Prerequisites

2. Before You Start — Prerequisites

Before you use Rufoof, you need the following ready:

A Telegram Account

You need an active Telegram account. Telegram is available on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. If you do not have Telegram installed, download it from telegram.org.

A Telegram Bot

A bot is what your users will interact with. It has a username (like @mylibrary_bot). You create and register your bot inside Telegram — open @RufoofBot and it walks you through it, step by step. See Create & Register a Bot.

A Telegram Channel (Private)

Your bot needs a private Telegram channel that stores your files. Your users never see this channel directly; they only interact with your bot. @RufoofBot connects (or creates) this channel for you while you register your bot.

Your Files

Prepare the files you want to serve through your bot. You can organize them into folders and subfolders — Rufoof preserves your structure as a navigable menu for your users. Rufoof supports documents, images, audio, video — including voice messages (.ogg) — and more.

File size: Files up to Telegram's limit are supported. Files over 50 MB are handled automatically by the desktop app, which uploads them directly to Telegram (see Large Files).

Folder button limit: Each folder (and the top level) must contain fewer than 100 items (files + subfolders combined), because that is the most buttons Telegram can show in one menu. If a folder exceeds that, Rufoof warns you. Your bot can hold far more than 100 items in total — just not all inside a single folder.