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Create a Telegram echo bot

You can create Telegram bots using vals.

In this example, you’ll create a val that uses the

to receive webhooks from Telegram.

When users message your bot, the bot will reply with the same message.

1. Create your bot by talking to @BotFather

Speak to Telegram’s https://t.me/botfather to create your bot and obtain a bot token.

image

2. Add the bot token as a secret

Copy the bot token you just received and save it as a Val Town secret as telegramBotToken.

3. Check your token works

Call @vtdocs.telegramGetMe with your newly created secret to check that it works.

4. Create a secret so you can verify webhooks

Generate a random string and save it as a Val Town secret as telegramWebhookSecret.

5. Create a webhook handler to receive messages

When Telegram users send messages to your bot, they will be forwarded to your webhook handler. We’ll use the secret we just created to verify that the message came from our bot.

Fork this val that uses the

:

6. Tell your bot about the webhook handler

Use @vtdocs.telegramSetWebhook to tell your bot where to send webhooks.

7. Send a message to your bot to check it works!

It should echo back the message like this:

image

Not working? Try debugging the webhook handler you created via the Evaluations tab. Or get help on Val Town’s Discord.