]
  }
})

URL buttons open a link. callback_data buttons fire a callback query — handle that in a command triggered by the callback.

Layout

Each inner array is a row. Buttons in the same row sit side by side:

reply_markup: {
  inline_keyboard: [
    [{ text: "Yes", callback_data: "yes" }, { text: "No", callback_data: "no" }],
    [{ text: "Cancel", callback_data: "cancel" }]
  ]
}

Two buttons on the first row, one full-width button below. Tetris for UX designers.

Try it — copy-paste examples

Yes / No prompt

Api.sendMessage({
  text: "Delete your account?",
  reply_markup: {
    inline_keyboard: [
      [{ text: "Yes, delete", callback_data: "confirm_delete" }, { text: "Cancel", callback_data: "cancel" }]
    ]
  }
})

Answer the callback (dismiss the spinner)

When someone taps a callback button, Telegram expects a response — even if it's just "ok, I got it." Without answerCallbackQuery, the client shows a loading spinner forever. Rude.

Api.answerCallbackQuery({
  callback_query_id: update.callback_query.id,
  text: "Saved."
})

The optional text pops a small toast at the top of the chat. Keep it short.

Update the message they tapped

Often you want to change the message instead of sending a new one:

Api.editMessageText({
  chat_id: chat.id,
  message_id: update.callback_query.message.message_id,
  text: "You picked Help. Here's what that means..."
})

Or swap the keyboard while leaving text alone — editMessageReplyMarkup. Editing Messages walks through both.

callback_data limits

Telegram caps callback_data at 64 bytes. Don't stash JSON in there. Store an ID or short token, look up the rest in db.user.

// Good — short token
callback_data: "help"

// Bad — won't fit
callback_data: JSON.stringify({ userId: 123, action: "delete", reason: "..." })

Where to go next