Slash Command Menu

Native / autocomplete for Telegram and Discord bots — commands are discoverable by typing

Typing / in Telegram or Discord shows a native menu of every bot command with its description.

from praisonaiagents import Agent
from praisonai.bots import TelegramBot

agent = Agent(name="assistant", instructions="Be helpful.")
bot = TelegramBot(token="YOUR_TOKEN", agent=agent)

# Register a custom command — it appears in the native `/` menu automatically
async def handle_ping(message):
    return "Pong!"

bot.register_command("ping", handle_ping, description="Check if bot is alive")

import asyncio
asyncio.run(bot.start())
# Type "/" in your chat — Telegram/Discord shows the full command list.

The shared CommandRegistry is the single source of truth. Adapters project it into each platform’s native menu at startup — no extra code, and every register_command-added command shows up too.

What Appears in the Menu

Both built-in and custom commands surface in the / menu, filtered per user by CommandAccessPolicy.

Built-in commands	Custom commands
/status, /new, /help, /stop, /model	Any command added with register_command(name, handler, description=...)
/usage, /compress, /queue, /undo	The description you pass becomes the menu label
/sessions, /resume, /retry, /reasoning	Restrict to platforms with channels=[...]
/whoami, /sethome, /learn	Hidden from a user’s menu when the policy denies it
/automations, /blueprint (Telegram)	See Automation Suggestions

Admins see everything; regular users only see the commands their user_allowed_commands allows.

Platform Support

Platform	Native menu	How
Telegram	✅	bot.set_my_commands(BotCommand(...)) at startup
Discord	✅	Application commands on CommandTree, sync() on on_ready
Slack	⚠️	Base no-op — commands still work by typing, no native menu yet
WhatsApp	⚠️	Base no-op — WhatsApp has no / command menu API

Quick Start

1. Start a Telegram bot — built-ins appear automatically

   Every built-in command shows up in / autocomplete with no extra code.

   from praisonaiagents import Agent
   from praisonai.bots import TelegramBot
   
   agent = Agent(name="assistant", instructions="Be helpful.")
   bot = TelegramBot(token="YOUR_TOKEN", agent=agent)
   
   import asyncio
   asyncio.run(bot.start())
   # Type "/" — Telegram lists /status, /new, /help, /stop, /model, /usage,
   # /compress, /queue, /undo, /sessions, /resume, /retry, /reasoning,
   # /whoami, /sethome, /learn.
   
2. Register a custom command — it joins the menu

   Pass a description — it becomes the label users see in the menu.

   async def handle_ping(message):
       return "Pong!"
   
   bot.register_command("ping", handle_ping, description="Check if bot is alive")
   # /ping now appears in the native menu alongside the built-ins.
   
3. Restrict a command to specific platforms

   Use channels=[...] to keep a command out of other platforms’ menus.

   bot.register_command(
       "tgstats",
       handle_ping,
       description="Telegram-only stats",
       channels=["telegram"],
   )
   # Telegram's menu lists /tgstats; Discord's menu does not.
   

How It Works

At startup each adapter builds policy-filtered (name, description) pairs from the registry, then publishes them to the platform’s native menu.

Step	Method	Where
Build entries	build_command_menu_entries(user_id)	ChatCommandMixin
Resolve truth	registry.menu_entries(platform, policy, user_id, extra_commands)	CommandRegistry
Publish	publish_command_menu(entries)	Adapter override

Menu publishing is best-effort: a missing SDK, network error, or unsupported platform is logged and swallowed, so startup is never blocked.

Access-Control Interaction

CommandAccessPolicy filters menu_entries() per user — admins see everything, regular users only see commands in their user_allowed_commands.

Command Access Control

admin_users, user_allowed_commands, and /whoami

Custom Commands API

Custom commands use the same register_command() API documented in Bot Chat Commands.

Any command registered via register_command(..., description=...) appears in the native / menu automatically. Descriptions ARE the menu labels — write them for humans.

Best Practices

Always pass a description

The description becomes the native menu label. A command with no description shows a generic placeholder.

Restrict privileged commands with CommandAccessPolicy

Filtered menus keep the UX safe — a user never sees a command they cannot run. See Command Access Control.

Use channels for platform-specific commands

Pass channels=["telegram"] when a command only makes sense on one platform — it’s hidden from other platforms’ menus.

Menu publishing is best-effort

A failure at startup never blocks the bot. If the menu is empty on Telegram or Discord, check the startup logs for a swallowed set_my_commands / CommandTree.sync error.

Related

Bot Chat Commands

Built-in and custom commands

Command Access Control

admin_users, user_allowed_commands, /whoami

Gateway

Gateway and control-plane overview

Learn a Skill

The privileged /learn command