Telegram Joke Bot Development

From Hardcoded Jokes to Community-Driven Platform

Technolyceum Programming Project
Student Developers: Дашунин Дмитрий, Ерохин Даниил, Овганова Инна, Полковников Артём, Лазарев Дмитрий
Supervisor: Bob Santos
Academic Year 2025-2026

Development Journey

Objective

Progressively develop a Telegram bot from basic joke delivery to a community-driven platform with AI integration.

1
Phase 1: Hardcoded Jokes
Initial Telegram bot with static joke list for API testing
2
Phase 2: AI-Generated Jokes
Integration with Yandex AI API for dynamic joke generation
3
Phase 3: User-Generated Content
Database integration with voting and approval system

Phase 1: Hardcoded Jokes

Initial implementation testing Telegram Bot API with static content.

# app.py — Teacher-Only Telegram Joke Bot from telegram import Update from telegram.ext import ApplicationBuilder, CommandHandler, ContextTypes import random # 🔑 REPLACE WITH REAL TOKEN FROM @BotFather BOT_TOKEN = "7864875699:AAEWf6ff1DYNzPvW6Dbn7D2W5aavg9KPhgY" # --- COPY STUDENT JOKES HERE BEFORE CLASS --- JOKE_LIST = [ "Why did the robot go to school? To recharge his brain! 🔋", "Knock knock!\\nWho's there?\\nBoo!\\nBoo who?\\nDon't cry! 😂", "Why don't eggs tell jokes? They'd crack each other up! 🥚", "What do you call a penguin in the desert? Lost! 🐧", # Add student jokes here ] async def start(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE): await update.message.reply_text("🤖 Hi! I'm your Joke Bot!\\nType /joke for a funny joke in English! 😄") async def send_joke(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE): joke = random.choice(JOKE_LIST) await update.message.reply_text(joke) def main(): print("🚀 Starting Joke Bot...") app = ApplicationBuilder().token(BOT_TOKEN).build() app.add_handler(CommandHandler("start", start)) app.add_handler(CommandHandler("joke", send_joke)) print("✅ Bot is running! Press Ctrl+C to stop.") app.run_polling() if __name__ == "__main__": main()

Initial Implementation Features

  • Basic Telegram Bot API integration
  • Static list of pre-approved jokes
  • /start and /joke command handlers
  • Random joke selection from hardcoded list

Phase 2: AI-Generated Jokes

Integration with Yandex AI API for dynamic content generation.

import os import random from telegram import Update from telegram.ext import Application, CommandHandler, MessageHandler, filters import requests from dotenv import load_dotenv # Load environment variables load_dotenv() YANDEX_API_URL = 'https://llm.api.cloud.yandex.net/foundationModels/v1/completion' YANDEX_FOLDER_ID = os.getenv('YANDEX_FOLDER_ID') YANDEX_API_KEY = os.getenv('YANDEX_API_KEY') # Store conversation history per user user_histories = {} async def start(update: Update, context): # Check if Yandex credentials are configured if not YANDEX_API_KEY or YANDEX_API_KEY == 'your_yandex_api_key_here' or \\ not YANDEX_FOLDER_ID or YANDEX_FOLDER_ID == 'your_yandex_folder_id_here': await update.message.reply_text( "⚠️ Bot not properly configured!\\n\\n" "Please set up your Yandex Cloud credentials in the .env file:\\n" "- YANDEX_API_KEY\\n" "- YANDEX_FOLDER_ID\\n\\n" "Check the README for setup instructions." ) return await update.message.reply_text("Hi! I'm a joke bot powered by Yandex AI. Send me any message and I'll respond with a joke! 😄") async def handle_message(update: Update, context): """Handle incoming messages and respond using Yandex AI""" user_id = update.effective_user.id user_message = update.message.text # Initialize user history if not exists if user_id not in user_histories: user_histories[user_id] = [ { "role": "system", "text": "You are a funny chatbot that responds with jokes. Keep responses concise and family-friendly." } ] # Add user message to history user_histories[user_id].append({ "role": "user", "text": user_message }) try: headers = { "Authorization": f"Api-Key {YANDEX_API_KEY}", "Content-Type": "application/json" } data = { "modelUri": f"gpt://{YANDEX_FOLDER_ID}/yandexgpt-lite", "completionOptions": { "stream": False, "temperature": 0.8, "maxTokens": 100 }, "messages": user_histories[user_id] } response = requests.post(YANDEX_API_URL, headers=headers, json=data, timeout=10) response.raise_for_status() ai_response = response.json()["result"]["alternatives"][0]["message"]["text"] # Add AI response to history user_histories[user_id].append({ "role": "assistant", "text": ai_response }) await update.message.reply_text(ai_response) except Exception as e: await update.message.reply_text(f"❌ Failed to generate response: {str(e)}") def main(): """Start the bot.""" BOT_TOKEN = os.getenv("BOT_TOKEN", "7864875699:AAEWf6ff1DYNzPvW6Dbn7D2W5aavg9KPhgY") app = Application.builder().token(BOT_TOKEN).build() app.add_handler(CommandHandler("start", start)) app.add_handler(MessageHandler(filters.TEXT & ~filters.COMMAND, handle_message)) print("Bot is running... Press Ctrl+C to stop.") app.run_polling() if __name__ == "__main__": main()

Phase 3: User-Generated Content

Final implementation with database, voting, and approval system.

import sqlite3 import random from datetime import datetime # Calculate average user sentiment for a joke def get_user_sentiment_for_joke(db, joke_id): cursor = db.execute(''' SELECT CASE WHEN AVG(CASE WHEN user_sentiment = 'up' THEN 1 WHEN user_sentiment = 'down' THEN -1 ELSE 0 END) > 0.1 THEN '👍 Up' WHEN AVG(CASE WHEN user_sentiment = 'up' THEN 1 WHEN user_sentiment = 'down' THEN -1 ELSE 0 END) < -0.1 THEN '👎 Down' ELSE '😐 Neutral' END as avg_sentiment, COUNT(*) as total_votes FROM user_sentiments WHERE joke_id = ? ''', (joke_id,)) result = cursor.fetchone() avg_sentiment, total_votes = result if result else ('😐 Neutral', 0) return avg_sentiment, total_votes # Record user sentiment for a joke def add_user_sentiment(db, joke_id, user_choice): try: db.execute(''' INSERT INTO user_sentiments (joke_id, user_sentiment) VALUES (?, ?) ''', (joke_id, user_choice)) db.commit() return True except Exception as e: print(f"❌ Error saving sentiment: {e}") return False

Final System Features

  • SQLite database for joke storage
  • User-generated content with administrative approval
  • Community voting system (👍, 👎, 😐)
  • Sentiment analysis and rating calculation
  • Command-line interface for joke management

System Demonstration

Final System - Joke Retrieval
$ python joke_bot.py
🤖 JOKE BOT
==============================
1. Get random joke
2. Add new joke
3. Quit
Your choice: 1
🤣 Why don't scientists trust atoms?
Because they make up everything!
👤 Contributor: ScienceFan42
👥 Community Rating: 👍 Up (24 votes)
🎯 Rate this joke: 👍 (U)p, 👎 (D)own, or (N)eutral?
Your choice (u/d/n): u
✅ Your rating (👍 Up) recorded!

Technology Stack

Python 3.9+
Telegram Bot API
SQLite Database
Yandex AI API
Command-Line Interface
Modular Architecture
📱
Telegram Platform
Bot API for user interaction and message handling
🤖
AI Integration
Yandex GPT for dynamic content generation during Phase 2
🗄️
Database System
SQLite for storing jokes, votes, and user preferences

Learning Outcomes

💻
API Integration

Telegram Bot API and Yandex AI API implementation

🗄️
Database Design

SQLite database architecture and management

🔄
Iterative Development

Progressive implementation from basic to complex features

Development Methodology

The project followed an iterative approach: starting with a simple working prototype (hardcoded jokes), adding AI capabilities, and finally implementing a full database system with user-generated content and community features.

Future Applications

🏫
Educational Platform

Adapt voting system for feedback collection in school communication platforms.

📊
Survey System

Repurpose database structure for structured feedback collection.

🤖
Hybrid AI System

Combine user-generated content with AI moderation and enhancement.

Scalable Architecture

The modular design allows adaptation for various educational and institutional applications beyond joke sharing.

Conclusion

This project demonstrates practical application of Python programming, API integration, and database design through a progressive development approach.

🎯
Technical Implementation

Three-phase development from simple to complex system

📈
Iterative Approach

Progressive feature addition and system refinement

👨‍🏫
Educational Framework

Practical learning in API usage and database management

Thank You

Questions about the Telegram Joke Bot development process?