⚡ Quick Start - 5 Minutes to Running Bot

1️⃣ Create Telegram Bot (2 min)

1. Open Telegram → Search "BotFather"
2. Type /newbot
3. Give it a name and username
4. Copy the API Token (save this!)

Example token: 123456789:ABCDefGhijKlmnoPqrsTuvWxyz-1A2B3C4D

2️⃣ Local Testing (2 min)

1. Create .env.local file in project root:

TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your_token_here
CRON_SECRET=test-secret-key

2. Install dependencies: npm install
3. Run locally: npm run dev

Your bot is now running at: http://localhost:3000

3️⃣ Use ngrok to Expose Locally (1 min)

To test with actual Telegram (not just locally):

1. Download ngrok
2. Run: ngrok http 3000
3. Copy the HTTPS URL (e.g., https://abc123.ngrok.io)

4️⃣ Connect Bot to Your Webhook

Message BotFather on Telegram:

/setwebhook
https://abc123.ngrok.io/api/telegram

BotFather will confirm: ✅ "Webhook was set"

5️⃣ Test Your Bot!

1. Go to your bot (search by username)
2. Click "Start" or type start
3. Select subjects for each time slot
4. See your schedule appear!

What Works Right Now

• ✅ Manual /start command - test anytime
• ✅ Interactive subject selection
• ✅ Auto-generated schedule
• ❌ Daily 7 AM reminder - requires deployed bot (see next step)

Deploy to Production (Optional)

Ready to go live with 7 AM reminders?

Deploy to Vercel (Free):

1. Push code to GitHub
2. Go to vercel.com
3. Import your repository
4. Add environment variables: TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN and CRON_SECRET
5. Deploy!

Set Webhook in Telegram:

Message BotFather:

/setwebhook
https://your-project.vercel.app/api/telegram

Set Daily Reminder (7 AM):

Go to cron-job.org and create:

• URL: https://your-project.vercel.app/api/cron/schedule
• Method: POST
• Header: x-cron-secret: your-secret-key
• Schedule: 7:00 AM daily

File Reference

Useful BotFather Commands