fix: support private chats (DM) for Telegram notifications

README-telegram.md

@@ -43,6 +43,14 @@ The "Copy Message Link" option appears to be available only when you are using a
 1. You must add the bot as a subscriber to the channel. You can only do this if you are an Administrator of the Channel
 2. For the CHAT_ID, feel free to use the `@ChannelName` value, or follow steps 4 and 5 above to get the numeric ID.
 
+### Sending to a private chat (direct messages)
+
+To receive notifications directly to your personal Telegram account:
+
+1. Start a conversation with your bot by clicking "Start"
+2. Use your Telegram user ID as the CHAT_ID
+3. Set `PF_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE` and/or `PA_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE` to `private` (see Step 3)
+
 ## Step 3: Configure Planefence to send notifications to Telegram
 
 Edit your `planefence.config` file, and add or modify the following parameters:
@@ -51,6 +59,8 @@ Edit your `planefence.config` file, and add or modify the following parameters:
 TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=""         # set this parameter to the HTTP API Token you got in Step 1
 PF_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=""        # Planefence Chat (channel) ID - set this parameter to the CHAT_ID you got in Step 2
 PA_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=""        # Plane-Alert Chat (channel) ID - set this parameter to the CHAT_ID you got in Step 2
+PF_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE=""      # set to "private" for direct messages to a user, leave empty for channels
+PA_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE=""      # set to "private" for direct messages to a user, leave empty for channels
 PF_TELEGRAM_ENABLED=false     # Set this to "on"/"enabled"/"1"/"yes"/"true" to start sending Planefence notifications
 PA_TELEGRAM_ENABLED=false     # Set this to "on"/"enabled"/"1"/"yes"/"true" to start sending Plane-Alert notifications
 ```

rootfs/scripts/post2telegram.sh

@@ -49,7 +49,41 @@ if [[ -z "$TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID" ]]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-if [[ "${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID:0:4}" != "-100" ]]; then TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID="-100${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}"; fi
+# Handle different chat ID formats:
+# - Starts with @ : public channel username, use as-is (e.g., @mychannel)
+# - Positive number: private chat with user (user ID), use as-is (e.g., 37560172)
+# - Starts with -100: supergroup/channel ID, use as-is (e.g., -1001234567890)
+# - Negative number not starting with -100: regular group, use as-is (e.g., -123456789)
+#
+# For backward compatibility with existing channel configurations that only stored
+# the numeric part without -100 prefix, we add it for IDs that look like channel IDs
+# (large positive numbers that don't start with -100 when they should be channels).
+# Users can set PF_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE or PA_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE to "private" to
+# explicitly indicate a private chat with the bot.
+
+if [[ "${1,,}" == "pf" ]]; then
+  TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE="${PF_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE:-}"
+else
+  TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE="${PA_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE:-}"
+fi
+
+# Flag to track if this is a private chat (used for link generation)
+IS_PRIVATE_CHAT=false
+
+if [[ "${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID:0:1}" == "@" ]]; then
+  # Public channel username - use as-is
+  :
+elif [[ "${TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE,,}" == "private" ]] || [[ "${TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE,,}" == "user" ]] || [[ "${TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE,,}" == "dm" ]]; then
+  # Explicitly marked as private chat - use as-is
+  IS_PRIVATE_CHAT=true
+elif [[ "${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID:0:1}" == "-" ]]; then
+  # Already negative - use as-is (either -100... channel or regular group)
+  :
+else
+  # Positive number without explicit private type - assume it's a channel ID for backward compatibility
+  # Add -100 prefix as before
+  TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID="-100${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}"
+fi
 
 # Extract info from the command line arguments
 args=("$@")
@@ -124,8 +158,17 @@ for image in "${IMAGES[@]}"; do
           echo "  \"response\": $response }"
         } >> /tmp/telegram.json
       else
-        echo "https://t.me/c/${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}/${message_id}" > /tmp/telegram.link
-        "${s6wrap[@]}" echo "Photo message sent successfully to Telegram; link: $(</tmp/telegram.link)"
+        # Generate link only for channels/groups (private chats don't have public links)
+        if [[ "$IS_PRIVATE_CHAT" == "true" ]]; then
+          "${s6wrap[@]}" echo "Photo message sent successfully to Telegram (private chat, message_id: ${message_id})"
+          echo "" > /tmp/telegram.link
+        else
+          # For channels, strip the -100 prefix for the link if present
+          link_chat_id="${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID#-100}"
+          link_chat_id="${link_chat_id#-}"
+          echo "https://t.me/c/${link_chat_id}/${message_id}" > /tmp/telegram.link
+          "${s6wrap[@]}" echo "Photo message sent successfully to Telegram; link: $(</tmp/telegram.link)"
+        fi
       fi
     fi
 
@@ -148,7 +191,16 @@ if (( image_count == 0 )); then
       } >> /tmp/telegram.json
       exit 1
     else
-      echo "https://t.me/c/${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID}/${message_id}" > /tmp/telegram.link
-      "${s6wrap[@]}" echo "Text message sent successfully to Telegram; link: $(</tmp/telegram.link)"
+      # Generate link only for channels/groups (private chats don't have public links)
+      if [[ "$IS_PRIVATE_CHAT" == "true" ]]; then
+        "${s6wrap[@]}" echo "Text message sent successfully to Telegram (private chat, message_id: ${message_id})"
+        echo "" > /tmp/telegram.link
+      else
+        # For channels, strip the -100 prefix for the link if present
+        link_chat_id="${TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID#-100}"
+        link_chat_id="${link_chat_id#-}"
+        echo "https://t.me/c/${link_chat_id}/${message_id}" > /tmp/telegram.link
+        "${s6wrap[@]}" echo "Text message sent successfully to Telegram; link: $(</tmp/telegram.link)"
+      fi
     fi
 fi

rootfs/usr/share/planefence/stage/planefence.config

@@ -541,17 +541,29 @@ PA_BLUESKY_ENABLED=""
 # how to create a Telegram Bot and a Telegram Channel to post to. 
 #
 # TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN should look like "123456789:ABCDefGhIJKlmNoPQRsTUVwxyZ"
-# PF_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID / PA_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID can be a numeric ID (for private channels) or a public channel name like "@yourchannel"
 #
-# IMPORTANT: you must add your newly created Bot as an Administrator of your channel. You can only do this if you
-#            yourself are an Administrator of the channel. 
+# PF_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID / PA_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID can be:
+# - A numeric channel/supergroup ID (e.g., "1234567890" - will be prefixed with -100 automatically)
+# - A full channel/supergroup ID with -100 prefix (e.g., "-1001234567890")
+# - A public channel username (e.g., "@yourchannel")
+# - A user ID for private messages to a user (e.g., "37560172")
+#
+# PF_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE / PA_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE (optional):
+# Set to "private", "user", or "dm" if you want to send messages directly to a user (private chat).
+# Leave empty or omit for channels/groups (default behavior for backward compatibility).
+# When set to "private", the chat ID will be used as-is without adding -100 prefix.
+#
+# IMPORTANT: For channels, you must add your bot as an Administrator with "Post Messages" permission.
+# For private chats, the user must first start a conversation with your bot.
 #
 # The parameters "PF_TELEGRAM_ENABLED" and "PA_TELEGRAM_ENABLED" must be set to "on"/"enabled"/"1"/"yes"/"true"
 # to start notifications about Planefence and Plane-Alert respectively.
 #
 TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=""
 PF_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=""
 PA_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=""
+PF_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE=""
+PA_TELEGRAM_CHAT_TYPE=""
 PF_TELEGRAM_ENABLED=false
 PA_TELEGRAM_ENABLED=false
 #