How to Host Telegram Bots

Introduction

This guide covers creating and deploying Telegram bots on Shard Cloud.

Creating a Telegram Bot

Open BotFather

Open Telegram and search for @BotFather.

Create New Bot

Send /newbot and follow the prompts to name your bot.

Get Token

BotFather will provide your bot token. Save it securely.

Security: Keep your bot token secret. Anyone with it can control your bot.

Creating Your Bot

Node.js (node-telegram-bot-api)
Python (python-telegram-bot)

Setup

npm init -y
npm install node-telegram-bot-api

Basic Bot Code

index.js

const TelegramBot = require('node-telegram-bot-api');

const token = 'YOUR_BOT_TOKEN';
const bot = new TelegramBot(token, { polling: true });

bot.on('message', (msg) => {
  const chatId = msg.chat.id;
  
  if (msg.text === '/start') {
    bot.sendMessage(chatId, 'Hello! I am your bot.');
  } else if (msg.text === '/ping') {
    bot.sendMessage(chatId, 'Pong!');
  }
});

console.log('Bot is running...');

Package.json

package.json

{
  "name": "telegram-bot",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "index.js",
  "dependencies": {
    "node-telegram-bot-api": "^0.64.0"
  }
}

Shard Cloud Configuration

.shardcloud

DISPLAY_NAME=Telegram Bot
DESCRIPTION=My Telegram Bot
MAIN=index.js
MEMORY=256
VERSION=recommended

Setup

pip install python-telegram-bot

Basic Bot Code

main.py

from telegram import Update
from telegram.ext import Application, CommandHandler, ContextTypes

TOKEN = 'YOUR_BOT_TOKEN'

async def start(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE):
    await update.message.reply_text('Hello! I am your bot.')

async def ping(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE):
    await update.message.reply_text('Pong!')

def main():
    app = Application.builder().token(TOKEN).build()
    
    app.add_handler(CommandHandler('start', start))
    app.add_handler(CommandHandler('ping', ping))
    
    print('Bot is running...')
    app.run_polling()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

Requirements.txt

requirements.txt

python-telegram-bot

Shard Cloud Configuration

.shardcloud

DISPLAY_NAME=Telegram Bot
DESCRIPTION=My Telegram Bot
MAIN=main.py
MEMORY=256
VERSION=recommended

Deploying

Prepare Your Files

Ensure you have:

Your bot code file
package.json (Node.js) or requirements.txt (Python)
.shardcloud

Exclude Unnecessary Files

Remove: node_modules/, __pycache__/, venv/

Create ZIP Archive

Compress your project folder.

Upload to Shard Cloud

Go to Shard Cloud Dashboard and upload.

Testing

After deployment, open Telegram, find your bot, and send /ping. It should reply with “Pong!”.

Additional Resources

Troubleshooting

Bot not responding

Verify your bot token is correct
Check that polling is enabled
Review logs in the dashboard

Conflict error

Only one instance of your bot can use polling at a time. Stop other instances.

Introduction

Platform Features

Bot Platforms

API Frameworks

Website Frameworks

How to Host Telegram Bots

Introduction

Creating a Telegram Bot

Creating Your Bot

Setup

Basic Bot Code

Package.json

Shard Cloud Configuration

Setup

Basic Bot Code

Requirements.txt

Shard Cloud Configuration

Deploying

Testing

Additional Resources

Troubleshooting

​Introduction

​Creating a Telegram Bot

​Creating Your Bot

​Setup

​Basic Bot Code

​Package.json

​Shard Cloud Configuration

​Setup

​Basic Bot Code

​Requirements.txt

​Shard Cloud Configuration

​Deploying

​Testing

​Additional Resources

​Troubleshooting

Introduction

Creating a Telegram Bot

Creating Your Bot

Setup

Basic Bot Code

Package.json

Shard Cloud Configuration

Setup

Basic Bot Code

Requirements.txt

Shard Cloud Configuration

Deploying

Testing

Additional Resources

Troubleshooting