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How to Create a Telegram Bot with BotFather
Every Telegram bot starts with @BotFather—Telegram’s official bot for creating bots. This guide walks through naming your bot, reserving a username, obtaining your Telegram Bot API token, and what comes next if you want the bot to run 24/7 (hint: you need a host, such as TeleCrow on telecrow.com).
1. Open BotFather in Telegram
Search for @BotFather in Telegram (official account). Tap Start. BotFather only creates the bot identity and issues the token—it does not run your business logic or keep your bot online.
2. Run /newbot
Send /newbot. BotFather asks for a display name (shown in chats) and a username that must end in bot and be globally unique. If the username is taken, try another until it succeeds.
3. Save your HTTP API token
BotFather returns a long token (often with a colon). That string is a secret password for your bot. Anyone with the token can control the bot. Do not post it in public repos, screenshots, or support forums. If it leaks, use /revoke in BotFather and update your host with the new token. See our Telegram bot token security guide for more detail.
4. Optional: description, commands, profile photo
BotFather commands like /setdescription and /setuserpic improve how users perceive your bot. These settings are separate from hosting—you can update them anytime.
5. What BotFather does not do
BotFather does not host code, answer customers, or process payments. For that you need an application connected to the token and a server (or managed platform) that runs continuously. That is where products like TeleCrow focus: hosting and operating the bot after you have the token.
6. Next steps on TeleCrow
After you have a token, register on telecrow.com, follow Getting started with TeleCrow, and read Telegram bot hosting on TeleCrow. For how Telegram delivers updates to your code, see Telegram Bot API overview.