Create a Telegram Bot Without Code: Automation with n8n and Make.com

Telegram bots are powerful tools for business automation: customer notifications, team alerts, order status updates, or even complete chatbots. The best part: you don't need programming knowledge. In this guide, we show you how to create a working Telegram bot in 30 minutes.

Why Telegram Bots?

Advantages over other channels: Use Cases:

• Server monitoring alerts
• Order notifications
• Team communication
• Customer support bot
• Daily reports
• IoT notifications

Step 1: Create Bot on Telegram

Contact BotFather

Open Telegram

Search for @BotFather

Start the chat with /start

Create Bot

You: /newbot
BotFather: Alright, a new bot. How are we going to call it?

You: My Business Bot
BotFather: Good. Now let's choose a username for your bot...

You: my_business_bot
BotFather: Done! Congratulations on your new bot...
          Use this token to access the HTTP API:
          1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz

Important: Store the API token securely - it's like a password!

Configure Bot

Additional BotFather commands:

Step 2: Get Chat ID

To send messages, you need the chat ID:

For Individuals

Send a message to your bot

Visit: https://api.telegram.org/bot{TOKEN}/getUpdates

Look for "chat":{"id":123456789}

For Groups

Add the bot to the group

Write something in the group

Call getUpdates

Group IDs are negative: -987654321

Automatically with n8n

// Node: Telegram Trigger
// Waits for messages and extracts chat ID

const chatId = $json.message.chat.id;
const username = $json.message.from.username;
const text = $json.message.text;

// Save chat ID for later use

Step 3: Create First Workflow

Use Case: Server Alert Bot

Notification for server problems:

Uptime Monitor (Server down)
        |
    Telegram: Send alert
    "Warning: Server XYZ is unreachable!"
        |
    Wait for response
        |
    On "OK": Mark alarm as acknowledged

n8n Workflow

Node 1: HTTP Request (Webhook from uptime monitor)

// Webhook receives alert
{
  "server": "webserver-01",
  "status": "down",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Node 2: Telegram - Send Message

// Configure Telegram Node
{
  "chatId": "-987654321",  // Group ID
  "text": "<em>Server Alert</em>\n\nServer: {{ $json.server }}\nStatus: {{ $json.status }}\nTime: {{ $json.timestamp }}\n\nReply with /ack to acknowledge.",
  "parseMode": "Markdown"
}

Step 4: Build Interactive Bot

Define Commands

With BotFather:

/setcommands

status - Current system status
help - Show help
subscribe - Enable notifications
unsubscribe - Disable notifications

React to Commands

Telegram Trigger (new message)
        |
    Switch (by command)
        |
    /status -> Send system status
    /help -> Send help text
    /subscribe -> Register user
    /unsubscribe -> Remove user

n8n: Command Handler

// Node: Switch
// Routing based on command

const text = $json.message.text;

if (text === '/status') return { route: 'status' };
if (text === '/help') return { route: 'help' };
if (text.startsWith('/subscribe')) return { route: 'subscribe' };
if (text.startsWith('/unsubscribe')) return { route: 'unsubscribe' };

return { route: 'unknown' };

Implement Status Command

// Node: HTTP Request -> Your API
// Node: Format Response

const status = {
  webserver: $json.webserver.status,
  database: $json.database.status,
  queue: $json.queue.jobs_pending
};

const message = 

<em>System Status</em>

Web Server: ${status.webserver === 'ok' ? 'OK' : 'ERROR'}
Database: ${status.database === 'ok' ? 'OK' : 'ERROR'}
Queue: ${status.queue} jobs pending

_Updated: ${new Date().toLocaleString('en-US')}_
;

return { message };

Step 5: Inline Keyboards

Interactive buttons for better UX:

Send Button Message

// Node: Telegram - Send Message
{
  "chatId": "{{ $json.chatId }}",
  "text": "Which action would you like to perform?",
  "replyMarkup": {
    "inline_keyboard": [
      [
        { "text": "Confirm", "callback_data": "confirm" },
        { "text": "Cancel", "callback_data": "cancel" }
      ],
      [
        { "text": "Status", "callback_data": "status" }
      ]
    ]
  }
}

React to Button Clicks

// Node: Telegram Trigger
// callback_query contains button data

if ($json.callback_query) {
  const action = $json.callback_query.data;
  const chatId = $json.callback_query.message.chat.id;
  const messageId = $json.callback_query.message.message_id;

  // Acknowledge button click (removes loading animation)
  await answerCallbackQuery($json.callback_query.id);

  // Update original message
  await editMessage(chatId, messageId, "Action performed: " + action);
}

Practical Examples

1. E-Commerce Order Bot

Shopify (New Order)
        |
    Telegram to customer:
    "Thank you for your order #1234!

     Products:
     - Product A (2x)
     - Product B (1x)

     Total: $149.00

     We'll notify you about shipping."

2. Team Standup Bot

Schedule (Mon-Fri 9:00 AM)
        |
    Telegram to team group:
    "Good morning! Time for the daily standup.

     Please reply with:
     1. What did I do yesterday?
     2. What am I doing today?
     3. Are there any blockers?"
        |
    Collect responses (30 min)
        |
    Save summary to Notion

3. Lead Notification Bot

Website Form (new lead)
        |
    Telegram to sales team:
    "New Lead!

     Max Smith
     max@example.com
     Company Inc.
     'Interested in Enterprise Plan'

     [Open CRM] [Call]"

4. Monitoring & Alerts

Various sources:
Server Down -> Alert
High CPU -> Warning
Backup complete -> Info
Error in logs -> Bug Report
        |

    Telegram with severity indicator

Make.com: Telegram Bot Scenario

Modules

Telegram Bot - Watch Updates (Trigger)

Router (by message type)

Text Parser (extract commands)

HTTP (call your API)

Telegram Bot - Send Message

Example Scenario: FAQ Bot

Telegram Watch Updates
        |
    Router:
    +- /faq -> Send FAQ menu (Inline Keyboard)
    +- callback "faq_*" -> Send FAQ answer
    +- Free text -> AI search in FAQ database

Advanced: AI Chatbot

Connect with OpenAI/Claude

// Node: OpenAI
// Conversation with context

const systemPrompt = 

You are a friendly support bot for Company XYZ.
You answer questions about our products and services.
For complex inquiries, refer to human support.
;

const messages = [
  { role: 'system', content: systemPrompt },
  { role: 'user', content: $json.message.text }
];

// Include conversation history
const history = await getConversationHistory($json.message.chat.id);
messages.splice(1, 0, ...history);

Save Conversation

// Node: Redis/Database
// Store context for 24h

await saveMessage({
  chatId: $json.message.chat.id,
  role: 'user',
  content: $json.message.text,
  timestamp: Date.now()
});

await saveMessage({
  chatId: $json.message.chat.id,
  role: 'assistant',
  content: aiResponse,
  timestamp: Date.now()
});

Best Practices

1. Respect Rate Limits

// Add delay for bulk sending
for (const user of users) {
  await sendMessage(user.chatId, message);
  await sleep(100); // 100ms pause
}

2. Error Handling

// Catch Telegram API errors
try {
  await sendMessage(chatId, text);
} catch (error) {
  if (error.code === 403) {
    // User has blocked bot
    await removeSubscriber(chatId);
  } else if (error.code === 429) {
    // Rate limit - wait and retry
    await sleep(error.parameters.retry_after * 1000);
    await sendMessage(chatId, text);
  }
}

3. Format Messages

// Markdown V2 syntax
const text = 

<em>Bold</em>
_Italic_
~Strikethrough~
\Code\

\\\
Code Block
\\\

Link
;

// Escape special characters
const escaped = text.replace(/[_*[\]()~`>#+=|{}.!-]/g, '\\$&');

4. Send Media

// Send image
{
  "method": "sendPhoto",
  "chatId": "123456",
  "photo": "https://example.com/image.jpg",
  "caption": "Description"
}

// Send document
{
  "method": "sendDocument",
  "chatId": "123456",
  "document": "{{ $binary.data }}",
  "filename": "report.pdf"
}

Security

Protect Token

• Never commit in code
• Use environment variables
• If leaked: Revoke token with BotFather

Restrict Access

// Only allow certain users
const allowedUsers = [123456, 789012];

if (!allowedUsers.includes($json.message.from.id)) {
  await sendMessage(chatId, "Access denied.");
  return;
}

Secure Webhook

// Verify secret token
const secretToken = $headers['x-telegram-bot-api-secret-token'];
if (secretToken !== process.env.TELEGRAM_SECRET) {
  return { status: 403 };
}

Costs

Total costs: 5-30 EUR/month for a fully functional bot

Conclusion

Telegram bots are a cost-effective and efficient solution for business automation:

• Free API
• High delivery rates
• Interactive features
• Easy integration with n8n/Make.com

Next Steps

Create bot with BotFather

Set up first workflow (e.g., simple alert)

Add interactivity (buttons, commands)

Scale (AI integration, more use cases)

We support you with Telegram automation - from setup to production use.