Compared to other messaging and chatting applications, Telegram was specifically designed to facilitate bot integration with minimal difficulty. This support for bots has led to an impressive array of options that you can discover and add to your groups. Moreover, creating your own bot is quite simple since all the essential tools are readily available on Telegram.
This tutorial will outline the steps to create and incorporate a basic bot into your Telegram channel. For the sake of clarity, the focus will be on the PC version, although similar procedures can be applied on other devices.
Creating a Telegram Bot
Setting up a basic Telegram bot shell is rather uncomplicated. Here’s a step-by-step guide on what to do.
- Launch the Telegram app and log in if necessary.
- In the upper left corner, click on the search bar and type “BotFather.”
- Within the “Global search” tab, you will locate a verified, checkmarked account named “@BotFather.” This account is Telegram’s designated bot creation assistant.To initiate a chat, click on the bot.
- In the chat, press the large “START” button.
- To begin the creation process, either type or select the command “/newbot” from the list and send it.
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- Choose a name for your bot and send it now. Although it is not mandatory for the bot’s name to conclude with “Bot” or have it anywhere in the name, doing so may assist users in recognizing that they are interacting with a bot.
- Following the naming process, create a unique username for your bot. According to the guidelines, the username must end with “bot”.
- Keep the API token link sent by the BotFather in the response. Sharing it with anyone else is not advisable, as it gives full access and control for moderation.
- To add a description to the bot, type “/setdescription” followed by the text you wish to use. This description will be visible to other users when they interact with the bot or view its details. It can serve a purpose similar to a greeting message or direct users to the bot’s main commands.
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- To finish the profile of your bot with a picture, enter “/setuserpic” and when BotFather responds, send the image you wish to add to your bot’s account.
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This is how you create a basic profile for your Telegram bot. You should be able to find your bot by typing its username into the search bar, and clicking on it will open a chat displaying the description message you set previously.
It’s important to remember that a bot created recently is just a blank template and requires programming to perform any useful functions. For details on adding commands or enrolling in a service that manages this, you can refer to the bot manual provided by Telegram in the initial message from BotFather.
Essentially, bots need to have three primary commands: start, help, and settings. These commands provide a global interface for users to navigate through other bot functionalities.
Sadly, this marks the end of the simple process (and the limits of this guide). Developing a functional bot typically requires programming skills, often in languages such as Java, C#, or Python.
The token you have saved enables connection to third-party services with the bot’s API, allowing you to program or incorporate functions via their platform. To gain complete control over how…
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To understand how your bot functions, it’s essential to gain knowledge about libraries, coding, object-oriented programming, and familiarity with IDEs like Visual Studio Code.
There are various services specifically designed for bots that focus on business promotion, currency exchange, product orders, news aggregation, and much more.
Don’t Worry A-Bot It
People are drawn to Telegram for many reasons. Some are attracted by the privacy and encryption features, others appreciate the unlimited number of channel members, while many value the open-source code and the simplicity of implementing bots. Given everything Telegram provides, it’s no surprise that it enjoys such a high level of user engagement.
This article has only touched on the fundamental aspects of bot creation, leaving the more complicated parts to your programming skills or external implementations. If you encounter any challenges with Telegram bots or have specific topics for which you’d like more information, please share them in the comments!