Your First Bot¶
Let's get something working on Telegram in the next few minutes.
The bot will respond to /start with a hello message. No logic field required — just a command name and an answer.
Open the command editor¶
Dashboard → your bot → Commands → Add Command.
Everything your bot does lives here.
Fill in two fields¶
Command: /start
Answer:
Save it. That's the whole bot for now.
What happens when someone types /start¶
Telegram delivers the update. TBL matches /start, sends the answer, done. The answer goes out before any logic runs — so for simple replies you often don't need a logic field at all.
Formatting the answer¶
The answer field accepts Telegram Markdown. Bold, italic, line breaks — useful for welcome text.
Start plain. Add formatting once the message sends reliably.
Test it¶
Open your bot in Telegram, send /start. You should see the hello message right away.
If nothing comes back, check the bot is launched in the dashboard and you're messaging the correct bot username.
What's next¶
Adding a Keyboard — give users buttons so they don't have to type commands.
Or read Command Structure if you want the full picture of how triggers and special commands work.