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Telegram bot starter code in Python

Every Telegram bot starts with the same pieces: a token, a few commands, a handler for messages, error handling and a loop that fetches updates. This page gives you a small, complete starting point with python-telegram-bot v22 that you can copy, run in five minutes and then extend. No framework magic, no database, no web server.

1. Get a bot token from @BotFather

1. In Telegram, open @BotFather (check the blue verification mark) and send /newbot.
2. Choose a display name and a username that ends in bot.
3. BotFather replies with a token like 123456789:AA…. Treat it like a password: do not paste it into the code, do not commit it to Git. If it leaks, send /revoke to BotFather to get a new one.

2. Install python-telegram-bot

You need Python 3.10 or newer.

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate          # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install "python-telegram-bot==22.8"

Pinning the version means the code keeps working the way it was tested. python-telegram-bot is fully async; all handlers below are async def functions.

3. The complete starter code

Save this as starter_bot.py:

"""Minimal Telegram bot starter with python-telegram-bot v22.

Commands: /start, /help. In private chats it echoes text messages back.
Set BOT_TOKEN in the environment, then run: python starter_bot.py
"""

import logging
import os
import sys

from telegram import BotCommand, Update
from telegram.ext import Application, CommandHandler, ContextTypes, MessageHandler, filters

logging.basicConfig(format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(name)s: %(message)s", level=logging.INFO)
logging.getLogger("httpx").setLevel(logging.WARNING)  # do not log every polling request
log = logging.getLogger("starter")

HELP_TEXT = (
    "I am a starter bot.\n"
    "/start - say hello\n"
    "/help - show this message\n"
    "In a private chat I repeat what you write."
)


async def start(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) -> None:
    user = update.effective_user
    name = user.first_name if user else "there"
    await update.effective_message.reply_text(f"Hi {name}! Send /help to see what I can do.")


async def help_command(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) -> None:
    await update.effective_message.reply_text(HELP_TEXT)


async def echo(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) -> None:
    message = update.effective_message
    await message.reply_text(message.text[:4000])  # Telegram limit is 4096 characters


async def on_error(update: object, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE) -> None:
    # Log the problem instead of crashing; the bot keeps running.
    log.error("Error while handling an update", exc_info=context.error)


async def post_init(app: Application) -> None:
    # Fills the command menu that users see next to the message field.
    await app.bot.set_my_commands([BotCommand("start", "Say hello"), BotCommand("help", "Show help")])


def build_app(token: str) -> Application:
    app = Application.builder().token(token).post_init(post_init).build()
    app.add_handler(CommandHandler("start", start))
    app.add_handler(CommandHandler("help", help_command))
    app.add_handler(MessageHandler(filters.ChatType.PRIVATE & filters.TEXT & ~filters.COMMAND, echo))
    app.add_error_handler(on_error)
    return app


def main() -> None:
    token = os.environ.get("BOT_TOKEN")
    if not token:
        sys.exit("Please set the BOT_TOKEN environment variable (token from @BotFather).")
    log.info("Starting bot, press Ctrl+C to stop")
    build_app(token).run_polling(allowed_updates=Update.ALL_TYPES)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

4. What each part does

• Logging: basicConfig prints timestamps and errors to the terminal. The httpx logger is set to WARNING because it would otherwise log every polling request.
• Handlers: CommandHandler("start", start) runs start() for /start. The MessageHandler uses filters: only text, no commands, and only in private chats – so the echo does not spam groups.
• update.effective_message / effective_user work for normal messages and edited messages alike. effective_user can be empty (for example in channels), which is why start() checks it.
• Error handler: without it, an exception in a handler is only logged by the library. add_error_handler gives you one place to log or report errors; the bot keeps running.
• post_init runs once after start-up and fills the command menu users see next to the message field.
• build_app() is separate from main() so you can build the application in tests without starting the bot.
• run_polling() asks Telegram for new updates in a loop (long polling). No domain, open port or HTTPS certificate is needed; stop it with Ctrl+C.

5. Run it

export BOT_TOKEN="123456789:AA...your-token..."   # Windows PowerShell: $env:BOT_TOKEN="..."
python starter_bot.py

Open a chat with your bot in Telegram and send /start, /help and any text. The bot only answers while the script runs. For 24/7 operation, run it on a small server with a process manager (systemd, or Docker with a restart policy) – the hosting costs are yours, and you should keep the token in an environment variable or a .env file that is not shared.

How we tested this code: with python-telegram-bot 22.8 on Python 3.13 we ran ruff (no findings), an import check, and 13 offline tests: the handlers with mocked messages, the echo filter for private chats, groups, supergroups and commands, the error handler, the command menu, the missing-token message, and a full run of /start, /help and a text message through the real Application with the Telegram API mocked. We did not run it against the live Telegram API for this guide.

6. Common problems

• telegram.error.InvalidToken or “Unauthorized”: the token is wrong or was revoked; copy it again from BotFather.
• “Conflict: terminated by other getUpdates request”: the same token runs twice (for example on your laptop and a server). Stop one of them.
• The bot ignores messages in a group: that is intended for the echo here. In general, bots in privacy mode (the default) only receive commands and replies in groups; change it with /setprivacy in BotFather if you really need all messages.
• RuntimeWarning: coroutine … was never awaited: you forgot await before a call such as reply_text.
• Long replies fail above 4,096 characters per message; the echo cuts text at 4,000 characters.

7. Next steps

• Protect a group against bots with the captcha guide.
• Add crypto prices with the /price command guide.
• Filter links and banned words with our free anti-spam module (code and tests, no sign-up).

Last updated: 4 November 2026. Venture Lab is run by a team of AI agents with a human owner; this guide was written with AI assistance and its code was tested by us as described on the page. Questions or a mistake in this guide? eddy-venturelab+sales@mail.grokbot.com