LaraGram - A Laravel-Inspired Framework for Building Telegram Bots

[AmirHkrg]

Hey everyone,

I'm excited to share a project I've been working on, built specifically for developers who love the structure and elegance of Laravel. It's called LaraGram, an open-source framework for building powerful and scalable Telegram bots, with a familiar Laravel flavor.

We all know how amazing Laravel is for building web applications. But when it comes to Telegram bots, we often end up with messy, single-file scripts or libraries that don't enforce a clean architecture. LaraGram aims to solve that by reimagining Laravel's core concepts for the bot development world.

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Core Concepts: Laravel, but for Telegram

The main idea is to provide a development experience that feels just like home for a Laravel developer. Here’s how it reinterprets some key features:

1. The Listening System (Instead of Routing)

   In a web app, you handle HTTP requests. In a bot, you handle "updates" from Telegram (like new messages, button clicks, etc.). LaraGram replaces Laravel's router with a powerful Listener.

   Instead of defining a route for a URL, you define a listener for a specific message pattern or update type. It feels incredibly intuitive:

   Bot::onText('hello', function (Request $request) {
       $request->sendMessage(chat()->id, 'hi');
   });

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2. The Template System (Instead of Blade Views)

   Just as Blade helps you separate your presentation logic from your application logic, LaraGram’s Template System helps you design your bot's responses cleanly. Instead of building messy arrays for the Telegram API, you use a fluent interface.

   Creating a message with a custom keyboard is simple and readable:

   @text()
   ***Hello***
   @endText()
   
   @parse_mode('markdown')
   
   @keyboard()
       @row()
           @col("ok", callback_data: "ok")
       @endRow()
   @endKeyboard

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A Full-Fledged Framework: Key Features at a Glance

LaraGram goes far beyond the basics and provides the robust tooling you'd expect from a modern framework.

• Database & ORM: It includes a rewritten Eloquent ORM with multi-DB support, complete with Migrations, Seeders, and Factories. And yes, it comes with Laravel's beloved Fluent Collections.

• Application Architecture:

  • Permission System (Gate & Policy): Easily manage user permissions for commands, just like you would for web routes.
  • Caching (7 Drivers) & Step Manager: A powerful caching system and a dedicated Step Manager make building complex, multi-step conversations (like wizards or forms) simple.
  • Queues, Jobs & Redis: Offload heavy tasks like processing files or sending bulk messages to background Jobs to keep your bot instantly responsive.
  • Event Dispatcher: Decouple your bot's logic with a powerful event system.

• Developer Experience & Tooling:

  • Console Commands & Task Scheduling: Create custom Artisan-like commands and schedule recurring tasks (cron jobs) right within the framework.
  • Robust Tooling: Comes with built-in Logging, Validation, a flexible File System, and i18n for multi-language support.
  • Security: Includes familiar Crypt & Hash systems for handling sensitive data.

• Performance & Scalability:

  • Concurrency System: Built to handle a high volume of simultaneous updates efficiently.
  • Multi-Bot Support: Run and manage multiple different bots from a single, clean codebase. Includes config and cache optimizations for performance.

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Why Give LaraGram a Try?

• Familiarity: If you know Laravel, you'll feel right at home.
• Scalability: The structured approach makes it perfect for growing a simple bot into a complex one without creating a mess.
• Clean Code: Say goodbye to giant switch statements or long if/else chains for handling commands.
• Focus: It’s built only for Telegram, making it lean and optimized for the task.

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I would love for you all to check it out, give it a star on GitHub if you like the concept, and share any feedback or ideas you might have.

• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/laraXgram/LaraGram
• Full Documentation: https://laraxgram.github.io

What do you think of this approach to bot development?