In recent years, Telegram has become one of the most widely used messaging platforms. But its appeal doesn’t stop at being just a messaging app – it has grown into a powerful ecosystem that supports bots, channels, and even mini apps. These mini apps offer developers the ability to create integrated, user-friendly tools directly within Telegram without needing to switch to other apps.
If you’ve ever wondered how to create your very own Telegram Mini App, you're in the right place create telegram mini app! This guide will walk you through every step, from setting up the development environment to deploying your app and engaging users. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting, we’ve got you covered.
A Telegram Mini App is essentially a web app embedded directly within the Telegram interface, allowing users to interact with the app without leaving the Telegram platform. These apps can be used for a wide variety of purposes, such as games, utilities, shopping, social networking, and more.
Mini apps are developed using Telegram's Web Apps feature and are built using regular web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. They are designed to run in a secure, isolated environment with easy integration with Telegram's core features.
Before you dive in, make sure you have:
If you haven’t created a bot yet, here’s how to do it:
You can develop a Telegram Mini App using any web development environment you’re comfortable with. A simple text editor like VS Code or Sublime Text works well.
To make your app available within Telegram, you'll need to register it in the Telegram Bot API:
Now, let's start building the Mini App. For the purpose of this guide, we will create a simple "Hello, World!" web app. Follow these steps:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Telegram Mini App</title>
<style>
body {
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
text-align: center;
padding: 50px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello, Telegram User!</h1>
<button id="sendMessageButton">Send Message to Bot</button>
<script>
// This function allows you to interact with Telegram's Web App API
function sendMessageToBot() {
if (window.Telegram.WebApp) {
Telegram.WebApp.sendData("Hello from the Mini App!");
}
}
document.getElementById("sendMessageButton").addEventListener("click", sendMessageToBot);
</script>
</body>
</html>
To allow your mini app to interact with Telegram, you need to handle the data sent from the app back to the bot.
Here’s a simple Node.js example using express to handle data from the mini app:
const express = require('express');
const axios = require('axios');
const app = express();
const TELEGRAM_API_TOKEN = 'YOUR_BOT_API_TOKEN';
const TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID = 'YOUR_CHAT_ID';
app.use(express.json());
app.post('/webapp-data', async (req, res) => {
const message = req.body.data;
// Send the received data to the Telegram chat
try {
await axios.post(`https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_API_TOKEN}/sendMessage`, {
chat_id: TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID,
text: `Received data: ${message}`,
});
res.status(200).send('Message sent');
} catch (error) {
res.status(500).send('Error sending message');
}
});
app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server is running on http://localhost:3000'));
Once your mini app is ready, it’s time to deploy it. Here's how you can do it with a service like Vercel or Netlify:
Once deployed, use the deployed URL to configure your bot’s web app URL in BotFather.
After deploying, test your mini app by:
Now that your app is live, consider adding features such as:
Creating a Telegram Mini App can be a fun and rewarding project that allows you to leverage the powerful Telegram platform for building interactive apps. Whether you're building a game, utility, or a business tool, this guide should give you the essential steps to get started. Happy coding!
This post provides an overview, but be sure to explore the official Telegram Bot API documentation for more advanced features and functionalities.