Download file

Use this action to save a file someone sent to your Telegram bot, such as a photo or document, to your Home Assistant storage. You need the file ID, which Telegram includes in the event for the received message.

Using this action from the user interface

If you prefer building automations and scripts visually, Home Assistant walks you through this action step by step. You pick what to target, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To download a file from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. From the search box, search for and select Telegram bot: Download file.
6. Enter the File ID and, optionally, a Directory path and File name.
7. In the Response variable field, enter a name to store the data in, such as downloaded_file.
8. Select Save.

If you have more than one Telegram bot, set the Config entry ID to choose which bot downloads the file. With a single bot, you can leave it empty.

Options in the UI

Using this action in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this action as telegram_bot.download_file:

action: telegram_bot.download_file
data:
  file_id: "{{ trigger.event.data.document.file_id }}"
response_variable: downloaded_file

Options in YAML

Response data

When the file is downloaded, the action returns the local path where it was saved:

• file_path: The full path to the downloaded file.

An example response looks like this:

file_path: /config/telegram_bot/my_downloaded_file

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Developer tools > Actions, search for this action, fill in the fields, and select Perform action. You see what happens on your actual entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] without writing a line of YAML.

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.