A bot in Chatbot Agent is a set of files on disk: the settings and the dialog scenario. The files are the whole bot. You can see them, copy them, and edit them either in the interface or right on the server. Nothing needs to be exported additionally: moving a bot to another server is copying its folder.
Creating a bot
The simplest path: press “Create a bot”, enter a name and paste a token from @BotFather. The token is the bot’s secret access key; Telegram issues it, and through it the application connects to the messenger. If you do not have a real bot yet, create a test one: it runs on the emulator built into the application, and neither Telegram nor the internet is needed.
When creating, you can pick a template — a ready-made scenario for a typical task — or ask AI to write the first draft: describe the bot’s purpose in ordinary words, and the application will offer a ready scenario. The draft is shown in full and applied only after your confirmation.
The test bot on first launch
A fresh installation already contains a disabled demo bot on the emulator — you can start it and touch it to understand how everything works. If there are no bot files at all, the screen itself offers to create the first bot or generate it with AI.
Starting and stopping
The “Start” and “Stop” buttons set the bot’s desired state: a running bot receives and processes messages, a stopped one does not — new messages are not processed. After a restart the application returns the bots to the state you set. If the settings file allows startup but you stopped the bot in the interface, your decision wins — it is the desired state.
Editing files from outside
Bot files are watched. Save the scenario on disk — the application picks up the new version within a few seconds, without restarting the server. Running conversations are not cut off: the person currently talking with the bot continues from the same place. So you can edit the bot in the interface and in your own editor — the result is the same.
If there is an error in a file
A typo or a broken scenario does not break the bot’s work. The last good version keeps running, and the error shows as an icon in the bot list and as a description in the problems panel. Saving a knowingly invalid scenario is rejected — with a clear list of what exactly is wrong, in which file and at which step.
Separately, the application warns about barely visible typos: if a file contains a field with an unfamiliar name (an extra letter in a word, for example), the save goes through, but a warning appears pointing at the exact spot. Without it, such a line would simply keep silent and stop working, and the cause would stay invisible.
Versions
Every save automatically creates a version snapshot — identical ones are not duplicated, and the last hundred are kept. A snapshot can also be made manually, with a meaningful name, to mark an important milestone. Versions can be compared with each other and restored: before a restore the current files are copied, so a rollback is reversible too. Right after a restore the bot re-reads the files on the fly.
The publish checklist
Before publishing a bot it is useful to run the checklist — a set of 14 machine checks against the current scenario and state. Each check gets one of three values: pass, warning or error. The final “ready” verdict is given only when there are no errors; warnings do not cancel it but show what is worth fixing.
- the configuration validates — no broken links or extra connections;
- the Telegram token works — the bot can really connect;
- the special flows are defined (what to do on unrecognized input, on client silence, on closing);
- the welcome explains the bot and is to the point;
- messages are not littered with extra symbols and repetitions;
- from every step it is clear how to return to the menu;
- the handoff to the operator is actually reachable;
- there are no dead ends where the conversation breaks off;
- there are no unreachable nodes left outside the dialog;
- there are no untested paths that were never tried;
- client input is covered by validation (phone, email, number);
- links carry source tags, so later you can see where people came from.
The bot list
The “Bots” section shows all your bots: the name, the state (running or stopped), the readiness verdict and a problems icon. From here one click opens the studio, the bot’s page with settings, or the emulator. If a bot has problems, a counter appears on the “Bots” item in the side menu.
Export and moving
The bot’s folder can be copied to another server and simply started there — nothing to export or import. The chat room settings and the website widget move together with the bot: they are the same bot files, not separate records in the database.
Next: how to assemble a dialog with the mouse — in the Flow Studio section, how to check a bot without Telegram — in the Emulator section, the public chat page and the widget — in the Website Chat Room and Website Widget sections.