How to create a Telegram bot

May 13, 2025

Introduction to Telegram Bots

Telegram Bots are automated accounts provided by Telegram that can send and receive messages just like regular users, but they are controlled by software. Bots are commonly used for auto-replies, content pushing, data collection, remote control, information queries, and more, making them a powerful tool for building intelligent services.

Key Features

Automated Interaction: Bots can respond to user inputs through programming logic, such as handling commands like /start, text messages, button clicks, and more.
Support for Multiple Message Types: Bots can handle text, images, audio, video, files, stickers, voice messages, polls, and other message formats.
Receive Messages via Webhook or Long Polling: Bots can either passively receive messages via a Webhook or actively fetch new messages via long polling.
Easy Integration: Telegram Bots use a simple HTTP API. As long as your app can send HTTP requests, it can control a bot—suitable for any programming language or platform.
Cross-Platform Hosting: Bots run on your own server or cloud platform and support operating systems like Linux, Windows, and macOS.
Free to Use: Telegram’s Bot API is completely free, with no rate limits under reasonable usage.

Common Use Cases

Automated customer service
Content subscription and push notifications (e.g., RSS feeds)
Remote server monitoring and control
File transfer and management
Polls and surveys
Third-party service integration (e.g., weather, translation, stock data)
Smart home control interface

How to Create a Telegram Bot

Search for @BotFather in Telegram and send /start
Send /newbot to create a new bot
Set a name (any name) and a username (must end with bot)
You’ll receive a Bot Token, which is used to control the bot via the API

How to Get Your Own and Group/Channel ID

Get Your Own ID

Search for @getmyid_bot in Telegram and send /start.
The Get My ID bot will reply with a message like:

1
Your user ID: XXXXXXXXX
2
Current chat ID: XXXXXXXXX

This is your own user ID.

Get Group/Channel ID

Send a message in any group or channel, then forward that message to @getmyid_bot. The Get My ID bot will reply with a message like:

1
Your user ID: XXXXXXXXX
2
Current chat ID: XXXXXXXXX
3
Forwarded from chat: -100XXXXXXXXX

The “Forwarded from chat” field shows the group or channel ID.