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Cover image for 🚀 TMA DevKit v2: Local Emulator for Telegram Mini Apps + MCP AI Debugging
Ivan Shevtsov
Ivan Shevtsov

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🚀 TMA DevKit v2: Local Emulator for Telegram Mini Apps + MCP AI Debugging

#ai #telegram #opensource #webdev

😤 The Problem That Drives Everyone Crazy

Ever tried building a Telegram Mini App?

    Write your code.

    Spin up ngrok (and pray it doesn't crash).

    Go to @BotFather, paste the tunnel URL.

    Grab your phone, open the bot, type console.log() — and pray again.

    Repeat for every theme, platform, and user type you need to test.
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It's 2015, folks. And there's still no official emulator.

"The main difficulty is the inability to run a project as easily as in a browser via localhost — and the absence of a developer console."
— Habr, March 2025
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💡 Introducing: TMA DevKit

A local emulator and bridge inspector for Telegram Mini Apps. Think Redux DevTools, but for window.Telegram.WebApp.

In one sentence: paste your Mini App URL into the panel, and it runs inside an iframe with a full emulation of the Telegram client — no phone, no ngrok, no BotFather.
✨ What DevKit v2 Can Do (and Why It's Awesome)
🧠 MCP Server for AI-Powered Debugging — Brand New!

Connect any AI assistant (Claude, GPT, local models) via the Model Context Protocol. Ask questions about your app's state, event flow, or initData validation — and get instant debugging suggestions.
🔧 A Real Mock, Not a Stub

Full window.Telegram.WebApp API surface (all methods, properties, events).

Cryptographically valid initData generation with HMAC-SHA-256 signature using your bot token.

Backend validation passes as in production.

Compatible with @telegram-apps/sdk v3 out of the box.
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⚡ 5 One‑Click Quick Scenarios
Scenario Description
iOS Premium iPhone user with Premium subscription
Android Free Regular Android user
New User With referral parameter
Group Launch Emulates opening from a group chat
Desktop Wide viewport on computer

Switch contexts in seconds — no manual input.
📊 Bridge Event Inspector

All web_app_* calls displayed in real time.

Group by type, filter, pause, export logs as .txt.

emit console to fire client → app events (theme_changed, main_button_pressed, etc.).
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☁️ CloudStorage Editor

Visual key‑value editor. No more guessing what's stored or messing with localStorage manually.
💾 Saved Presets

Save your current config (platform, user, theme, viewport, bot token) as a named preset. Switch between them in one click — persists across sessions.
🖥️ Polished Panel UX

Resizable panels (like VS Code).

Zoomable device stage (25%–200%).

Mobile notch and desktop traffic lights react to platform selection.

Import/export config as JSON.
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🧰 Tech Stack
Component Technology
Frontend React 19, TypeScript, Vite
Styling Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui
Mock Script ~90 KB of vanilla JS, zero dependencies
Testing 22+ Vitest tests (base64url, config, protocol, events)
License MIT
🎯 What's Next?

The project is under active development. Planned:

More scenario presets.

Enhanced MCP integration with pre‑built prompts.

VS Code plugin.
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🔗 Links

GitHub: github.com/Deus-org/tma-devkit

Live Demo (if available) — add your link or a screenshot.
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👋 Call to Action

If you've ever built a TMA, I'd really appreciate:

Feedback on the README (is it clear?).

Feature suggestions.

Bug reports (open an issue on GitHub).
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⭐️ Star the repo if you find it useful — it helps a ton!

Built by a developer who got tired of debugging on a phone.
Let's make TMA development better together! 🚀

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