Build Your First Telegram Bot: URL Shortener

A Super Simple Guide for Complete Beginners 🚀

Hey there! 🚀 Let's build something cool together—a Telegram bot that shortens long URLs. Don't worry if you're new to coding; we'll go step by step!

---

🎯 What Will Our Bot Do?

✅ Turn long URLs into short ones

✅ Create custom short URLs (choose your own nickname for a link!)

✅ Work directly in Telegram, just like chatting with a friend

---

🛠️ What You’ll Need

• Python installed on your computer (Download here)
• A Telegram account
• A free API key from Shotcut

---

📝 Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Setting Up Your Tools

Install the required Python packages by running:

pip install python-telegram-bot shotcutap

Step 2: Getting Your Telegram Bot Token

1. Open Telegram and search for “BotFather”.
2. Send /newbot and follow the prompts:
   • Choose a name (e.g., My URL Shortener)
   • Choose a username (must end in bot, e.g., myurlshortener_bot)

1. BotFather will give you a bot token—save it somewhere safe!

Step 3: Getting Your Shotcut API Key

1. Go to Shotcut Developer Portal
2. Sign up for a free account
3. Get your API key from the dashboard

---

🧑‍💻 Step 4: Writing the Code

Create a new file bot.py and paste this code:

from telegram import Update
from telegram.ext import Application, CommandHandler, MessageHandler, filters, ContextTypes
from shotcut import ShotcutAPI

BOT_TOKEN = "paste_your_telegram_bot_token_here"  # Get this from BotFather
SHOTCUT_API_KEY = "paste_your_shotcut_api_key_here"  # Get this from Shotcut website

shortener = ShotcutAPI(api_key=SHOTCUT_API_KEY)

async def welcome_user(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE):
    welcome_message = """
    👋 Hi there! I'm your URL Shortener Bot!
    Just send me any link, and I'll make it shorter for you!
    Type /help for more info.
    """
    await update.message.reply_text(welcome_message)

async def show_help(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE):
    help_message = """
    📚 How to use me:
    1️⃣ Send a link to shorten it.
    2️⃣ Use /custom [URL] [name] for a custom short link.
    """
    await update.message.reply_text(help_message)

async def make_custom_link(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE):
    if len(context.args) < 2:
        await update.message.reply_text("❌ Please provide a URL and custom name.")
        return

    original_link, custom_name = context.args[0], context.args[1]
    try:
        result = shortener.shorten_link(url=original_link, custom=custom_name)
        await update.message.reply_text(f"✨ Custom short link: {result['shorturl']}")
    except Exception as e:
        await update.message.reply_text(f"😔 Error: {str(e)}")

async def make_short_link(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE):
    original_link = update.message.text.strip()
    if not original_link.startswith(('http://', 'https://')):
        await update.message.reply_text("🤔 That doesn't look like a valid link.")
        return

    try:
        result = shortener.shorten_link(url=original_link)
        await update.message.reply_text(f"✨ Short link: {result['shorturl']}")
    except Exception as e:
        await update.message.reply_text(f"😔 Error: {str(e)}")


def start_bot():
    print("🚀 Starting Telegram Bot...")
    app = Application.builder().token(BOT_TOKEN).build()
    app.add_handler(CommandHandler("start", welcome_user))
    app.add_handler(CommandHandler("help", show_help))
    app.add_handler(CommandHandler("custom", make_custom_link))
    app.add_handler(MessageHandler(filters.TEXT & ~filters.COMMAND, make_short_link))
    app.run_polling()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    start_bot()

---

🚀 Running Your Bot

1. Save Your Secret Tokens

   • Replace paste_your_telegram_bot_token_here with your Telegram bot token
   • Replace paste_your_shotcut_api_key_here with your Shotcut API key

2. Start Your Bot
   

   python bot.py

You should see “Your bot is ready!” 🎉

1. Test Your Bot
   • Open Telegram and find your bot
   • Try /start, /help, sending a link, and /custom commands

---

🔍 Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Invalid Token	Ensure your bot token is correct & has no spaces
Links not working	Make sure they start with http:// or https://
Bot not responding	Restart the bot (Ctrl+C then python bot.py)

---

🔒 Keep Your Bot Secure

• Never share your bot token or API key
• Store your credentials in a safe place
• Be careful about the links you shorten

---

🎉 You Did It!

Congratulations! You’ve built your own Telegram bot! This is just the beginning—feel free to add more features.

Need help? The Python and Telegram Bot communities are super friendly and always happy to help new coders! 😊

Try Shotcut.in Official Telegram Bot 🔗✨

Happy coding! 🚀