@easyqrscanbot - Telegram QR Code Scanner - Mini App

Easily scan QR codes using Telegram!

This repository contains the code of @easyqrscanbot, a Telegram Mini app to scan QR codes.

How to Use the QR Code Scanner

Make sure that you have updated your Telegram App, the minimum required version of the Telegram API is 6.9.

1. Search for @easyqrscanbot on Telegram and initiate a private chat.
2. Tap the Menu Button in the bottom left corner (Scan QR).

3. Start scanning QR codes!

Compatibility

The QR code scanner is supported on Telegram smartphone clients (Android and iOS) with Telegram API versions greater than 6.9. Unfortunately, QR scanning is not available on Telegram Web Clients. However, you can still access the Mini App on the Web Client and review your scan history.

About the Project

This project serves as an illustration of creating a Telegram Mini App using a modern JavaScript framework like Vue. It also demonstrates how to leverage the latest features introduced in Telegram API version 6.9, including:

• QR code scanning
• Utilizing Telegram Cloud Storage, a key-value database accessible from the Mini App

The project represents a pure Vue Front-End application that uses the Telegram Cloud Storage Back-End to store the acquired scans.

Mini App Deployment

The deployment process is fully automated using GitHub Actions. With every push to the master branch, the Mini App is automatically built and deployed to the associated GitHub Pages site.

Access the Mini App here: Mini App Link.

For developers

To get started with the project, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/MBoretto/easy-qr-scan-bot.git
cd easy-qr-scan-bot

2. Install the dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the project:

npm run build

To run code linting, use the following command:

npm run lint

Happy coding!

Deploy your own Mini App

Before you begin, ensure you have a Telegram Bot. If you don't have one yet, you can create one using this Telegram guide.

Clone and deploy

If you want to deploy your own Mini App, follow these steps:

1. Clone this repository.

2. Enable GitHub Pages for your repository by going to Settings -> Pages -> Select GitHub Actions as the source. GitHub will automatically deploy the Mini App on the GitHub Pages associated with your repository.

You can also choose to deploy your Mini App using any hosting service that supports https://.

Start the Mini App using the Telegram Bot Menu

This is the easiest way to start the Mini App, as it requires you to configure the Telegram Bot Menu only once. Here are the steps to link the Mini App to your bot menu:

1. Open @BotFather bot and send the command /mybots.
2. Select the bot you want to link to the Mini App:

3. Press `Bot Settings`:

4. Press `Menu Button`:

5. Press `Configure menu button`:

6. Insert the URL of your Mini App and specify the name for the Menu button.

Now, you can start your Mini App from the Telegram Bot Menu.

Start the Mini App using a Telegram Bot command

This method is useful during the development phase, allowing you to specify different URLs for the Mini App without reconfiguring the Telegram Bot Menu. However, it requires a running Telegram bot service. Follow these steps:

1. Install the python-telegram-bot library:

pip3 install python-telegram-bot --upgrade

2. Rename the config-example.py in config.py:

mv config-example.py config.py

3. Edit the config.py file and insert your Telegram Bot Token TOKEN (you can get it from @BotFather), URL, and URL_TEST links.

4. Run the web-app-launcher.py script:

python3 web-app-launcher.py

5. Open your Telegram Bot and send the command /start (for the production link) or /dev (for the test link) to the bot.
6. Press the button to open a version of the Mini App

Now, you can start and test your Mini App using using the test link.

Data Model

Telegram Cloud Storage is a key-value database accessible from any Telegram client. It allows you to store up to 1024 keys per user per bot, with each value having a limit of 4096 characters. Data is associated with the user's Telegram account and persists across devices. After scanning a QR code, the raw string is stored using the timestamp as key.

The Mini App loads the full scan history on startup and stores it locally. Subsequent scans are stored both in the Telegram Cloud Storage and locally.

The raw data retrieved are manipulated to extract information according to the content of the QR code. Supported QR code content types:

• URL
• VCard
• Wifi
• Geo
• Text

Delete your data

In the history tab, expand the QR code you wish to delete and press the Bin button. This action removes the QR code from both the Telegram Cloud Storage and local storage. The Mini App does not store any other data, and no cookies are used.

Continuous Scan

The QR code scanner typically closes after recognizing a code. However, you can enable continuous scan mode by navigating to the settings tab and pressing the Continuous Scan button. To disable continuous scan mode, press the button again. You can exit continuous mode by pressing the top-left arrow.

Haptic Feedback

After successfully scanning a QR code, the device will vibrate to provide feedback.

Debugging and Troubleshooting

In the Mini App's settings section, you'll find useful tools for debugging and development:

• Sync Cloud Storage button: This syncs the Mini App's local storage with the Telegram Cloud Storage, equivalent to opening and closing the Mini App.
• Enrich QR codes button: Triggers computation of raw QR codes for all scans.
• Enabling Show debug displays:
  • List of locally cached cloud storage keys
  • List of locally cached cloud storage key-values
  • List of locally enriched cloud storage keys-info

Components

The project makes use of Vuetify, a Vue Components Framework Library.

Licence

The code is distrubuted under the MIT License