How to create a Telegram bot

This guide will walk you through the process of creating a Telegram bot and obtaining your bot token. No coding experience required!

Prerequisites

  • A Telegram account

  • A smartphone or computer with Telegram installed

Step 1: Start a Chat with BotFather

  1. Open Telegram

  2. In the search bar at the top, type: @BotFather

  3. Click on the verified BotFather account (it has a blue checkmark)

  4. Click the "Start" button or send /start

Step 2: Create a New Bot

  1. Send the command /newbot to BotFather

  2. BotFather will ask you to choose a name for your bot

    • This is the display name that appears in conversations

    • Example: "My Awesome Bot"

  3. After setting the name, BotFather will ask for a username for your bot

    • Must end in 'bot' (e.g., my_awesome_bot or MyAwesomeBot)

    • Must be unique across all of Telegram

    • Can only contain letters, numbers, and underscores

Step 3: Get Your Bot Token

  1. If everything is successful, BotFather will respond with a message containing:

    • A congratulations message

    • Your bot's link (t.me/YourBotsUsername)

    • Your bot token (Looks like: 123456789:ABCdefGHIjklmNOPQrstUVwxyz)

  2. Important: Keep your token secret! It's like a password for your bot

    • Never share it publicly

    • Store it somewhere safe

    • If compromised, you can get a new one using /token command

Step 4: Basic Bot Management Commands

You can use these commands with BotFather to manage your bot:

  • /mybots - Lists all your bots and provides management options

  • /setname - Change your bot's name

  • /setdescription - Change your bot's description

  • /setabouttext - Change the bot's about info

  • /setuserpic - Change your bot's profile picture

  • /setcommands - Set up command suggestions for your bot

What's Next?

  • Your bot is now created and ready to be programmed

  • The bot token you received will be used in your bot's code to authenticate with Telegram's API

  • Keep your bot token secure - you'll need it for development

Troubleshooting Tips

  1. If the username is taken, try another one

  2. If you lost your token, use /token command with BotFather to get it

  3. If your bot is compromised, use /revoke to revoke the old token and get a new one

Safety Notes

  • Never share your bot token publicly

  • Don't commit your token to public repositories

  • If you accidentally expose your token, revoke it immediately using BotFather

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