How to Create a Telegram Bot with BotFather: Step-by-Step Guide

The short version

1. Find the official @BotFather in Telegram (it has a blue check mark) and tap "Start".
2. Send /newbot and choose the bot's name and username.
3. Receive the token and store it somewhere safe right away.
4. Set the description, avatar, commands and menu button.
5. Connect the token to your bot's code.

A freshly created bot does nothing by itself: BotFather only registers it. The logic is written by a developer or configured in a bot builder.

Step 1. Name and username

After /newbot, BotFather asks for two values:

• Name: what users see in the chat list and profile. Any language, spaces allowed, and easy to change later with /setname.
• Username: the bot's handle, like @shop_helper_bot. Requirements: Latin letters, digits and underscores, 5 to 32 characters, ending in bot (for example ShopBot or shop_bot). It must not be taken.

Choose the username as if it were final: it goes into t.me/name links, business cards and ads.

Step 2. The token

BotFather replies with a token like 123456789:AAH.... The token is full access to the bot: anyone who has it can send messages as the bot and read its updates.

To confirm the token works, call getMe; it returns your bot's details.

Step 3. Description and avatar

• /setdescription: the text users see in an empty chat before tapping "Start". Explain what the bot does and why to start it.
• /setabouttext: a short text on the bot's profile, up to 120 characters.
• /setuserpic: the avatar. Send a square image that stays legible in a small circle.

A good description answers three questions: what the bot does, who it is for and what happens after "Start".

Step 4. Commands

/setcommands sets the list that appears when users type / and in the menu button. One command per line:

start - Get started
catalog - Product catalog
orders - My orders
help - Help and contacts

Rules: command names use lowercase Latin letters, digits and underscores, up to 32 characters. Keep the list short; 3 to 6 commands read better than twenty. You can also set commands from code with setMyCommands, which makes per-language lists easy.

Step 5. The menu button

To the left of the input field there is a menu button. By default it opens the command list. In BotFather's bot settings (/mybots → your bot → Bot Settings → Menu Button) you can turn it into a launcher for a Mini App, a web app inside Telegram. In code, setChatMenuButton does the same.

Other useful settings under /mybots: group privacy, whether the bot can be added to groups, and inline mode.

Storing the token safely

• Keep the token in environment variables or a secrets manager, never in code.
• Add .env to .gitignore before your first commit.
• Never put the token into Mini App or website code: anything sent to a browser is visible to users.
• Don't share it in chats or show it in screenshots.
• Use separate bots for development and production.
• If the token leaks, revoke it immediately: /mybots → your bot → API Token → Revoke current token. The old token stops working; update the new one on your server.

# .env (do not commit)
BOT_TOKEN=123456789:replace_with_your_token

Common mistakes

• Messaging a fake account that looks like BotFather. The real one is @BotFather with a check mark.
• Publishing the token in a public repository.
• Leaving the description empty, so users don't know why they should tap "Start".
• Adding commands in BotFather without writing handlers for them in code.