FoolOfREST

A Telegram message logging system. A Python bot captures messages from Telegram chats and stores them in PostgreSQL. A REST API and MVC web frontend provide access to the logged data.

Architecture

Component	Tech	Description
FoolOfRESTAPI	ASP.NET Core 9, EF Core, Npgsql	REST API for querying logged data
FoolOfRESTWeb	ASP.NET Core 9 MVC, Tailwind CSS	Web interface for browsing chats and users
TelegramLogger	Python 3.11, python-telegram-bot, psycopg3	Telegram bot that logs all messages to the database. Runs as a subprocess inside the API container
PostgreSQL 16	—	Stores users, chats, and messages

The API generates a random key on startup and shares it with the web frontend for internal authentication. All API endpoints require this key via the APIKEY header.

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• A Telegram bot token — create one via @BotFather and add it to a group or use it in private chats

Running with Docker

Test (no configuration needed except a bot token)

Uses a pre-configured PostgreSQL instance with hardcoded credentials. All connection strings are injected automatically.

TOKEN=your_telegram_bot_token docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up

Or set TOKEN in a .env file and run:

docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up

Production

1. Copy the example environment file and fill in your values:

   cp .env.backend.example .env

   Variable	Description
   DB_USER	PostgreSQL username
   DB_PASSWORD	PostgreSQL password
   POSTGRES_CONNECTION_STRING	Npgsql connection string for the API (e.g. Host=db;Database=logger;Username=USER;Password=PASS)
   CONNECTION_STRING	libpq connection string for the bot (e.g. host=db port=5432 dbname=logger user=USER password=PASS)
   TOKEN	Telegram bot token
   APIKEY	Shared secret between the API and Web containers (any random string)

2. Start all services:

   docker compose up

Services

Service	URL	Notes
Web frontend	http://localhost:5002	Browse chats and users
REST API	http://localhost:5001	Requires APIKEY header
PostgreSQL (test)	localhost:5431	Credentials: postgres / testdb
PostgreSQL (prod)	localhost:5433	Credentials from .env

Running without Docker

Requires a running PostgreSQL instance. Configure the connection string in FoolOfRESTAPI/appsettings.Development.json:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "Docker": "Host=localhost;Port=5431;Database=logger;Username=postgres;Password=testdb"
  }
}

Start both .NET projects (the API automatically launches the Python bot as a subprocess):

./run_project.sh

For Python bot setup (token, virtual environment), see TelegramLogger/Config.md.

API Endpoints

All endpoints require an APIKEY header matching the key generated by the API on startup.

Method	Path	Description
GET	/users/	All users
GET	/users/{id}	User by ID
GET	/chats	All chats
GET	/chats/{id}	Chat by ID
GET	/messages/	All messages
GET	/messages/{id}	Message by ID
GET	/usermessages/{userid}	Messages from a user
GET	/chatmessages/{chatid}	Messages in a chat
GET	/chatusers/{chatid}	Users in a chat