Forward, Copy or Delete messages

You can forward, copy, or delete a single message, or even a bunch of messages in one go.

You will need to provide the source messageId(s), the source chatId and eventually the target chatId.

Note: When you use the plural form of the copy/forward methods, it will keep Media Groups (albums) as such.

Forward message(s)

You can forward message(s) from a source chat to a target chat (it can be the same chat). They will appear with a "Forwarded from" header.

// Forward a single message
await bot.ForwardMessageAsync(targetChatId, sourceChatId, messageId);

// Forward an incoming message (from the update) onto a target ChatId
await bot.ForwardMessageAsync(chatId, update.Message.Chat, update.Message.MessageId);

// Forward a bunch of messages from a source ChatId to a target ChatId, using a list of their message ids
await bot.ForwardMessagesAsync(targetChatId, sourceChatId, new int[] { 123, 124, 125 });

Copy message(s)

If you don't want the "Forwarded from" header, you can instead copy the message(s).

This will make them look like new messages.

// Copy a single message
await bot.CopyMessageAsync(targetChatId, sourceChatId, messageId);

// Copy an incoming message (from the update) onto a target ChatId
await bot.CopyMessageAsync(targetChatId, update.Message.Chat, update.Message.MessageId);

// Copy a media message and change its caption at the same time
await bot.CopyMessageAsync(targetChatId, update.Message.Chat, update.Message.MessageId,
    caption: "New <b>caption</b> for this media", parseMode: ParseMode.Html);

// Copy a bunch of messages from a source ChatId to a target ChatId, using a list of their message ids
await bot.CopyMessagesAsync(targetChatId, sourceChatId, new int[] { 123, 124, 125 });

Delete message(s)

Finally you can delete message(s).

This is particularly useful for cleaning unwanted messages in groups.

// Delete a single message
await bot.DeleteMessageAsync(chatId, messageId);

// Delete an incoming message (from the update)
await bot.CopyMessageAsync(update.Message.Chat, update.Message.MessageId);

// Delete a bunch of messages, using a list of their message ids
await bot.DeleteMessagesAsync(chatId, new int[] { 123, 124, 125 });

Check if a message is a forward

When receiving an update about a message, you can check if that message is "Forwarded from" somewhere, by checking if Message.ForwardOrigin is set:

Console.WriteLine(update.Message.ForwardOrigin switch
{
    MessageOriginChannel moc     => $"Forwarded from channel {moc.Chat.Title}",
    MessageOriginUser mou        => $"Forwarded from user {mou.SenderUser}",
    MessageOriginHiddenUser mohu => $"Forwarded from hidden user {mohu.SenderUserName}",
    MessageOriginChat moch       => $"Forwarded on behalf of {moch.SenderChat}",
    _                            => "Not forwarded"
});