Telegram Mini App — Step-by-Step Guide

What is it?#

Telegram Mini App allows your customers to open the restaurant's digital menu directly inside Telegram — without installing apps or switching to a browser. The menu looks like a native part of Telegram: it adapts to the user's theme, supports the Back button and gestures.

Benefits#

• 📱 Inside Telegram — customers don't need to switch to a browser
• 🎨 Native look — colors, fonts and theme adapt to Telegram
• 🔗 Deep Links — direct link to a specific restaurant's menu
• 🌍 Auto language — language is taken from the user's Telegram settings
• 🍪 No cookies — cookie banner is not shown inside Telegram

Quick Start#

Step 1 — Create a bot#

Open @BotFather in Telegram and send:

/newbot

1. Enter the bot name (e.g., Meni Menu Bot)
2. Enter the username (e.g., MeniMenuBot) — must end with Bot
3. Save the received Bot Token (format: 123456789:ABCdefGHI...)

💡 If the bot is already created, proceed to Step 2.

Why do you need a Bot Token?#

The Bot Token is a secret key for programmatic bot management via the Telegram Bot API. For basic Mini App setup (steps 2–4) it is not required — everything is done through BotFather. But you will need it if you want to:

• Send messages to customers — order status notifications, promotions, welcome messages
• Add inline buttons to bot messages (e.g., a "📋 Open menu" button — see section below)
• Create a Telegram bot for receiving orders — the bot can receive and process orders
• Set up a Webhook — receive events from Telegram (button presses, user commands)
• Integrate with CRM or POS system — automatic order processing through the bot

🔒 Don't publish the Bot Token — anyone who has the token can control your bot. If the token is compromised, revoke it with the /revoke command in BotFather.

Step 2 — Create the Mini App#

Send BotFather the command:

/newapp

1. Select the bot from the list
2. Title — application name (e.g., Meni)
3. Description — description (e.g., Digital restaurant menu)
4. Photo — upload a 640×640 px image (app icon)
5. GIF — animation (optional). To skip, send /empty
6. Web App URL — specify the address of your client application:

https://cenaly.ru

7. Short Name — short name for the link (e.g., menu)

After this you will have a working link like:

https://t.me/YourBot/menu

Step 3 — Add a "Menu" button to the bot chat#

Send BotFather:

/setmenubutton

1. Select the bot
2. Send the URL:

https://cenaly.ru

3. Enter the button text (e.g., Open Menu or 📋 Menu)

Now when opening a chat with the bot, a button will appear at the bottom of the screen that opens your application.

Step 4 — Allow the domain#

Send BotFather:

/setdomain

Select the bot and specify the domain:

cenaly.ru

This will allow Telegram Web App to work on your domain and all its subdomains (e.g., locationid.cenaly.ru).

Deep Links — links to a specific restaurant#

Telegram supports the startapp parameter, which is passed to the application when opened. Use it for links to a specific restaurant:

Examples#

If your restaurant's LOCATION_ID is lnc2w74z:

https://t.me/YourBot/menu?startapp=lnc2w74z
https://t.me/YourBot/menu?startapp=lnc2w74z__ru
https://t.me/YourBot/menu?startapp=lnc2w74z__en

📌 LOCATION_ID is the identifier of your location in cenaly.ru. You can find it in the admin panel or in the URL like https://LOCATION_ID.cenaly.ru.

Inline buttons from the bot#

If your bot sends messages to customers, you can add an inline button that will open the menu:

Option 1 — Web App button (opens immediately)#

{
  "inline_keyboard": [[{
    "text": "📋 Open menu",
    "web_app": {
      "url": "https://LOCATION_ID.cenaly.ru/en"
    }
  }]]
}

Option 2 — Deep Link button#

{
  "inline_keyboard": [[{
    "text": "📋 Open menu",
    "url": "https://t.me/YourBot/menu?startapp=LOCATION_ID__en"
  }]]
}

What works automatically#

After connecting, the following features are automatically enabled inside Telegram:

QR codes for restaurants#

Existing QR codes with URLs like https://lnc2w74z.cenaly.ru will continue to work as usual — through the browser.

For additional Telegram integration, you can place a second QR code on tables with a bot link:

https://t.me/YourBot/menu?startapp=lnc2w74z

Verification#

1. Open the link https://t.me/YourBot/menu on your phone
2. Click Start (if opening the bot for the first time)
3. Click the 📋 Menu button in the bottom panel of the chat
4. Make sure the app opened and loaded the menu
5. Try opening the deep link: https://t.me/YourBot/menu?startapp=LOCATION_ID

Common problems#

Useful links#

• Telegram Mini Apps documentation
• BotFather
• Telegram Bot API — Web App buttons