How to use a proxy with python-telegram-bot

Which proxy to use

Any plan in a country where Telegram is reachable. A bot sends little traffic, so the smallest plan lasts a long time.

• Residentialfrom $2.64 per GB
• Residential Litefrom $0.69 per GB
• Mobilefrom $2.64 per GB

What to enter

A PiratProxies plan gives you four things: a host, a port, a username and a password. These are the values for Residential; the username and password are on your plan page.

As one address:

http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@resi.piratproxies.com:8080

The country and the session are chosen in the username, not in a separate setting. The generator on your plan page writes the username for you, and Targeting and sessions explains each part.

Steps

1. Call .proxy(...) on the builder with the proxy address.
2. Set .get_updates_proxy(...) to the same address if the bot uses polling.

Example

Python

from telegram.ext import ApplicationBuilder

app = (
    ApplicationBuilder()
    .token("BOT_TOKEN")
    .proxy("http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@resi.piratproxies.com:8080")
    .get_updates_proxy("http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@resi.piratproxies.com:8080")
    .build()
)

Replace USERNAME and PASSWORD with the login from your plan page. The example asks an IP-check address, so the output is the address your request left from.

Rotating or sticky

If python-telegram-bot is acting as one visitor through several steps, use a sticky session so the IP address stays the same throughout. If each run is independent, leave the session out and every run starts from a new address.

A sticky username looks like this:

USERNAME-country-us-time-600-session-a1b2c3d4

If it does not work

• Versions before 20.7 call these proxy_url and get_updates_proxy_url. If the builder has no proxy method, your version uses the older names.
• A 407 error means the username or password was not accepted. Copy both again from your plan page, and check that nothing added a space or cut the username short.
• If the IP address is in the wrong country, look at the username: the country code is part of it. More fixes.

Questions

python-telegram-bot is a product of its own makers. PiratProxies is not affiliated with it; the name is used here only to say what this guide is about. Use it within the rules of the sites you work with and our acceptable use policy.