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Getting started

This walks you from nothing to a working bot that greets users with a menu when they press Start. Allow about 10 minutes.

Before you begin

You need the Telegram Manager (or Entities Administration) role — see Roles & access. You'll also need a bot token from Telegram's @BotFather: open BotFather, send /newbot, follow the prompts, and copy the token it gives you.

1. Add the bot

  1. In the admin, go to Telegram → Bots.
  2. Click Create (top-right of the table).
  3. Fill in:
    • Name — a display name for your reference.
    • Username — the bot's @username from BotFather (without the @).
    • Description — the text users see under "What can this bot do?" before they press Start (up to 512 characters; plain text, links become clickable).
    • Short Description — a one-line blurb shown on the bot's profile (up to 120 characters).
    • Token — paste the BotFather token.
  4. Click Create Bot.

Screenshot: the Create Bot form.

2. Register the webhook (turn it on)

A new bot exists but isn't connected to Telegram yet.

  1. Back on the Bots list, open the ⋯ menu on your bot's row.
  2. Click Register Webhook.

You'll see a confirmation that the webhook is registered. This also publishes your Description and slash commands to Telegram.

Warning

The bot only receives messages while its webhook is registered. Deregister Webhook (same menu) takes it offline.

The buttons in your menu point to links, so create a few first.

  1. Go to Telegram → Links → Create.
  2. Add a destination — for example Title "No-Deposit Free Spins", URL https://…, Type Website.
  3. Leave Target Countries / Languages empty for now (so it shows to everyone).
  4. Save, and repeat for any other destinations (a Telegram channel, a group, etc.).

See The link library for all the options.

4. Create the welcome menu

The welcome screen is a command whose Key is exactly start.

  1. Open your bot (click its row) and go to the Commands tab.
  2. Click Create.
  3. Set:
    • Key: start
    • Label: anything (e.g. "Start")
    • Header Text: your welcome message, shown above the buttons.
    • (optional) Banner image: upload an image to show a photo above the menu.
  4. Save.

5. Add the buttons

  1. From the Commands list, open the command's menu builder (the items view).
  2. Add an item for each button:
    • Link items point to a link you created.
    • Submenu items open another command.
  3. Reorder with the up/down controls, then Save.

See Commands & menus for banners, submenus, and targeting.

6. Try it

Open a direct chat with your bot in Telegram (search its @username) and press Start — or send /start. You should see your header (and banner, if you added one) with your buttons underneath.

Edits are instant

Change a button, header, or banner in the admin and send /start again — the new version appears immediately. No redeploy.

Test in a direct message, not a channel

This bot is built for 1-to-1 chats. Adding it to a channel won't trigger the /start menu.

Next: fill out your link library, or learn the menu builder and banners.