How to Host Telegram Bots

Introduction

To develop and host on Square Cloud, it’s essential to follow a structured sequence of configurations and prerequisites. This technical guide will cover the entire process, from initial setup to production deployment.

Prerequisites

Square Cloud Account: Register through the signup page using your email.
Active Paid Plan: Ensures dedicated resources and optimized performance for your application. Check our available plans and choose the most suitable for your needs.

Creating project

A Telegram account is essential for testing and interacting with your bot. If you don’t have one, visit the official Telegram website to create your account for free.

Bot application on Telegram

Getting Started

Access Telegram Web and search for the official BotFather bot, responsible for creating and managing bots on the platform.

Obtaining the Authentication Token

Start a conversation with BotFather and type /start. Then, select the /newbot option to create a new bot. The system will ask for a name for your bot and, after confirmation, will automatically generate the necessary authentication token.

Generating Telegram bot token with BotFather

Critical Security: Keep your bot token absolutely secret. This token grants full control over the bot and should be treated as confidential information.

Developing project

The choice of library or framework depends on the programming language you intend to use. Below are some of the most popular options:

Node.js - grammY
Python - telebot

Environment Setup

Verify that Node.js is installed on your system. Otherwise, download it from the official Node.js website.
Initialize a new Node.js project:

Terminal

npm init -y

Install the grammY library:

Terminal

npm install grammy

Basic Implementation

Create the main file (index.js) with the following structure:

index.js

const { Bot } = require("grammy");

// Authentication token configuration
const token = "YOUR_TOKEN_HERE";

// Bot initialization
const bot = new Bot(token);

(async () => {
  // Get bot information
  const botInfo = await bot.api.getMe();
  const botName = botInfo.username;

  // Define handler for text messages
  bot.on("message:text", async (ctx) => {
    const userMsg = ctx.message.text;
    const responseMsg = `${botName} responds: ${userMsg}`;
    await ctx.reply(responseMsg);
  });

  // Start the bot
  bot.start();
  console.log(`Bot ${botName} started successfully!`);
})();

Environment Setup

Verify that Python and pip are installed. Otherwise, download them from the official Python website.
Install the pyTelegramBotAPI library:

Terminal

pip install pyTelegramBotAPI

Basic Implementation

Create the main file (main.py):

main.py

import telebot

# Authentication token configuration
TOKEN = "YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"

# Bot initialization
bot = telebot.TeleBot(TOKEN)

# Define handler for non-command messages
@bot.message_handler(func=lambda message: not message.text.startswith('/'))
def echo_handler(message):
    # Get bot information
    bot_info = bot.get_me()
    bot_name = bot_info.username
    # Format response message
    response_msg = f"{bot_name} responds: {message.text}"
    # Reply to the user
    bot.reply_to(message, response_msg)

# Main execution
if __name__ == '__main__':
    bot_info = bot.get_me()
    print(f"Bot {bot_info.username} started successfully!")
    # Start polling
    bot.infinity_polling()

Create the requirements.txt file to manage dependencies:

requirements.txt

pyTelegramBotAPI

Deploying

After preparing your project files, you can now upload them to Square Cloud and host your project. To do so, create a ZIP file containing all your project files.

Via dashboard

Access the Upload Page

Access the upload page and upload your project zip file.

Configure Your Environment

After uploading your zip, you will need to configure the name, main file or runtime environment and other settings for your project.
If you are uploading a web project, make sure to select “Web Publication” and set a subdomain to your project.

Deploy Your Project

Finally, click on the “Deploy” button to host your project on Square Cloud.
After deployment, you can monitor your project’s status and logs from the dashboard.

Confirm Your App Is Live

Your first deploy usually takes less than a minute. In the dashboard, wait for your application status to show as running and check the logs for any startup errors.
If you deployed a website or API, open https://<your-subdomain>.squareweb.app in your browser — you should see your application responding. If you deployed a bot, send it a command to confirm it is online.

App not starting? See the Troubleshooting guide for the most common causes and fixes.

Via CLI

To use this method, you need to create a config file named squarecloud.app in the root directory of your project. This file will contain the necessary configuration for your project.

Configuration file guide

Learn how to create the squarecloud.app configuration file that defines your application’s environment.

Install the CLI

First, you need to have the CLI installed in your environment. If you don’t have it yet, run the following command in your terminal:

npm install -g @squarecloud/cli

If you already have it, we recommend updating it. To do this, run the following command in your terminal:

Windows
Linux, macOS, and WSL

squarecloud update

curl -fsSL https://cli.squarecloud.app/install | bash

Authenticate

Now, to authenticate and use other CLI commands, you will find your authorization key here by clicking on “Request API Key”. After obtaining your authorization key, run the following command:

squarecloud auth login

Upload Your Project

Finally, to deploy your application to Square Cloud using the CLI, you need to run the following command:

squarecloud upload

Or if you created the zip manually, you can use:

squarecloud upload --file <path/to/zip>

Confirm Your App Is Live

Your first deploy usually takes less than a minute. Check your application status and logs directly from the terminal:

squarecloud app status
squarecloud app logs

If you deployed a website or API, open https://<your-subdomain>.squareweb.app in your browser — you should see your application responding. If you deployed a bot, send it a command to confirm it is online.

App not starting? See the Troubleshooting guide for the most common causes and fixes.

Testing the bot

After successful deployment, locate your bot on Telegram and send a test message. The bot should respond by echoing your message, confirming the correct implementation functionality.

Testing the Telegram bot after deployment

Additional Resources

To deepen your knowledge about Telegram bot development, consult the official pyTelegramBotAPI documentation. The documentation offers detailed guides, advanced tutorials, and complete API reference.

Contact us

If you continue facing technical difficulties, our specialized support team is available to assist you. Contact us and we’ll be happy to help you resolve any issue — support quality is a big part of why developers rate Square Cloud 4.9/5 across 402 reviews on Google and Trustpilot.

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How to Host Telegram Bots

Introduction

Prerequisites

Creating project

Bot application on Telegram

Developing project

Deploying

Via dashboard

Via CLI

Configuration file guide

Testing the bot

Additional Resources

Contact us

​Introduction

​Prerequisites

​Creating project

​Bot application on Telegram

​Developing project

​Deploying

​Via dashboard

​Via CLI

Configuration file guide

​Testing the bot

​Additional Resources

​Contact us

Introduction

Prerequisites

Creating project

Bot application on Telegram

Developing project

Deploying

Via dashboard

Via CLI

Testing the bot

Additional Resources

Contact us