Telegram Bot API: Getting Started

Purpose

Use this skill when designing a new Telegram bot before writing handlers.

Cover here

• Registering bots with @BotFather
• Bot identity, public metadata, commands, menu button, and profile assets
• Token handling and environment configuration
• Choosing major product surfaces: direct chat, groups, channels, inline mode, Mini App, Business, payments, games, gifts
• Mapping user journeys to Bot API primitives

Builder workflow

1. Create the bot in @BotFather and store the token as a secret.
2. Decide which chat contexts the bot must support:
   • private chats
   • groups and supergroups
   • channels
   • inline mode
   • Business connections
   • Mini App entry points
3. Decide how the bot will receive updates:
   • long polling for simple deployments
   • webhooks for production event delivery
4. Define command surface early:
   • /start
   • /help
   • /settings when relevant
5. Set public-facing metadata:
   • name
   • description
   • about text
   • profile photo or video
   • command list
6. Design storage for:
   • users
   • chats
   • bot state
   • idempotency/update offsets
   • Telegram file_id reuse

Architectural guidance

• Treat Telegram as the transport and interface layer; keep domain logic separate from Bot API adapters.
• Build handlers around update types, not around raw JSON blobs.
• Keep one clear policy for parse mode and formatting generation.
• Assume optional fields are often absent.
• Keep feature flags for optional surfaces like inline mode, payments, stories, and Business features.

Important Bot API facts

• Bots cannot start a conversation with a user until the user interacts first.
• Bots do not receive messages from other bots.
• file_id values are reusable for the same bot, but are not portable across bots.
• Most bots should be fine on Telegram-hosted Bot API; use the local Bot API only when you need its extra capabilities.

Common mistakes

• Hardcoding the token into source control.
• Mixing webhook and getUpdates flows at the same time.
• Designing command behavior without considering privacy mode in groups.
• Treating every chat as if it were a private 1:1 conversation.

Read next

• 02-getting-updates
• 05-commands-keyboards-and-input
• 19-security-privacy-and-identity