Creating a menu button for a Telegraf-based Telegram bot

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

I’m working on a Telegram bot using the Telegraf library, and I want to add a menu button to make navigation easier for users. You know, the kind that appears at the bottom of the chat interface with quick access options.

I’ve seen other bots with these menu buttons, but I’m not sure how to implement one in my own project. Does anyone have experience with this? I’d really appreciate some guidance on the steps to set it up or any relevant Telegraf methods I should look into.

Here’s a basic example of what I’m trying to achieve:

const { Telegraf } = require('telegraf');

const bot = new Telegraf('YOUR_BOT_TOKEN');

// How to add menu button here?
bot.command('start', (ctx) => {
  ctx.reply('Welcome! Use the menu to navigate.');
});

bot.launch();

Any tips or code snippets would be super helpful. Thanks in advance!

2

hey, i’ve used telegraf for bots before. for menus, i like using keyboard markup. it’s pretty straightforward:

const { Telegraf, Markup } = require('telegraf');

const bot = new Telegraf('YOUR_TOKEN');

bot.command('start', (ctx) => {
  ctx.reply('Welcome! Choose:', Markup.keyboard([
    ['Option 1', 'Option 2'],
    ['Option 3']
  ]).resize());
});

bot.hears('Option 1', (ctx) => ctx.reply('You picked 1'));

this creates buttons at the bottom. easy to use and customize!

3

I’ve implemented menu buttons in Telegraf-based bots before, and I can share some insights. The most effective approach I’ve found is using InlineKeyboardMarkup. It’s cleaner and doesn’t clutter the chat interface.

Here’s a basic implementation:

const { Telegraf, Markup } = require('telegraf');

const bot = new Telegraf('YOUR_BOT_TOKEN');

bot.command('start', (ctx) => {
  const keyboard = Markup.inlineKeyboard([
    [Markup.button.callback('Option 1', 'opt1')],
    [Markup.button.callback('Option 2', 'opt2')]
  ]);

  ctx.reply('Welcome! Choose an option:', keyboard);
});

bot.action('opt1', (ctx) => ctx.answerCbQuery('You chose Option 1'));
bot.action('opt2', (ctx) => ctx.answerCbQuery('You chose Option 2'));

bot.launch();

This creates a simple two-option menu. You can expand it as needed. Remember to handle each action to provide appropriate responses.

4

As someone who’s tinkered with Telegraf bots, I can share what worked well for me. Instead of a permanent menu button, I found using inline keyboards more flexible and user-friendly. Here’s a quick example:

const { Telegraf, Markup } = require('telegraf');

const bot = new Telegraf('YOUR_BOT_TOKEN');

bot.command('menu', (ctx) => {
  ctx.reply('Main Menu:', Markup.inlineKeyboard([
    [Markup.button.callback('📚 Help', 'help')],
    [Markup.button.callback('🔧 Settings', 'settings')],
    [Markup.button.callback('📊 Stats', 'stats')]
  ]));
});

bot.action('help', (ctx) => {
  ctx.answerCbQuery();
  ctx.reply('Here's how to use the bot...');
});

// Add handlers for other buttons

bot.launch();

This approach lets users call up the menu when needed, keeping the chat clean. You can expand on this by adding submenus or dynamically changing options based on user state. Hope this helps!