Bots & Mini-Apps

A bot in WallyMates is a chat participant just like a person, except it's driven by code through an open Bot API. Bots can talk in private chats, work inside groups, and even open their own web interface right inside the messenger.

Bot catalog

• A public catalog and search — Public bots are discoverable through a built-in category catalog — WallyBot (the official assistant) is listed there too.
• Type badges — Verified bots (officially confirmed developers) and system bots (like WallyBot) are marked separately from ordinary ones.
• Public stats — User count, 24-hour activity, and messages sent/received — you can gauge how active a bot is before you start using it.

Create your own bot with no code

• Via @wallybot — Message /newbot to the official WallyBot assistant, enter a display name and a username (must end in _bot), and you get a bot token. No programming needed if the bot only needs to reply with canned phrases.
• Teach it to reply — WallyBot's /learn command: give it a keyword and a reply — the bot now automatically responds with that reply whenever someone sends something similar. /forget removes a learned reply.
• Managing a bot from chat — /mybots lists your bots, /editbot changes the name or description, /token reissues the token (say, if the old one leaked) — all without a separate developer console.

The Bot API, for developers

• Slash commands — A bot registers its own list of commands (e.g. /start, /help) — they show up as suggestions right in the chat's input field.
• Webhooks — A bot receives new messages on its own URL in real time, instead of constantly polling the server.
• Inline mode — A bot can be invoked right from the input field of any chat (@botname query) — similar to Telegram's inline bots — with no need to open a separate chat with the bot itself.
• Works inside groups — A bot can join group chats as a regular member, if the group owner allows it.
• A bot token — Issued once when a bot is created — a separate secret for authorizing API requests, unrelated to the owner's own password.

Bots for chat automation

A user can connect your bot in Edit profile → Chat automation — the bot then replies in their personal chats on their behalf. Messages are decrypted on the user's phone and reach the bot only from the allowed chats, as business_message updates (via webhook or getUpdates). You can reply within 24 hours of the contact's message. Bot replies are sent without end-to-end encryption.

// update
{ "update_type": "business_message",
  "business_connection": { "id": "123" },
  "message": { "business_connection_id": "123",
               "chat": { "id": "456", "type": "private" },
               "text": "Hi! Are you free tomorrow?" } }

// reply on behalf of the owner (header bot-token: …)
POST /api/node/bot/sendBusinessMessage
{ "business_connection_id": "123", "chat_id": "456", "text": "Hi! I'll get back to you tonight." }

Mini Apps

A bot can ship its own web interface (a Mini App) — a full web app that opens right inside the chat with that bot, without leaving the messenger or installing anything separate. Useful for interfaces more complex than plain commands: a product catalog, a booking form, a game UI, and so on.