@BotFatherFree
Developer tools are the small Telegram bots you open while building and running your own: registering a bot, finding user and chat IDs for API calls, looking at the raw data behind a message, checking a URL or a domain.
| # | Bot | Price | Languages | Inline | Groups | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @BotFather | Free | EN | no | no | 95 |
| 2 | @userinfobot | Free | EN | no | yes | 83 |
| 3 | @GetIDsBot | Free | EN · RU · DE · MULTI | yes | yes | 80 |
| 4 | @httpstatusbot | Free | EN | no | no | 79 |
| 5 | @RawDataBot | Free | EN | no | yes | 79 |
| 6 | @DropMailBot | Free | MULTI | no | no | 77 |
| 7 | @smsActivateruBot | Paid | EN · RU | no | no | 73 |
| 8 | @JsonBot | Free | EN | no | no | 73 |
| 9 | @WhoisBot | Free | EN | yes | no | 72 |
| 10 | @calcubot | Free | MULTI | no | yes | 71 |
The ranking rests on what each bot demonstrably does, not on a scripted test. We confirmed every bot on its t.me page and looked for a source that describes it: an open repository, the developer's channel, a catalog record of its commands and replies. We read the GetIDs code and translations, traced User Info back to its original open-source project and noted that the bot has since changed hands. Four bots with nothing but a name to describe them, a JSON formatter, a Base64 converter, a UUID generator and a password generator, were removed because nothing confirmed what they do.
Every bot is registered in BotFather (@BotFather): /newbot gives you the token, and the same chat sets the command menu, inline mode, group privacy and the bot's description. Treat the token like a password. If it leaks, revoke it in BotFather: the old token stops working at once and you get a new one.
The Bot API addresses users, groups and channels by numeric ID, which Telegram apps do not show. Forward a message to User Info (@userinfobot) or GetIDs Bot (@GetIDsBot) to get the sender's ID; GetIDs also reports the origin chat, media details and, with /json, the message as Bot API JSON. Telegram Bot Raw (@RawDataBot) and JsonBOT (@JsonBot) show the raw data of anything you send or forward. Two limits apply to all of them: if the sender hides their account in forwarded messages, no bot can see the ID, and whatever you forward is processed on the bot owner's server, so use test messages rather than private conversations.
Most developer bots are one-person projects. GetIDs Bot's code is open, but its authors say it is no longer actively developed; User Info started as an open-source project and is now credited to a media company; Markdown Bot's companion channel has disappeared. None of this makes them unusable, but it is a good reason to keep tokens, passwords and client data away from any bot you do not run yourself.
Forward one of their messages to User Info (@userinfobot) or GetIDs Bot (@GetIDsBot). If their privacy settings hide the account in forwarded messages, the forward carries only a name and no bot can show the ID.
Forward a post from the channel to GetIDs Bot (@GetIDsBot), which shows the origin chat with its ID. Channel and supergroup IDs in the Bot API start with -100.
Forward it to Telegram Bot Raw (@RawDataBot), or reply to it with /json in your chat with GetIDs Bot (@GetIDsBot).
Open @BotFather, pick the bot and revoke its token. The old token stops working immediately; put the new one in your server's configuration.
