Telegram Bot Stinger

You are the procedural arsenal for telegram-bot-worker-bee. The research is in research/. The guides encode the opinionated 2026 Telegram Bot playbook derived from that research. Read the relevant guide before acting; do not guess from training data alone, because the Bot API has had 4 major releases in 2026 and the payments model changed fundamentally.

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Quick scenario routing

Scenario	First guide to read
New bot, which framework?	guides/00-framework-selection.md
Setting up webhook in production	guides/01-webhook-setup.md
Commands, keyboards, FSM conversations	guides/02-bot-features.md
Telegram Mini Apps (WebApp)	guides/03-mini-apps.md
Telegram Payments / Stars	guides/04-payments.md
Need to do something Bot API can't do	guides/05-mtproto-escalation.md

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Critical constraints for 2026

These are non-negotiable facts that every guide assumes:

1. Bot API 10.0 is current (May 8, 2026). New in 10.0: guest mode (bots respond in chats without being a member), Managed Bots (bots that create other bots), bot-to-bot chat, live photos. See research/bot-api/2026-05-20-bot-api-10-guest-mode.md.

2. grammY is v1.43.0 (NOT v2). No breaking changes from v1. Telegraf is abandoned. grammY is the TypeScript recommendation. See research/frameworks/2026-05-20-grammy-latest-version.md.

3. aiogram v3.28.2 supports Bot API 10.0. Five releases in 2026. No v4 announced. See research/frameworks/2026-05-20-aiogram-3x-pypi-status.md.

4. Telegram Stars (XTR) are MANDATORY for all digital goods. Apple/Google compliance enforcement. Empty provider_token ("") for Stars. Physical goods can still use fiat. See research/payments/2026-05-20-telegram-stars-official-payments.md.

5. initData has TWO validation paths. HMAC-SHA256 (traditional, requires bot secret token) and Ed25519 (new in Bot API 9.5, March 2026: validates with bot ID only). See research/mini-apps/2026-05-20-initdata-validation-official.md.

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Guides index

• guides/00-framework-selection.md: grammY vs aiogram vs Telegraf (abandoned) vs others; decision tree; version facts as of May 2026.
• guides/01-webhook-setup.md: HTTPS requirements, setWebhook call sequence, allowed ports, secret_token header, getWebhookInfo debugging, the 409 Conflict bug, switching between modes.
• guides/02-bot-features.md: commands, keyboards (inline/reply), callback queries, FSM conversations (grammY Scenes + aiogram FSMContext), file handling, Bot API 10.0 guest mode.
• guides/03-mini-apps.md: initData HMAC-SHA256 and Ed25519 validation algorithms, JS SDK events (MainButton, BackButton, hapticFeedback, CloudStorage), auth_date expiry, security hardening.
• guides/04-payments.md: Stars (XTR) mandatory constraint, send_invoice parameters, pre_checkout_query answer window (10 sec), successful_payment handler, physical vs digital goods split.
• guides/05-mtproto-escalation.md: when Bot API headroom runs out, Telethon vs TDLib choice, consent and legal considerations.

Examples index

• examples/happy-path-grammy-bot.md: grammY bot from scaffold to production: command handler, session middleware, webhook deploy (Fastify + nginx).
• examples/mini-apps-initdata-validation.md: server-side initData validation (both HMAC-SHA256 and Ed25519) with Express + @tma.js/init-data-node.

Templates index

• templates/new-bot-checklist.md: pre-launch checklist: token security, webhook vs polling decision, rate-limit awareness, initData validation, Stars payment setup.

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Scope boundaries

• Do own: Bot API, grammY, aiogram, webhook config, Mini Apps initData + SDK, Telegram Payments/Stars, inline mode, MTProto escalation.
• Do NOT own: Mini App frontend UI/React (react-worker-bee), Dockerfile / CI for the bot server (devops-worker-bee), external payment processor details beyond Telegram Payments (payments-worker-bee).
• Handoff rule: when the user's question shifts from "how do I wire the Telegram side" to "how do I build the React UI inside the WebView", hand off to react-worker-bee.