closeGeneralForumTopic

Returns: TrueOfficial docs ↗

Use this method to close an open 'General' topic in a forum supergroup chat. The bot must be an administrator in the chat for this to work and must have the can_manage_topics administrator rights. Returns True on success.

Parameters

chat_idIntegerStringRequired

Unique identifier for the target chat or username of the target supergroup (in the format @supergroupusername)

Returns

On success, True is returned.

GramIO Usage

// Close the General topic in a supergroup by username
await bot.api.closeGeneralForumTopic({
  chat_id: "@mysupergroup",
});

// Admin command to close the General topic in the current chat
bot.command("closegeneral", async (ctx) => {
  await bot.api.closeGeneralForumTopic({
    chat_id: ctx.chatId,
  });

  await ctx.reply("The General topic has been closed.");
});

// Toggle: close General topic during off-hours, reopen in the morning
async function setGeneralTopicStatus(chatId: number, open: boolean) {
  if (open) {
    await bot.api.reopenGeneralForumTopic({ chat_id: chatId });
  } else {
    await bot.api.closeGeneralForumTopic({ chat_id: chatId });
  }
}

// Close for the night
await setGeneralTopicStatus(-1001234567890, false);

Errors

Code	Error	Cause
400	Bad Request: chat not found	chat_id is invalid or the bot cannot access the chat
400	Bad Request: TOPIC_NOT_MODIFIED	The General topic is already closed
403	Forbidden: not enough rights	Bot is not an admin or lacks can_manage_topics permission
400	Bad Request: supergroup required	Forum topics only exist in supergroups with forum mode enabled

Tips & Gotchas

• Only works in forum supergroups. The chat must be a supergroup with the forum mode feature enabled — not a regular group or channel.
• No topic creator exemption. Unlike closeForumTopic, the General topic can only be closed by an admin with explicit can_manage_topics rights. Topic creator exemption does not apply here.
• Hiding vs. closing. Closing prevents new messages. hideGeneralForumTopic hides the General topic from the topic list entirely, which is a separate operation.
• Reopen with a dedicated method. Use reopenGeneralForumTopic to allow messages again. A regular reopenForumTopic won't work for the General topic.

See Also

• reopenGeneralForumTopic — reopen the General topic
• hideGeneralForumTopic — hide the General topic from the topic list
• closeForumTopic — close any non-General topic
• createForumTopic — create new forum topics
• deleteForumTopic — permanently delete a forum topic
• ForumTopic — the ForumTopic type