How can I receive Telegram messages via LocalTunnel on a self-hosted AI starter kit?

Below is an example of how you might approach it:

1. Expose Your Local Server:
   Make sure your Telegram bot is running on localhost (e.g., at port 5678). Then, run LocalTunnel so that your local port is exposed via an HTTPS URL. For example:

   BASHCopied
   lt --port 5678

   This will give you an HTTPS URL (something like https://your-tunnel-id.loca.lt) which Telegram can reach.

2. Configure Your Webhook:
   In your bot’s code (using python-telegram-bot), set the webhook URL to the LocalTunnel URL appended with your URL path (often your bot token or a custom path). For instance:

   PYTHONCopied
   await updater.start_webhook(
       listen="0.0.0.0",
       port=5678,
       url_path="YOUR_TOKEN",
       webhook_url="https://your-tunnel-id.loca.lt/YOUR_TOKEN"
   )

   This tells Telegram to send incoming updates to your LocalTunnel URL.

3. HTTPS Requirement:
   Telegram requires webhooks to be served over HTTPS. LocalTunnel takes care of that by providing a public HTTPS endpoint even though your server is running on HTTP locally.

4. Troubleshooting Tips:

   • Double-check that your LocalTunnel URL is correctly set in the webhook configuration.
   • Ensure that no firewall is blocking local port 5678.
   • If you have secret tokens or additional restrictions configured in your webhook handler (as seen in the python-telegram-bot webhook handler example), verify that your requests include the proper headers.

Many users have used tools like LocalTunnel (or alternatives such as ngrok) with self-hosted setups. If you encounter issues, enabling debug logs can help track whether the updates are reaching your application and if the webhook handler is processing them correctly.

Give this setup a try and adjust based on the logs and any error messages you receive.