Telegram isn't just a messaging app — it’s a powerful development platform. With the introduction of Telegram Mini Apps, developers are now able to create interactive, web-based experiences directly inside Telegram chats. Whether you're developing a shopping cart, booking system, financial dashboard, or a game, Mini Apps give you a seamless and intuitive strategy to reach users where they already are.
This guide explains developing a how to build telegram mini app, from setup to deployment.
🔹 What Is a Telegram Mini App?
A Telegram Mini App is often a web app (built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) that launches inside Telegram through a bot. It runs within Telegram’s interface, offering rich UI, smooth interactions, and optional payment support — all without requiring users to go away the app or install anything.
🔹 What Can You Build?
You may use Mini Apps to create:
🛒 E-commerce stores
🗓️ Booking and scheduling apps
📊 Dashboards and calculators
🎮 Mini games
📋 Surveys and forms
🧾 Bill payment tools
✅ Step-by-Step: How to Build a Telegram Mini App
Step 1: Set Up Your Bot
Open Telegram and check for @BotFather
Use the command /start
Create a new bot with /newbot
Give it a name and a username (must lead to bot)
Copy your API token — you’ll want it for backend interaction
Step 2: Build Your Web App
Telegram Mini Apps are regular web apps that must definitely be:
Responsive and mobile-first
Hosted with Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure
Written in HTML, CSS, JavaScript
Integrated with Telegram’s Web App API
Here’s a simple example:
html
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Hello from Telegram Mini App!
Get Telegram Info
<br/> function showUser() <br/> const user = Telegram.WebApp.initDataUnsafe.user;<br/> document.getElementById('user').textContent = <br/> `Hello, $user.first_name ($user.username)`;<br/> <br/><br/> Telegram.WebApp.ready(); // Notify Telegram app<br/>
Step 3: Host Your Mini App
Use any Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure-supported host like Vercel, Netlify, Firebase, or your own server
Your app has to be served over Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure to function inside Telegram
Step 4: Connect Your Mini App on the Bot
Go returning to @BotFather
Choose your bot → /setdomain
Set the bottom domain of your Mini App (e.g., myapp.example.com)
Then set the Web App URL using /setmenubutton or /setcommands
Example bot command:
bash
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/setcommands
start - Launch the mini app
Inside your bot’s backend, you will use the reply_markup parameter to include a Web App button on the message.
Example using Python (with python-telegram-bot):
python
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from telegram import InlineKeyboardButton, InlineKeyboardMarkup, WebAppInfo
keyboard = [
[InlineKeyboardButton("Open App", web_app=WebAppInfo(url="myapp.example.com"))]
]
reply_markup = InlineKeyboardMarkup(keyboard)
bot.send_message(chat_id=chat_id, text="Click to open up app", reply_markup=reply_markup)
Step 5: Optional – Add Payment Integration
Use Telegram’s Payments API in order to:
Sell products
Accept donations
Enable checkout flows
Telegram supports providers like Stripe, Payme, and YooMoney. You must first register a provider with @BotFather using /setpayment.
🔐 Security Tips
Always validate Telegram’s user identity on your own backend while using the initData parameter
Use the initDataUnsafe limited to non-sensitive actions
Never trust client-side data without verification
Telegram provides init data validation instructions here
✅ Final Notes
Telegram Mini Apps are an exciting way to build modern, interactive services inside the Telegram ecosystem. They require no installation, no app store approval, and enable instant access to some massive global audience.
🧠 Resources
Telegram Web Apps API: core.telegram.org/bots/webapps
Telegram Bot API: core.telegram.org/bots/api
Example Projects: GitHub hunt for “Telegram Mini App” or “Telegram Web App”
Building a Telegram Mini App is not difficult, flexible, and powerful. By combining the reach of Telegram bots with custom web interfaces, developers can make everything from simple tools to full-fledged platforms — all within one chat window.