How to Make a Telegram Bot with BotFather (Beginner Guide)

A Telegram bot can answer common questions, send updates to a channel, take simple bookings or just greet new members of a group. The good news is that the first part, registering the bot, takes a couple of minutes and happens inside Telegram itself. You don't need a developer account or a separate website to get started.

I've written this for small business owners and creators who want to understand the whole job before they commit. Registering the bot is quick. Making it do something useful needs a little code or a ready-made tool, and I'll be straight with you about where that line falls. Everything here follows Telegram's own bot documentation.

What a Telegram bot is and what it can do

Telegram's FAQ describes bots as small programs that run inside Telegram. They're made by third-party developers using the Telegram Bot API, and Telegram itself only runs a handful of official ones. According to Telegram's bot tutorial, a bot can:

• Receive private messages and read what was sent and who sent it.
• Reply with text, photos, stickers and other message types.
• Respond to commands such as a menu or help command.
• Show buttons under a message and react when someone taps one.
• Post in groups or channels where it's been given the right permissions.

Two limits are worth knowing early. Telegram's tutorial says a user has to contact your bot first before it can send them a private message, so a bot can't cold-message people. It also says text messages a bot sends must be between 1 and 4096 characters.

Step 1: Create your Telegram bot with BotFather

Every Telegram bot starts with BotFather, Telegram's official bot for making and managing other bots. Here's the process Telegram describes:

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather. Make sure the username is spelled exactly like that, since copycats exist.
2. Open the chat and tap Start.
3. Send the command /newbot.
4. When BotFather asks, type a display name for your bot. This is the name people see in chats and contact details.
5. Next, type a username for your bot. It must end in bot.
6. BotFather replies with a message containing your bot's authentication token.

That's your bot registered. It exists, people can find it, and it will show a Start button the first time someone opens a chat with it. It won't reply to anything yet, though, because nothing is telling it what to say.

Telegram bot username rules you can't undo

Pick the username carefully, because Telegram's documentation says it can't be changed later. The rules are:

• It must be 5 to 32 characters long.
• It can only use Latin characters, numbers and underscores.
• It must end in bot, for example a name ending in _bot or Bot.
• It isn't case sensitive, so capital letters won't make it unique.

For a business, I'd keep it close to your brand name so customers trust it's really you. Scammers do create lookalike bots, and a clear, consistent name makes yours easier to recognise.

Keep your Telegram bot token secret

The token BotFather gives you is the key to your bot. Telegram's documentation warns that it can be used by anyone to control your bot, so treat it like a password:

• Never post it in a group, a screenshot, a support forum or a shared document.
• Don't paste it into a website or tool you don't trust.
• Telegram's tutorial suggests storing it in a settings file or environment variables rather than writing it straight into your code.
• If you think it's leaked, send /token to BotFather to generate a new one. The old one stops working.

If you hire someone to build the bot for you, give them access in a way you can change later, and generate a fresh token once the work is done.

Set up your Telegram bot's profile in BotFather

Before you share the bot, give it a friendly welcome. BotFather has commands for each part of the profile, and you can reach them all by sending /mybots, choosing your bot and tapping Edit Bot:

BotFather command	What it changes
/setdescription	The text new users see under What can this bot do?, up to 512 characters
/setabouttext	A short bio on the bot's profile, up to 120 characters
/setuserpic	The bot's profile picture
/setcommands	The list of commands people see when they type a forward slash
/setprivacy	Whether the bot sees every message in a group or only ones meant for it

Privacy mode is on by default for all bots, according to Telegram, except bots added to a group as admins. With it on, your bot only sees messages meant for it in a group. If you switch it off, Telegram notes the change only takes effect after the bot is added to the group again.

Step 2: Make your Telegram bot reply to people

This is where registration ends and building begins. Your bot needs a program running somewhere that listens for messages through the Telegram Bot API and decides what to send back. Telegram doesn't store those updates for you, so the program has to keep its own records, such as a list of people who've started the bot.

You've got three realistic routes:

• Write it yourself. Telegram's bot tutorial walks a beginner through a simple echo bot that copies messages back, then adds commands and buttons.
• Ask a developer. Give them a clear list of what the bot should answer and which buttons it needs.
• Use a no-code automation or chatbot builder that connects to Telegram. Read its privacy terms first, since it'll handle your customers' messages.

Whichever you choose, start small: a welcome message, a help command and one useful answer. If you're weighing up bots for customer chats more widely, my guide to how a WhatsApp bot can automate business conversations covers the same thinking for WhatsApp.

Using a Telegram bot for a small business or channel

The bots that work best for small businesses do one or two jobs well. A few ideas that fit what Telegram bots can do:

• Answer the five questions you're asked most often, with a button for each.
• Welcome new members of your group and point them to the rules.
• Send short updates to a channel you run.
• Hand people over to a real person when the bot can't help.

Be honest in the bot's description that it's automated. Telegram's FAQ tells users to treat bots like strangers and never share passwords, login codes or bank details with them, so never design your bot to ask for any of those. If WhatsApp is your main customer channel instead, it's worth reading what to look for in a WhatsApp Business solution provider before you choose.

If your new Telegram bot isn't working

• BotFather rejected the username: check it ends in bot, uses only letters, numbers and underscores, and is between 5 and 32 characters.
• The bot doesn't reply: that's normal until a program is running and connected with your token.
• The bot can't message someone: they need to have started a chat with it first.
• The bot ignores group messages: privacy mode may be on, so it only sees messages meant for it.
• Someone else seems to control it: send /token to BotFather to replace the token straight away.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a Telegram bot?

Open @BotFather in Telegram, send /newbot, choose a display name and a username ending in bot, and BotFather gives you a token. You then need a program or tool connected with that token so the bot can reply.

Do I need to code to make a Telegram bot?

You don't need code to register the bot in BotFather. To make it reply to people, you'll need some code, a developer or a no-code tool that connects to Telegram.

Can I change my Telegram bot's username?

No. Telegram's documentation says the bot username can't be changed later, so choose it carefully before you confirm it.

What should I do if my bot token leaks?

Send /token to BotFather to generate a new one. Anyone with your token can control your bot, so keep it private.

Can my Telegram bot message people first?

Not in private chats. Telegram says a user must contact the bot first before it can send them a private message.