How to Create Telegram Mini App

Telegram has evolved far beyond a simple messaging service. With the introduction of Telegram Mini Apps, the platform now offers a robust environment for developers to build fully fledged web services directly within the user’s Telegram app. This complete guide will walk you through what these mini app solutions are, why they’re essential for modern businesses—especially in the crypto and blockchain space—and the steps on how to create one from scratch.

What are Telegram Mini Apps?

Telegram Mini Apps are essentially web apps that load inside a special iframe-like window within the Telegram interface. They are built using standard web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making development familiar to any web developers. The Telegram app acts as a platform, providing a powerful bridge (Telegram Mini App API) that enables your mini app to interact with the user’s Telegram app, including accessing user data (with permission), controlling the bot menu button, and even processing payments.

This seamless integration means users switch between chatting and using your app effortlessly, without ever having to leave the telegram app. This provides an incredibly convenient and seamless experience for millions of Telegram users.

Why Build Telegram Mini Apps?

The shift towards mini app development on platforms like Telegram is driven by several key advantages for businesses:

Expanded Accessibility and Reach: With Telegram boasting millions of active users, your mini app gains immediate access to a massive potential audience. Users can launch your app instantly from a bot, a direct link, or an inline button in a chat.
Improved User Experience: By keeping users within the familiar telegram interface, you remove the friction of downloading a new app or navigating to an external website. The experience feels native, fast, and secure.
Enhanced Engagement and Retention: Integrating your app directly into telegram chats and groups allows for unique social and gamified features like multiplayer games. Features like the bot menu button keep your service easily accessible, improving usage frequency.
Monetization Opportunities: Mini Apps can easily accept payments directly through Telegram’s payment APIs, opening up simple ways for e-commerce, premium features, or in-app games monetization.
Cost-Effective Development: Utilizing existing web technologies and infrastructure often makes the development and deployment of a mini app more cost-effective compared to building native mobile applications for multiple operating systems.

This opportunity is particularly relevant for the cryptocurrency and blockchain mini apps sector, where features like secure wallet integration, real time updates, and gamified trading (games) can be delivered in a highly accessible manner.

Mini App Types

While all telegram mini apps operate on the same core principle, the way users access and launch them can be categorized:

Direct Link Apps

These mini app solutions are accessible via a mini app url that can be shared anywhere. The format https://t.me/your_bot_username/app_name is a direct link that, when clicked, opens the mini app directly within the user’s telegram app. This link can be posted in social media, emails, or on a website, providing a powerful acquisition tool.

Bot-Launched Apps

The most common method is launching a mini app via a dedicated telegram bot.

Menu Button Launch: The bot menu button is a persistent, customizable button in the chat interface. When the user clicks the menu button, the mini app automatically launches. You must configure this via BotFather (more on that later).
Inline Mode Launch: Some mini app functionality can be accessed via inline mode, allowing users to search for and embed mini app content or links directly into a message in any chat.
Command Launch: A user can send a specific /command to the bot, which then triggers the launch of the mini app.

How to Create a Telegram Mini App

Building your first mini app involves a few distinct steps, from setting up your bot to deploying your web application.

Step 1: Create a New Telegram Bot

Every mini app must be associated with a telegram bot. The bot acts as the gateway and authorization system.

Chat with BotFather: In your Telegram app, search for and open a chat with the official @BotFather.
Create the New Bot: Send the /newbot command. BotFather will ask you for a title and a unique username for your new bot (e.g., MyAwesomeAppBot).
Get Your API Token: Upon successful creation, BotFather will provide you with a unique API Token (string of characters). Note this api token—you’ll need it to connect to the Telegram API and configure your bot settings.

Step 2: Project Setup

Since Telegram Mini Apps are just web apps, your project setup is similar to any standard web development project.

Choose Your Stack: You can use vanilla JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, but for complex apps, using modern frameworks like React, Vue, or Svelte (and potentially TypeScript) is highly recommended. You can also refer to specialized npm package solutions like react-telegram-web-app for easy integration.
Front-end Development: Create the user interface for your mini app. Remember the web interface will be displayed in a relatively small window, so design for mobile-first.
Integrate the Telegram Web App Script: This is the most important step. You need to include the Telegram WebApp script in your HTML file to access the Telegram Mini App API:

HTML

<script src="https://telegram.org/js/telegram-web-app.js"></script>

Backend (Optional but Recommended): For fully fledged web services, you’ll likely need a backend to handle business logic, store data (e.g., a database), and process sensitive information. The backend will receive data from the mini app and handle communication with the main Telegram API using the API token.

Step 3: Initializing Mini Apps

Once the script is included, you can initialize the mini app in your JavaScript code.

JavaScript

// Check if the WebApp object is available
if (window.Telegram && window.Telegram.WebApp) {
    const webApp = window.Telegram.WebApp;
    // Call ready() to let the Telegram client know the app is loaded
    webApp.ready(); 

    // Access user data
    const userData = webApp.initDataUnsafe.user;
    if (userData) {
        // You can now use the user's ID, username, etc.
        console.log("Welcome, " + userData.username);
    }
    
    // Customize the interface colors (supports light/dark theme)
    webApp.setHeaderColor('#639FBC'); 
    webApp.setBackgroundColor('#E9F1F6');

    // Display the Main Button
    webApp.MainButton.setText("Let's Go!");
    webApp.MainButton.show();
    
    // Add an event listener for button clicks
    webApp.MainButton.onClick(() => {
        // Example: Send a message back to the bot
        webApp.sendData('start_process'); 
    });
} else {
    // Handle the case where the app is opened outside of Telegram
    console.error("Not running inside Telegram Mini App");
}

This code snippet shows how to:

Access the WebApp object.
Call ready() once the app is completely loaded.
Access essential user data for authorization and personalization.
Customize the appearance, supporting dark mode with dynamic color settings.
Utilize the MainButton component for key actions and send messages back to the bot.

Configure and Launch Telegram Mini Apps

After developing your mini app, the next steps involve hosting the web application and linking it to your bot.

Step 4: Hosting and Deployment

Your mini app must be hosted on a secure website with an HTTPS connection. This is a required security measure.

Choose a Hosting Service: Services like Vercel, Netlify, or AWS are popular platform choices.
Deploy Your App: Deploy your front-end code to your chosen host. Note the final mini app url (format https://your-domain.com/).

Step 5: Bot Settings Configuration

You need to tell Telegram which URL to launch when a user attempts to access your mini app.

Use BotFather’s /setwebapp Command: Chat with BotFather again and use the /setwebapp command.
Select Your Bot: Choose the bot you want to create the mini app for.
Enter the Mini App URL: BotFather will prompt you to enter the full HTTPS url of your hosted web application.

Launching Mini Apps from the Menu Button

For high visibility, you should configure a persistent menu button that launches your mini app directly.

Use BotFather’s /setmenubutton Command: Send /setmenubutton to BotFather.
Select Your Bot: Choose the relevant bot.
Set the URL: BotFather will ask for the link (your mini app url) and the text (the title for the menu button, e.g., “Open App”). The bot menu button will now appear in the chat interface for all users.

Events Available for Mini Apps

The Telegram Mini App API allows your app to respond to various events in real time updates, creating a truly dynamic experience.

Event	Description	Use Case
themeChanged	Fires when the user switches between light and dark theme.	Update your app’s CSS for a native look.
viewportChanged	Fires when the app size changes (e.g., keyboard opens/closes).	Adjust layout or scroll position to avoid hidden elements.
mainButton-click	Fires when the Main Button is tapped.	Trigger core actions like form submission or game start.
backButton-click	Fires when the default back button is tapped.	Implement custom navigation logic.

Testing Mini Apps

Debugging and testing are crucial steps to ensure a seamless experience.

In-App Testing: The primary way to test is to launch your mini app via the bot in your own telegram app. This allows you to see how it looks and functions on a real device.
Remote Debugging: For advanced debugging, you can use browser remote inspection tools (like Chrome DevTools for Android or Safari Web Inspector for iOS) to connect to the running webapp inside the Telegram client.
Local Testing (with Caveats): While you can open the HTML file in a regular browser, most Telegram API functions will be disabled and result in an error (since the Telegram.WebApp object won’t be initialized). This method is only useful for testing basic HTML and CSS layout.

Difference Between Mini Apps and Mini Games

The terms are often used interchangeably, but there’s a technical distinction. Telegram Mini Apps are the general category for any web application running inside Telegram. Mini Games are a specific type of mini app primarily designed for gaming, often featuring competitive elements, leaderboards, and multiplayer games.

The Telegram API supports both, but games may utilize specific API components for high-score submission and group chat integration. For example, a mini app focused on productivity tools or e-commerce is less likely to need the same gaming-specific features as a reaction-time game.

Build Telegram Mini Apps Projects with AI

The complexity of modern mini app development, especially when involving blockchain, can be streamlined using AI-powered development tools. AI can assist in:

Code Generation: Quickly generating boilerplate code for project setup, CSS styles, or API integration scripts.
Debugging and Error Handling: Identifying potential error sources and suggesting fixes for common integration issues with the Telegram API.
Data Analysis: Analyzing user interaction data and suggesting interface improvements.
Security Audits: Scanning the code for vulnerabilities, especially when dealing with sensitive information or payments.

Leveraging AI in your development workflow can significantly speed up the process to create a new and innovative mini app.

What are the differences between Mini Apps and Bots?

While they are closely linked, a telegram bot and a mini app serve different purposes:

Feature	Telegram Bot	Telegram Mini App
Technology	Interacts via Telegram’s Bot API (HTTPS requests).	Standard Web Apps (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) running in a web interface.
Interface	Primarily text-based; uses inline keyboards or custom keyboards.	Rich graphical interface; fully fledged web services.
Functionality	Automated replies, notifications, simple interactions, command processing.	Complex UI/UX, real time updates, video, games, advanced data display.
Gateway	The bot’s username is the primary point of access.	The bot is the launch mechanism; the mini app url is the core.

In short, the bot is the backbone for communication and launching, while the mini app provides the sophisticated interface and advanced functionality. The best solutions use them in tandem.

What languages and frameworks can I use to build a Mini App?

You can use any technology that compiles to standard web formats (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).

Front-End: React (often with a React-specific npm package for Telegram), Vue, Svelte, or vanilla JavaScript and TypeScript.
Back-End: Python (Django, Flask), Node.js (Express), Go, or any other platform capable of serving web apps and handling API requests.

The flexibility of web technologies means the sky’s the limit for your idea and implementation.

Launch and Create Telegram Mini App for Your Brand

Telegram Mini Apps represent a paradigm shift in how businesses can connect and interact with their user base. They offer the power of a native app combined with the viral distribution and low-friction access of the Telegram ecosystem.

For businesses in the cryptocurrency and blockchain mini apps space, this is a particularly amazing opportunity to provide secure, intuitive, and engaging services—from advanced trading tools to gamified loyalty programs. Take, for example, Kyrrex Global or D3X. These solutions demonstrate the potential to acquire 600,000+ users and drive significant conversion by seamlessly integrating complex financial services into the user’s telegram app.

If you want to create a custom-built, seamless experience that is perfectly tailored to your crypto business needs, you need to partner with experts who understand both cutting-edge web technologies and the nuances of the Telegram API.

Simplify Labs specializes in delivering high-impact blockchain solutions, including Telegram Mini Apps. We offer unmatched expertise and leverage the latest tools to ensure your new app is competitive, secure, and drives growth. Whether your goal is to boost user engagement with games or expand accessibility for your financial services, we provide the custom development needed for results that drive growth.

Don’t wait to capitalize on this expanding platform. Launch your customized telegram mini solution today.

Request a Demo to see how we can create a Telegram mini app for your crypto business – a custom-built, seamless solution tailored to your needs, making crypto services more accessible and efficient.

How to Create Telegram Mini App: A Comprehensive Guide to Building and Launching Your Mini App