How to Create a Telegram Mini App: A Step-by-Step Guide

· 3 min read
How to Create a Telegram Mini App: A Step-by-Step Guide

Telegram Mini Apps can be a powerful feature with the Telegram platform that enable developers to create seamless, interactive web applications that run in the Telegram interface. These apps give you a smooth consumer experience and can range between games and productivity tools to e-commerce storefronts and booking systems.

In this information, we’ll walk you through the process of create telegram mini app from scratch.

🧠 What Is a Telegram Mini App?
Telegram Mini Apps are lightweight web apps launched inside Telegram chats via inline buttons or through bot commands. They are built using internet technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and communicate with Telegram’s Bot API and Web Apps API.



These apps:

Run in Telegram's built-in browser

Can access user data (with permission)

Integrate seamlessly with Telegram bots

Support payment and authorization flows

🛠️ Tools & Prerequisites
Before starting out, you’ll need:

A Telegram account

A Telegram bot (via BotFather)

Basic web development knowledge (HTML, CSS, JS)

Hosting to your web app (e.g., Vercel, Netlify, or your individual server)

Optional tools:

Node.js (for backend logic)

Web frameworks like React or Vue

📝 Step 1: Create a Telegram Bot
Open @BotFather on Telegram.

Use /newbot to create a new bot.

Choose an identity and a username on your bot.

Copy the API token provided — you’ll require it to communicate with Telegram’s servers.

🌐 Step 2: Build the Web App
You will use plain HTML/CSS/JS or a frontend framework. Here’s a straightforward example using plain HTML:

html
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Hello from Telegram Mini App!


Send Data

<br/>      const tg = window.Telegram.WebApp;<br/>      tg.expand(); // Makes the app take full screen<br/>      <br/>      function sendData() <br/>        tg.sendData("Hello Telegram!");<br/>      <br/>    


Host this file using any static hosting provider.

⚙️ Step 3: Set Up Web App in Bot
Go returning to BotFather.

Use /setdomain to join up to your web app domain.

Use /setcommands to provide a command like /start or /open.

In your bot code, you’ll send a keyboard button having a web_app object:

Example in Node.js (using node-telegram-bot-api):

js
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const TelegramBot = require('node-telegram-bot-api');
const token = 'YOUR_BOT_TOKEN';
const bot = new TelegramBot(token,  polling: true );

bot.onText(/\/start/, (msg) =>
 bot.sendMessage(msg.chat.id, "Open the mini app:",
   reply_markup:
     keyboard: [[ text: "Open App", web_app:  url: "//yourdomain.com/app"  ]],
     resize_keyboard: true,
     one_time_keyboard: true,

 );
);
✅ Optional: Get User Data
In your frontend, will come your way Telegram user info via Telegram.WebApp.initDataUnsafe.

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console.log(Telegram.WebApp.initDataUnsafe.user);
Make likely to validate this data in your backend using Telegram’s Web App Authorization.

💳 Bonus: Accept Payments
Telegram Mini Apps support payments via Telegram’s payment system.

Set up a payment provider via BotFather (/setpaymentoptions).

Use the Bot API’s sendInvoice method to create payment flows.

Payments are processed securely via Telegram with support for services like Stripe.

🧪 Testing Your Mini App
Use Telegram on mobile or desktop (not the internet app).

Make sure your domain uses Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure.

Ensure your bot has access to web app features and commands.

🧩 Use Cases
Telegram Mini Apps can be used for:

E-commerce (stores, carts, checkouts)

Booking and reservations

Games and entertainment

Form submissions

Personal dashboards

Telegram Mini Apps bridge the gap between messaging and fully interactive applications. By combining the reach of Telegram bots with all the flexibility of internet technologies, developers can build powerful experiences in the chat interface.