Premium/Elite

Templates,
for custom messages.

Customize the messages sent by The Feed Reader Bot: format text, use variables, add buttons, filter content and tune how media is displayed.

Create a template → Template settings

✎

Control how each feed is posted

Templates can be tested before being assigned to a feed.

Premium/Elite

Create and apply a template

This tutorial shows how to use templates to customize messages sent by The Feed Reader Bot.

BuildCreate a new template TestSend a test message ApplyAssign the template to a feed Rich MessagesShow full articles and inline images ReferenceBrowse all settings

Build

Create the template

Click the add new template link.
Type a name for the template.
Enter the template content.

Add new template link — Add a new template.

Template name and content form — Name it and write the content.

Test

Send a test message

Save the template, then click Send test message to check if it is correctly formatted. You should receive a test message in Telegram.

Bot variables like %FEED_TITLE%, %ITEM_CONTENT% and others are replaced with their matching values.

Send template test message link — Send a test message.

Template test message received in Telegram — Check the Telegram result.

Apply

Apply the template to a feed

Once the template is correct, assign it to a feed, then test again by clicking Send test message.

Apply template to feed settings — Select the feed.

Template applied to a feed — Apply the template.

Send feed test message with template — Send another test.

Feed test message received in Telegram — Confirm the final result.

Rich Messages

Show articles inside a message

Telegram Rich Messages support inline images and formatting such as collapsible sections. You can use them to show an article below the feed title and item link, with the main image at the top when its URL is supported.

Enable Rich Messages for the feed

Create or edit a template, then assign it to the feed.
In the feed settings, check Use Rich Messages. Leave Use caption and Use albums unchecked.
Save the feed settings and use the feed's Send test message action to see the result in Telegram.

Feed settings with Use Rich Messages checked and captions and albums unchecked — Enable Rich Messages for this feed; disable captions and albums.

Add a collapsible article to the template

Place an article variable inside <details>. The <summary> text stays visible; readers can expand the article when they want to read it.

<b>%FEED_TITLE%</b>
<a href="%ITEM_URL%">%ITEM_TITLE%</a>

<details><summary>Article</summary>%ARTICLE_CLEAN%</details>

<i>sent by @TheFeedReaderBot - <a href="https://tfrbot.com">tfrbot.com</a></i>

Template editor showing a collapsible article with ARTICLE_CLEAN — Paste the example into the template's Content field and adapt it to your feed.

Choose the article variable

%ARTICLE_CLEAN% downloads the article and uses AI to remove ads, navigation, sharing prompts and other unrelated text. It is available on the Elite bot and consumes AI tokens; a long article can use a significant part of the daily allowance. You can configure your own ChatGPT API key.
%ARTICLE_CONTENT% extracts the article without AI, using SmartReader when possible. It is also available on the Elite bot. It does not consume AI tokens, but may leave extra text from the page. Replace %ARTICLE_CLEAN% in the example with this variable if you prefer that approach.

The article must be accessible to the bot. If the website blocks downloads or no usable content is found, the full article may not appear. Rich Message formatting is documented in the Telegram Bot API.