Overview
src/utils/formatMessage.ts converts a FilteredDeal[] array into a single HTML-formatted string ready to be sent via the Telegram Bot API using parse_mode: 'HTML'.
Each deal entry shows the game title, price in Colombian pesos (COP) with the original price struck through, the USD price for reference, the discount percentage, a quality score, and a CheapShark redirect link for purchasing.
Exported function
export function formatDealsMessage(deals: FilteredDeal[], copRate: number): string
The curated list of deals to format. If the array is empty, the function returns a single “no deals today” message string.
The current USD → COP exchange rate. Obtained from getExchangeRate() immediately before calling this function. Used to convert USD prices to Colombian pesos for display.
parse_mode: 'HTML' in the Telegram Bot API.
Empty deals
If deals.length === 0, the function returns:
🎮 No hay ofertas destacadas hoy. ¡Vuelve mañana!
Non-empty deals
The message has a header, a count subtitle, and one section per deal separated by a horizontal rule:
🎮 Ofertas Steam Destacadas
📅 miércoles, 18 de marzo
5 juegos seleccionados por IA
1. Hollow Knight
💰 COP $37.400 → COP $9.350 (USD $2.24) (75% OFF)
📊 Metacritic: 87
💡 Critically acclaimed Metroidvania con 40+ horas de contenido.
🛒 Ver oferta en Steam
────────────────────
2. ...
Price display
Each deal shows both COP and USD prices:
- Normal price (struck through):
COP $37.400 — the original price converted to COP
- Sale price (bold):
COP $9.350 — the discounted price converted to COP
- USD price:
(USD $2.24) — the sale price in USD, formatted with two decimal places
const normalPriceCOP = formatCopPrice(deal.normalPrice, copRate);
const salePriceCOP = formatCopPrice(deal.salePrice, copRate);
const salePriceUSD = formatUsdPrice(deal.salePrice);
es-CO locale (period as thousands separator). USD prices use en-US locale with two decimal places.
Quality score display
The score line adapts based on whether a Metacritic score is available:
const score = deal.metacriticScore > 0
? `📊 Metacritic: <b>${deal.metacriticScore}</b>`
: `⭐ ${escapeHtml(deal.steamRatingText)}`;
- If
metacriticScore > 0: displays 📊 Metacritic: 87
- Otherwise: displays
⭐ Very Positive (or whatever steamRatingText is)
HTML structure per deal
<b>1. Hollow Knight</b>
💰 <s>COP $37.400</s> → <b>COP $9.350</b> (USD $2.24) (75% OFF)
📊 Metacritic: <b>87</b>
💡 <i>Critically acclaimed Metroidvania con 40+ horas de contenido.</i>
<a href="https://www.cheapshark.com/redirect?dealID=abc123">🛒 Ver oferta en Steam</a>
HTML escaping
The function escapes &, <, and > in all user-provided text fields (game title and AI reason) to prevent HTML injection:
function escapeHtml(text: string): string {
return text
.replace(/&/g, '&')
.replace(/</g, '<')
.replace(/>/g, '>');
}
HTML mode is used instead of Telegram’s Markdown mode because game titles and AI-generated reasons can contain characters like _, *, [, and ( that would silently break Markdown rendering.
Timezone
The date shown in the header is formatted in the America/Bogota timezone using the es-CO locale, consistent with the cron schedule and snapshot freshness checks:
const date = new Date().toLocaleDateString('es-CO', {
timeZone: 'America/Bogota',
weekday: 'long',
day: 'numeric',
month: 'long',
});
Full source
src/utils/formatMessage.ts
import { FilteredDeal } from '../types';
const copFormatter = new Intl.NumberFormat('es-CO', {
maximumFractionDigits: 0,
});
const usdFormatter = new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
minimumFractionDigits: 2,
maximumFractionDigits: 2,
});
function escapeHtml(text: string): string {
return text
.replace(/&/g, '&')
.replace(/</g, '<')
.replace(/>/g, '>');
}
function formatCopPrice(usdPrice: string, copRate: number): string {
const value = Math.round(parseFloat(usdPrice) * copRate);
return `COP $${copFormatter.format(value)}`;
}
function formatUsdPrice(usdPrice: string): string {
return `USD $${usdFormatter.format(parseFloat(usdPrice))}`;
}
export function formatDealsMessage(deals: FilteredDeal[], copRate: number): string {
if (deals.length === 0) {
return '🎮 No hay ofertas destacadas hoy. ¡Vuelve mañana!';
}
const date = new Date().toLocaleDateString('es-CO', {
timeZone: 'America/Bogota',
weekday: 'long',
day: 'numeric',
month: 'long',
});
const header = `🎮 <b>Ofertas Steam Destacadas</b>\n📅 ${date}\n`;
const subtitle = `<i>${deals.length} juegos seleccionados por IA</i>\n\n`;
const items = deals.map((deal, i) => {
const score = deal.metacriticScore > 0
? `📊 Metacritic: <b>${deal.metacriticScore}</b>`
: `⭐ ${escapeHtml(deal.steamRatingText)}`;
const normalPriceCOP = formatCopPrice(deal.normalPrice, copRate);
const salePriceCOP = formatCopPrice(deal.salePrice, copRate);
const salePriceUSD = formatUsdPrice(deal.salePrice);
return [
`<b>${i + 1}. ${escapeHtml(deal.title)}</b>`,
`💰 <s>${normalPriceCOP}</s> → <b>${salePriceCOP}</b> (${salePriceUSD}) (${deal.savingsPercent}% OFF)`,
score,
`💡 <i>${escapeHtml(deal.reason)}</i>`,
`<a href="${deal.dealUrl}">🛒 Ver oferta en Steam</a>`,
].join('\n');
});
return header + subtitle + items.join(`\n\n${'─'.repeat(20)}\n\n`);
}