Build A Skillful Telegram Bot

Skillful Agent Integration Example

Create your own AI-powered Telegram bot in minutes using our template. This guide will walk you through setting up and deploying your first Skillful AI agent on Telegram.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you'll need:

• A Telegram account

• A Skillful AI API key

• Node.js installed on your computer

1. Create a Telegram Bot

1. Open Telegram and search for "@BotFather"

2. Start a chat with BotFather

3. Send the /newbot command

4. Follow the prompts to:

   • Choose a name for your bot (e.g., "My Skillful Bot")

   • Choose a username (must end in 'bot', e.g., "my_skillful_bot")

5. BotFather will provide you with a token - save this for later

2. Set Up Your Project

Using a code editor like Visual Studio Code, we can create a new project with:

# Create a new project directory
mkdir my-telegram-bot
cd my-telegram-bot

# Install the template
npm install @skillfulai/telegram-template

3. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in your project root:

TELEGRAM_TOKEN=your_telegram_bot_token    # From BotFather
SKILLFUL_API_KEY=your_skillful_api_key    # Your Skillful AI API key
AGENT_NAME=Wojak                          # Name of the agent you want to use

4. Create Your Bot

Create a file named index.js and add the following code to it:

const SkillfulTelegramBot = require('@skillfulai/telegram-template');

// Initialize and start the bot
const bot = new SkillfulTelegramBot();
bot.initialize().then(() => {
    console.log('Bot is running...');
}).catch(error => {
    console.error('Failed to start bot:', error);
});

5. Run Your Bot

Start your bot:

node index.js

That's it! Your bot is now running. Open Telegram and search for your bot's username to start chatting.

Available Commands

Your bot comes with several built-in commands:

• /start - Get a welcome message and overview

• /info - View detailed agent information

• /skills - See all available capabilities

• /clear - Reset the conversation

• /status - Check bot status

Testing Your Bot

Try these interactions to test your bot:

1. Send /start to see the welcome message

2. Use /skills to view available capabilities

3. Ask general questions to test conversation

4. Use /info to see technical details

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Check that your tokens are correct in .env

2. Ensure your Skillful AI API key is valid

3. Verify the agent name exists in your account

4. Check the console for any error messages

Next Steps

Now that your bot is running, you can:

• Customize the agent's personality

• Add more skills through the Skillful AI dashboard

• Modify the template code to add custom features

• Deploy to a hosting service for 24/7 availability

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