STEP 1: BOTFATHER
Step 1: Register Your Bot with BotFather
Open Telegram and search for @BotFather. Start a conversation and send /newbot. BotFather will ask for a display name (e.g., "My Support Bot") and a username (which must end in "bot", e.g., "mysupport_bot").
STEP 2: BACKEND
Step 2: Set Up Your Bot Backend
Your bot needs a server to run on. For Python, the python-telegram-bot library is the most popular choice. For Node.js, telegraf is widely used. Both wrap the Telegram Bot API and handle webhooks or polling.
How it works
3 Steps to Create and Launch a Telegram Bot
Register with BotFather
Get your bot token from @BotFather in Telegram. Alternatively, skip this entirely and use TeleClaw's managed service where the token is already handled for you.
Add your bot to a group
Deploy your code or invite TeleClaw to your Telegram group. Admin permissions unlock moderation and welcome automation on the spot.
Delegate your tasks
Write your custom instructions once and let the bot handle Q&A, member management, and AI conversations so you can focus on growing the community.
STEP 3: DEPLOY
Step 3: Deploy and Configure
Once your bot code works locally, you need to deploy it to a server (VPS, cloud function, or container). Set up a webhook so Telegram sends messages to your server, configure environment variables for your tokens, and ensure the server stays online.
THE EASY WAY
When to Use TeleClaw Instead
Building your own bot makes sense when you need deep custom integrations or have very specific requirements. For most use cases, AI chat, group moderation, FAQ automation, TeleClaw delivers the same result in minutes instead of days.
