How to Make a Telegram Bot: A Step-by-Step Guide

Why People Create Telegram Bots

Most people don’t wake up wanting to build a telegram bot. They do it because something is breaking at scale too many messages, delayed replies, missed leads, or manual updates that no longer work. Telegram becomes the channel, and a bot becomes the only practical way to keep control.

Some teams use bots to reply instantly when support staff are offline. Others use them to capture leads directly inside a chat instead of pushing users to long forms. Many rely on bots for alerts and notifications where email fails, or for simple automation that removes repetitive work from humans.

You don’t need to be a developer to start, and you don’t always need a no-code tool either. A Telegram bot can be built with Python for full control or without coding for speed this guide shows both paths so you can choose what actually fits your situation.

How Telegram Bots Actually Work

Before writing a single line of code or opening a no-code tool, most people get stuck on one basic question:
“Why does my bot sometimes respond, sometimes doesn’t, and sometimes behaves randomly?”

The answer lies in how a telegram bot actually works behind the scenes.

A Telegram bot is not an app running inside Telegram. It’s an external program that Telegram talks to whenever something happens in a chat. Every time a user sends a message, clicks a button, or types a command, Telegram sends that information to your bot using the Bot API. Your bot processes it and sends a response back. That’s it, no magic, no background intelligence.

Where people get confused is assuming all user actions are the same. They are not.

A message is anything a user types or sends, text, images, files, emojis. Your bot receives these raw inputs and must decide what to do with them. A command, on the other hand, is intentional. It always starts with a slash, like /start or /help, and tells the bot exactly what the user expects. This is why well-designed bots rely heavily on commands, they reduce ambiguity and unexpected behavior.

The next misunderstanding happens at the connection level. Telegram can deliver updates to your bot in two ways.

With polling, your bot keeps asking Telegram, again and again, “Do you have anything new for me?” This works fine for testing or small personal bots, but it breaks easily when traffic grows. Miss a request, and messages get delayed or lost.

With webhooks, Telegram pushes updates directly to your server the moment something happens. This is how serious bots work in real environments, faster responses, fewer failures, and better control.

If you understand this flow early, you avoid the most common beginner mistakes: bots that stop responding, behave inconsistently, or fail as soon as real users start using them. Everything else, Python code, no-code tools, automation, sits on top of this foundation.

Two Ways to Create a Telegram Bot

Most people don’t need a Telegram bot because it sounds cool. They need it because something is broken in their workflow.

If your goal is to stop missing messages, reduce manual replies, or send simple updates to a group, a no-code bot is usually enough. You don’t have to hire anyone. You don’t have to write code. You can set it up in an hour and start using it right away. This is the practical choice when the bot is meant to solve a small, clear problem.

But if your bot needs to do real work, like connecting to your website, pulling data from a database, or integrating with tools like CRM or payment systems, then no-code tools will quickly become limiting. You’ll run into a point where the tool can’t do what you need. That’s when building the bot with Python becomes the right move. Python lets you control the logic, manage data securely, and scale without hitting platform limits.

This is not about which method is “better.” It’s about what you need the bot to do.

How to Make a Telegram Bot with Python

If you want a Telegram bot that does real work, like capturing leads, sending alerts, or integrating with your website, Python is the best choice. No-code tools can only go so far. With Python, you control everything: logic, storage, integrations, and security.

Below is a clean, practical guide that gets you from zero to a working bot, and then shows what to do next.

What You Need Before You Start

You only need three things:

1. Telegram account
2. Python 3.9+ installed
3. A machine that can run Python
   (Your laptop is fine for testing. For real use, you will deploy it on a server.)

Create the Bot in Telegram

Open Telegram and start a chat with BotFather.

Type:

/newbot

Give your bot a name and username (username must end with “bot”).

BotFather will give you a token like:

123456789:ABCDEF...

Keep this token secret. If someone gets it, they control your bot.

Install the Required Python Library

Open your terminal and run:

pip install python-telegram-bot

This library is reliable and works well for real bots.

Write Your First Working Bot (Poll Mode)

Create a file named bot.py and paste:

from telegram import Update

from telegram.ext import ApplicationBuilder, CommandHandler, ContextTypes

async def start(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE):

    await update.message.reply_text("Bot is live. Send /help to see options.")

app = ApplicationBuilder().token("YOUR_TOKEN_HERE").build()

app.add_handler(CommandHandler("start", start))

app.run_polling()

Run:

python bot.py

Now send /start to your bot in Telegram. If it replies, you are ready.

Add a Useful Feature: Lead Capture

Most businesses use Telegram bots for leads. Here’s a simple version that saves messages to a file.

Add this to your bot:

from telegram.ext import MessageHandler, filters

async def capture_lead(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE):

    text = update.message.text

    with open("leads.txt", "a") as f:

        f.write(text + "\n")

    await update.message.reply_text("Thanks, we received your message.")

app.add_handler(MessageHandler(filters.TEXT & ~filters.COMMAND, capture_lead))

Now every message sent to your bot is saved.

This is a real use case, not a generic example. It’s exactly what companies do when they use Telegram for customer support or lead capture.

Polling vs Webhooks (What to Choose in Real Life)

Polling

• Easy to start
• Works on your laptop
• Not ideal for business bots

Webhooks

• Requires a server with HTTPS
• Fast and reliable
• Used in production

If you are building a real bot that must run 24/7, webhooks are the correct choice.

Deploy Your Bot

A bot on your laptop is only for testing. If you want it to run continuously, you must deploy it.

Here’s the fastest real deployment option:

Deploy on Railway (Simple & Free for small bots)

Railway is the easiest way to host a Telegram bot without deep server setup.

Steps:

1. Create a Railway account
2. Create a new project
3. Upload your code
4. Add your bot token as an environment variable
5. Start the project

Railway will keep your bot online even if your laptop is off.

This is the real-world way businesses run Telegram bots without paying heavy server costs.

How to Fix Common Problems

These are real issues users face:

Problem 1: Bot stops when you close the terminal

Fix: Deploy to a server or use a process manager (like PM2) or Railway.

Problem 2: Bot replies slowly

Usually caused by polling or poor internet connection.

Fix: Switch to webhooks or use a better server.

Problem 3: Bot token error

If your token is wrong or BotFather changed it.

Fix: Generate a new token from BotFather and update your code.

What to Do Next

Once your bot is live, you can connect it to:

• CRM (for lead management)
• Google Sheets (simple data storage)
• Your website (notifications)
• Payment gateway (for paid services)

This is where a Telegram bot becomes a real business tool.

How to Create a Telegram Bot Without Coding

If you don’t write code, creating a Telegram bot is still possible — but only if you understand one thing clearly:

You are not building a bot.
You are connecting an existing bot to a tool that reacts to messages for you.

Once you understand that, the process becomes simple.

Step 1: Create the Bot

Open Telegram and search for BotFather.
This is Telegram’s official bot manager.

Type:

/newbot

BotFather will ask two things:

• A display name (anything you like)
• A username (must end with bot)

After this, you’ll receive a long string called a bot token.

This token is not optional.
Every no-code platform needs it to control your bot.

Do not share this token publicly. If someone else uses it, they control your bot.

Step 2: Pick One No-Code Tool and Stick to It

This is where most beginners already make a mistake.

They:

• Open 2–3 tools,
• Connect the bot everywhere,
• And then wonder why messages behave strangely.

Pick one no-code platform and use only that.

Once you paste your bot token into a tool, Telegram starts sending all messages there.

If two tools are connected, neither will work correctly.

Step 3: Connect the Bot to the Tool

Inside the platform:

• choose Telegram as the channel
• paste the bot token
• click connect

At this stage:

• your bot still looks empty
• nothing replies yet
• this is normal

Many people think something is broken here. It’s not.

You haven’t told the bot what to do yet.

Step 4: Create the First Reply

Every Telegram bot reacts to /start.

So you must handle this first.

Inside the tool:

• create a new flow
• set trigger as /start
• write one simple message

Example:

“Hi. Please choose what you need below.”

Save it.

Now go to Telegram and type /start.

If you see the message, your bot is working.

If you don’t:

• The token is wrong, or
• The bot is connected to another tool

This is the most common failure point.

Step 5: Use Buttons Instead of Text

Free text sounds flexible, but it breaks no-code bots.

Instead of asking:

“What do you want?”

Use buttons like:

• Pricing
• Support
• Talk to team

Buttons keep users inside the flow you designed.

This is not about design — it’s about keeping the bot functional.

Step 6: Ask Questions One at a Time

If you want to collect details, do it slowly.

Wrong approach:

“Send your name, email, and requirement.”

Correct approach:

• Ask for name → save it
• Ask for email → save it
• Ask for requirement → save it

If you rush this step, users skip answers and your data becomes useless.

Most no-code bots fail because of bad question order, not bad tools.

Step 7: Save the Data Somewhere You Will Actually Check

No-code platforms let you save answers to:

• Google Sheets
• Email
• Internal dashboard

Choose one place you already use.

If leads go somewhere you don’t open daily, the bot is pointless.

This is a business decision, not a technical one.

Step 8: Test Like a Real User

Before sharing the bot:

• Restart the chat
• Click buttons in the wrong order
• Send unexpected messages
• Leave the chat and return

Most issues appear only when you behave incorrectly on purpose.

Fix those before going live.

Top 5 Tools to Create a Telegram Bot Without Coding

Tool Name	Ease of Use	Best For	Key Strengths	Limitations
ManyChat	⭐⭐⭐⭐☆	Simple automation & chatbot flows	Drag-and-drop builder, integrates with Google Sheets/CRM	Limited advanced logic
Chatfuel	⭐⭐⭐⭐☆	Conversational bots with buttons	Easy flow creation, supports media	Free plan has feature limits
Botpress	⭐⭐⭐☆☆	Customizable no-code + low-code	Visual flow builder, flexible	Slight learning curve
Make	⭐⭐⭐⭐☆	Automation + bot actions	Strong integrations, conditional paths	Not purely bot-focused
Tars	⭐⭐⭐☆☆	Lead capture & form-style bots	Great for leads, form-like flows	Less suited for conversational automation

Final Thought

At this point, you know exactly how Telegram bots are built, with Python and without coding, and more importantly, why one option fits better than the other in real situations.

If your goal is quick automation or a small internal workflow, a no-code Telegram bot is enough. You can build it, test it, and use it without touching a line of code.

If your goal involves users, data, logic, or future changes, Python gives you control that no tool can replace. That difference becomes obvious only after people start using the bot, which is why choosing correctly at the start matters.

There’s nothing else you need to “learn” before taking action.
Pick one use case. Build one bot. Improve it based on how people actually use it.

That’s how useful bots are created, not by reading more guides, but by solving one real problem properly.

Additional Resource

Telegram Bot API

Python-Telegram-Bot Documentation

Bot API Library Examples