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Middleware is the backbone of grammY. These types help you write type-safe middleware functions.

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Middleware<C>

The main middleware type. Middleware can be either a function or an object containing middleware. 
type Middleware<C extends Context = Context> =
  | MiddlewareFn<C>
  | MiddlewareObj<C>
Usage: 
import { Middleware, Context } from 'grammy'

const myMiddleware: Middleware<Context> = (ctx, next) => {
  console.log('Before next middleware')
  await next()
  console.log('After next middleware')
}

bot.use(myMiddleware)

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MiddlewareFn<C>

A middleware function type. 
type MiddlewareFn<C extends Context = Context> = (
  ctx: C,
  next: NextFunction
) => MaybePromise<unknown>
Parameters:
  • ctx: The context object containing update information
  • next: Function to call the next middleware in the chain
Returns: Any value (typically void or Promise<void>) Usage: 
import { MiddlewareFn } from 'grammy'

const logger: MiddlewareFn = async (ctx, next) => {
  console.log(`Update ${ctx.update.update_id}`)
  await next()  // Pass control to next middleware
  console.log('Done processing update')
}

bot.use(logger)

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Middleware Execution Flow

Middleware executes in the order it’s registered: 
bot.use(async (ctx, next) => {
  console.log('1: Before')   // Runs first
  await next()
  console.log('1: After')    // Runs last
})

bot.use(async (ctx, next) => {
  console.log('2: Before')   // Runs second
  await next()
  console.log('2: After')    // Runs third
})

bot.use((ctx) => {
  console.log('3: Handler')  // Runs in the middle
  // No next() call - end of chain
})

// Output:
// 1: Before
// 2: Before
// 3: Handler
// 2: After
// 1: After

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NextFunction

The function passed to middleware for calling downstream middleware. 
type NextFunction = () => Promise<void>
Key points:
  • Always returns a Promise
  • Should be awaited to ensure proper execution order
  • Calling it passes control to the next middleware
  • Not calling it stops the middleware chain
Usage: 
// Call next to continue processing
bot.use(async (ctx, next) => {
  console.log('Processing...')
  await next()  // Important: await it!
})

// Don't call next to stop the chain
bot.use(async (ctx, next) => {
  if (ctx.from?.id === BANNED_USER) {
    // Don't call next() - stop processing
    return
  }
  await next()  // Continue for other users
})

// Modify context before/after next
bot.use(async (ctx, next) => {
  const start = Date.now()
  await next()  // Wait for downstream middleware
  const duration = Date.now() - start
  console.log(`Request took ${duration}ms`)
})

​
Common Mistake: Forgetting to await

// ❌ Wrong - doesn't wait for next middleware
bot.use((ctx, next) => {
  console.log('Before')
  next()  // Missing await!
  console.log('After')  // Runs immediately, not after downstream
})

// ✅ Correct
bot.use(async (ctx, next) => {
  console.log('Before')
  await next()  // Wait for downstream middleware
  console.log('After')  // Now runs after downstream
})

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MiddlewareObj<C>

An object that contains middleware. 
interface MiddlewareObj<C extends Context = Context> {
  middleware(): MiddlewareFn<C>
}
This is how Composer and Bot instances work - they implement MiddlewareObj. Usage: 
import { Composer, MiddlewareObj } from 'grammy'

const myComposer = new Composer<Context>()
myComposer.on('message', (ctx) => ctx.reply('Hello!'))

// Composer implements MiddlewareObj
const obj: MiddlewareObj<Context> = myComposer

// Install the composer's middleware
bot.use(obj)
// Or equivalently:
bot.use(myComposer.middleware())

​
Specialized Middleware Types

grammY provides type aliases for common middleware patterns:

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HearsMiddleware<C>

Middleware used with bot.hears(): 
import { HearsMiddleware, HearsContext } from 'grammy'

const hearsHandler: HearsMiddleware<Context> = (ctx) => {
  // ctx.match contains RegExp match results
  const match: RegExpMatchArray = ctx.match
  ctx.reply(`You said: ${match[0]}`)
}

bot.hears(/hello (\w+)/, hearsHandler)

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CommandMiddleware<C>

Middleware used with bot.command(): 
import { CommandMiddleware, CommandContext } from 'grammy'

const startCommand: CommandMiddleware<Context> = (ctx) => {
  // ctx.match contains the command payload
  const payload: string = ctx.match
  ctx.reply(`Welcome! Payload: ${payload}`)
}

bot.command('start', startCommand)

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CallbackQueryMiddleware<C>

Middleware used with bot.callbackQuery(): 
import { CallbackQueryMiddleware, CallbackQueryContext } from 'grammy'

const buttonHandler: CallbackQueryMiddleware<Context> = async (ctx) => {
  await ctx.answerCallbackQuery('Button clicked!')
  await ctx.editMessageText('You clicked the button')
}

bot.callbackQuery('button_data', buttonHandler)

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InlineQueryMiddleware<C>

Middleware used with bot.inlineQuery(): 
import { InlineQueryMiddleware } from 'grammy'

const inlineHandler: InlineQueryMiddleware<Context> = async (ctx) => {
  await ctx.answerInlineQuery([/* results */])
}

bot.inlineQuery('search', inlineHandler)

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ChatTypeMiddleware<C, T>

Middleware used with bot.chatType(): 
import { ChatTypeMiddleware, ChatTypeContext } from 'grammy'

const privateHandler: ChatTypeMiddleware<Context, 'private'> = (ctx) => {
  // ctx.chat.type is guaranteed to be 'private'
  ctx.reply('This is a private chat')
}

bot.chatType('private', privateHandler)

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ReactionMiddleware<C>

Middleware used with bot.reaction(): 
import { ReactionMiddleware, ReactionContext } from 'grammy'

const thumbsUpHandler: ReactionMiddleware<Context> = (ctx) => {
  console.log('Someone reacted with 👍')
}

bot.reaction('👍', thumbsUpHandler)

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Custom Context Types

All middleware types are generic over the context type: 
import { Context, MiddlewareFn } from 'grammy'

// Define custom context
interface MyContext extends Context {
  session: {
    count: number
  }
}

// Use with custom context
const counter: MiddlewareFn<MyContext> = (ctx, next) => {
  ctx.session.count++  // Type-safe!
  return next()
}

const bot = new Bot<MyContext>(token)
bot.use(counter)

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Composing Middleware

Create reusable middleware compositions: 
import { Composer, Middleware } from 'grammy'

function createAuthMiddleware(): Middleware<Context> {
  const composer = new Composer<Context>()
  
  composer.use((ctx, next) => {
    if (!ctx.from) return  // Ignore non-user updates
    return next()
  })
  
  composer.use((ctx, next) => {
    if (isAdmin(ctx.from.id)) {
      return next()
    }
  })
  
  return composer
}

bot.use(createAuthMiddleware())

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Error Handling

Middleware can throw errors. Use error boundaries: 
import { BotError } from 'grammy'

bot.use(async (ctx, next) => {
  try {
    await next()
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Middleware error:', err)
    await ctx.reply('An error occurred')
  }
})

// Or use bot.catch for global error handling
bot.catch((err: BotError) => {
  console.error('Error for update', err.ctx.update.update_id)
  console.error('Error:', err.error)
})

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Advanced: run() Function

Manually execute middleware: 
import { run, MiddlewareFn, Context } from 'grammy'

const middleware: MiddlewareFn<Context> = (ctx, next) => {
  console.log('Running middleware')
}

const ctx: Context = /* ... */
await run(middleware, ctx)

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Best Practices

  1. Always await next() 
    // ✅ Good
await next()

// ❌ Bad
next()
  2. Type your middleware 
    // ✅ Good
const mw: MiddlewareFn<MyContext> = (ctx, next) => { ... }

// ❌ Less safe
const mw = (ctx, next) => { ... }
  3. Use specialized types 
    // ✅ Good - use specific type
const handler: CommandMiddleware<Context> = (ctx) => { ... }

// ❌ Less specific
const handler: Middleware<Context> = (ctx) => { ... }
  4. Don’t call next() multiple times 
    // ❌ Bad
bot.use(async (ctx, next) => {
  await next()
  await next()  // Error: next already called!
})
Middleware types provide the foundation for building modular, type-safe bots with grammY!

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