How to create a telegram bot in 2025

Adarsh Raj

October 6, 2025

6 min read

How to Create a Telegram Bot in 2025

Creating a Telegram bot in 2025 has become more accessible and feature-rich, thanks to ongoing enhancements in the Telegram Bot API. Whether you're a developer looking to build custom tools or a business integrating AI assistants, this guide covers everything from setup to advanced implementations. With over 10 million bots already on the platform, Telegram bots can replace websites, manage payments, and even host games. Key phrases like create Telegram bot 2025, Telegram bot tutorial 2025, and build Telegram bot are essential for understanding the process, and we'll integrate links to authoritative sources for deeper dives.

Introduction to Telegram Bots in 2025

Telegram bots are automated accounts that interact with users via messages, commands, and interfaces like Mini Apps. Unlike regular users, bots don't require phone numbers and operate through the Bot API, an HTTPS interface for sending/receiving data. In 2025, the API has reached version 9.2, introducing features like enhanced checklists for task tracking and gifts for premium subscriptions. These updates make bots ideal for businesses, e-commerce, and social networking.

According to the official Telegram documentation (core.telegram.org/bots), bots can now process payments with Telegram Stars, integrate with devices, and monetize through ads or subscriptions. For SEO optimization, focusing on Telegram bot development 2025 ensures relevance in searches. If you're new, start with the basics: bots can't initiate chats but respond to user inputs, and they feature a "bot" label for transparency.

Prerequisites for Building Your Bot

A Telegram account to interact with @BotFather.
Programming skills in languages like Python or JavaScript; alternatives include no-code platforms like Voiceflow or Make.com for easy Telegram bot creation.
Development environment: Install Python 3.12+ or Node.js, and libraries such as python-telegram-bot (via pip) or Telegraf for Node.js.
Secure storage for your API token to avoid breaches.

No prior experience? Check beginner-friendly tutorials like the official "From BotFather to 'Hello World'" guide (core.telegram.org/bots/tutorial). For 2025-specific insights, recent Medium articles emphasize AI integrations (stellaray777.medium.com).

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Basic Telegram Bot

Here's a comprehensive walkthrough, updated for 2025 API changes.

1. Register Your Bot with BotFather

Open Telegram, search for @BotFather, and send /newbot. Provide a name (e.g., My2025Bot) and username (e.g., my2025bot_bot). BotFather will generate an API token like "123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11". Copy this securely—it's your bot's key. This step hasn't changed much, but 2025 updates allow enabling Business Mode here for commercial bots (core.telegram.org/bots/features).

2. Choose Your Development Approach

Decide between coding or no-code. For coding, Python is popular for its simplicity. Install the python-telegram-bot library:

pip install python-telegram-bot --upgrade

For no-code, platforms like Voiceflow enable AI Telegram bot building without scripts (www.voiceflow.com/blog/telegram-chatbot). Node.js users can use Telegraf for efficient handling.

3. Set Up Update Handling: Polling vs. Webhooks

Bots receive user inputs as "updates." In 2025, choose:

Long Polling (getUpdates): Ideal for testing. Your code repeatedly queries the API.
Webhooks (setWebhook): For production, Telegram pushes updates to your server. Requires HTTPS; supports up to 100 connections.

Feature	Long Polling	Webhooks
Setup Complexity	Low (no server needed)	High (needs public HTTPS URL)
Efficiency	Lower for high traffic	Higher, real-time
Use Case	Development, simple bots	Scalable apps, 2025 features like checklists
Max Updates	100 per request	Unlimited, with retries
2025 Updates	Supports new fields like checklist_task_id	Enhanced with secret_token for security

From the API changelog (core.telegram.org/bots/api-changelog), Bot API 9.1 added checklist support, so include allowed_updates like "checklist_tasks_done" in your setup.

4. Write Your First Bot Code

Using Python, create a file bot.py:

from telegram import Update
from telegram.ext import Application, CommandHandler, MessageHandler, filters

TOKEN = 'your_token_here'

async def start(update: Update, context):
    await update.message.reply_text('Hello! I'm your 2025 bot.')

async def echo(update: Update, context):
    await update.message.reply_text(update.message.text)

application = Application.builder().token(TOKEN).build()
application.add_handler(CommandHandler('start', start))
application.add_handler(MessageHandler(filters.TEXT & ~filters.COMMAND, echo))
application.run_polling()

Run it with python bot.py. Test by messaging your bot. For Telegram bot Python tutorial 2025, this echoes messages—expand with commands.

5. Add Advanced Features

Leverage 2025 updates:

Checklists: Use sendChecklist to create task lists. Example: Send collaborative to-do lists in groups (core.telegram.org/bots/api#sendchecklist).
Payments and Gifts: Integrate Telegram Stars for in-app purchases. Methods like giftPremiumSubscription let bots reward users (core.telegram.org/bots/payments-stars).
Mini Apps: Build JavaScript interfaces for games or stores (core.telegram.org/bots/webapps). Bot API 9.0 added DeviceStorage for persistent data.
AI Integration: Connect to OpenAI for smart responses, as in this Substack tutorial (theaibreak.substack.com).

For inline queries (e.g., search bots), add InlineQueryHandler. Handle media with sendPhoto or sendDocument.

6. Deploy Your Bot

For polling, run on a local machine, but for always-on bots, deploy to Heroku, Vercel, or AWS. Set webhooks:

application.run_webhook(listen='0.0.0.0', port=8443, url_path=TOKEN, webhook_url='https://yourdomain.com/' + TOKEN)

Use ngrok for local testing. Ensure compliance with privacy mode—bots only see relevant group messages. For deploy Telegram bot 2025, free tiers suffice for starters.

7. Testing and Best Practices

Test in private chats, then groups. Use getWebhookInfo to verify setups. Best practices:

Secure tokens and use environment variables.
Handle errors gracefully; API responses include ok and error_code.
Optimize for mobile: Bots support motion controls in games.
Monetize ethically with revenue sharing (core.telegram.org/bots/api#getmystarbalance).
Update regularly; Bot API 9.2 fixed checklist replies (core.telegram.org/bots/api-changelog).

Common pitfalls: Forgetting offset in polling leads to duplicates; always acknowledge updates.

Use Cases and Examples

Bots shine in automation. Examples:

Business Bots: Manage orders with checklists.
AI Chatbots: Respond intelligently, as in YouTube tutorials (youtube.com/watch?v=rKmxRCfITek).
Games and Tools: Host HTML5 games or convert files.

For no-code Telegram bot 2025, Anthem Creation's guide uses platforms like Bubble (anthemcreation.com).

Security and Scalability

Prioritize HTTPS and secret_token for webhooks. Scale with max_connections. For large bots, consider local Bot API servers for 2000MB file uploads (github.com/tdlib/telegram-bot-api).

Future-Proofing Your Bot

With 2025 updates focusing on business and monetization, plan for integrations like Telegram Business accounts. Stay updated via @BotNews.

In summary, creating a Telegram bot in 2025 blends simplicity with powerful features. From registration to deployment, the process empowers developers to build versatile tools. For more, explore linked resources.