How to Create a Telegram Bot on Replit

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This tutorial shows how to set up a Telegram bot project in Replit using the Agent and connect it to your Telegram account.

Note: You need a Telegram account and a bot token from @BotFather before your bot can connect. You need a Replit account to get started. Sign up at replit.com if you don't have one yet.

1. Sign in to your account at replit.com. On the dashboard, click + Create Something New.
2. In the prompt, describe what you want to build - for example, "A Telegram business assistant bot that answers questions, sends reminders, and manages a group." Click the Arrow button to run. The Agent automatically sets up the environment.
3. Open Telegram, search for @BotFather, and type /newbot to create a new bot. Follow the prompts to name your bot and retrieve your token.
4. When prompted in Replit, paste your token in the Agent workspace, then click Continue and + Add Account to Secrets to confirm. Alternatively, click the Secrets tab in the left sidebar, add a new key called TOKEN, and paste your token as the value.
5. Click the Open Files icon in the top-right corner and click File tree. Review the generated project structure - Replit creates a main.py and a pyproject.toml by default.
6. Click main.py to open it in the editor and review your bot logic.
7. To add a new command, ask the Agent - for example, "Add a command that sends a weekly sales summary to the group." ‍
8. Check the Console for confirmation that the bot is online, or open Telegram and test it directly in your bot chat.