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. If your team uses Slack or Microsoft Teams, also see our Slack bot guide and Teams bot guide.

Why Telegram Bots?

Advantages over other channels:

Telegram bots work seamlessly with automation platforms like n8n and Make.com.

Use Cases:

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

Step 1: Create Bot on Telegram

Contact BotFather

1. Open Telegram
2. Search for @BotFather
3. 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

1. Send a message to your bot
2. Visit: https://api.telegram.org/bot{TOKEN}/getUpdates
3. Look for "chat":{"id":123456789}

For Groups

1. Add the bot to the group
2. Write something in the group
3. Call getUpdates
4. 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": "*Server Alert*\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 = `
*System Status*

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

1. Telegram Bot - Watch Updates (Trigger)
2. Router (by message type)
3. Text Parser (extract commands)
4. HTTP (call your API)
5. 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 = `
*Bold*
_Italic_
~Strikethrough~
\`Code\`
\`\`\`
Code Block
\`\`\`
[Link](https://example.com)
`;

// 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

1. Create bot with BotFather
2. Set up first workflow (e.g., simple alert)
3. Add interactivity (buttons, commands)
4. Scale (AI integration, more use cases)

We support you with Telegram automation - from setup to production use. Contact us for a free consultation. For more automation ideas, browse our workflow automation examples.