Let's Build a Telegram Mini App Together: Your Ideas + My Code = Open-Source Project

Hello dev.to community! 👋

I'm Tigran, a Senior Frontend Developer with experience in:

• React/TypeScript
• Node.js
• Python

This is my first post here, and I want to make it special by creating an open and collaborative project!

The challenge 💡

I want to build a Telegram Mini App but need your help with the most important part - the idea!

How this will work 🔧

1. You suggest ideas (practical, fun, unusual - anything!)
2. I select the most interesting one
3. Throughout the process I'll publish:
   • Backend: Python (FastAPI + aiogram)
   • Frontend: React/TypeScript
   • Full transparency: all code open-sourced

Why this is valuable 🎁

For the community:

1. See inside a real project's "engine room"
2. Get open-source code for your own projects
3. Opportunity to contribute to the project's growth

For me:

1. An interesting challenge and learning experience
2. Chance to share knowledge
3. Creating a useful tool for everyone

How to Participate 🌟

Simply comment with:

• Your idea's name
• A brief description of functionality
• Why it would be valuable to users

Once we choose the most interesting proposal, I start coding! Let's build something truly awesome together! 🚀

I'd appreciate any advice about the tech stack (FastAPI + aiogram for backend, React for frontend) or publication format.

---

This is my first dev.to post, and I genuinely hope our collaborative project will become something valuable and interesting for the community. Your ideas and participation are crucial to making this work! Looking forward to your suggestions.

Comments

[Nevo David]

Amazing approach to collaborative innovation; looking forward to the outcomes!

[Haskell Thurber]

Cool initiative! I actually shipped a Telegram Mini App recently — WhisprMe, anonymous messaging with Telegram Stars payments.

A few things I learned building it that might help your project:

Tech stack: I went with Node.js/Express + PostgreSQL + React. FastAPI + aiogram is a solid choice too, but for Mini Apps specifically, the JS ecosystem has better SDK support (@twa-dev/sdk). The Telegram Mini App SDK is JS-native, so having both frontend and backend in JS reduces context switching.

Key gotcha: Telegram Mini App validation (initData verification) is critical and easy to mess up. You need to HMAC-SHA256 validate the initData string on every API request, not just on first load. I wrote about this here.

Payments: If your app needs monetization, Telegram Stars is a game-changer. One-tap payments, no card entry, 0% commission right now. The integration is literally 3 Telegraf events. Detailed breakdown here.

Publication format suggestion: Build in public! Share each step as a separate post — "Day 1: Setting up the project", "Week 1: First working prototype". That format gets way more engagement than a single big tutorial.

Happy to answer any questions about the TMA development process!

[A R]

Instead building it manually, Just visit myselpost.com taht takes up your hand-drawn sketch and turn them into working websites and apps for free