> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.praison.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# BotOS

> Turn your AI agent into a messaging bot — step by step

Your AI agent can live inside messaging apps. Users chat with it like a friend — no app to install, no website to visit.

```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
graph LR
    subgraph "BotOS"
        U["👤 User"] -->|"sends message"| P["📱 Messaging App"]
        P -->|"delivers to"| B["🤖 Your Bot"]
        B -->|"asks"| A["🧠 AI Agent"]
        A -->|"replies"| B
        B -->|"sends reply"| P
        P -->|"shows reply"| U
    end

    classDef user fill:#8B0000,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef platform fill:#189AB4,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef bot fill:#F59E0B,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef agent fill:#8B0000,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff

    class U user
    class P platform
    class B bot
    class A agent
```

***

## What Is a BotOS?

BotOS is your AI agent wrapped in a messaging app interface. Instead of typing prompts in a terminal, users send normal messages on Telegram, Discord, Slack, or WhatsApp.

| Concept      | What It Means                                                                             |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Agent**    | The AI brain — understands questions, uses tools, generates answers                       |
| **Bot**      | The messenger — receives messages from the app, sends them to the agent, delivers replies |
| **Platform** | Where users chat — Telegram, Discord, Slack, or WhatsApp                                  |

***

## Step-by-Step: How a Message Flows

```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
sequenceDiagram
    participant User as 👤 User
    participant App as 📱 Messaging App
    participant Bot as 🤖 Bot
    participant Agent as 🧠 Agent

    User->>App: "What's the weather?"
    App->>Bot: Delivers message
    Bot->>Agent: "What's the weather?"
    Agent->>Agent: Thinks + uses tools
    Agent-->>Bot: "It's 72°F and sunny"
    Bot-->>App: Sends reply
    App-->>User: "It's 72°F and sunny ☀️"
```

| Step | What Happens                                                                      |
| :--: | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|   1  | User types a message in their favorite app                                        |
|   2  | The messaging platform sends it to your bot                                       |
|   3  | Your bot passes the message to the AI agent                                       |
|   4  | The agent thinks, searches the web, checks documents — whatever you've configured |
|   5  | The agent sends an answer back through the bot                                    |
|   6  | The user sees the reply in their chat                                             |

***

## Which Platform Should I Use?

```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
graph TD
    Q1["Who is the bot for?"] -->|"My team at work"| SLACK["💼 Slack"]
    Q1 -->|"A community"| DISC["💬 Discord"]
    Q1 -->|"Anyone with a phone"| Q2["Need a business account?"]
    Q2 -->|"Yes, I have one"| WA["📲 WhatsApp"]
    Q2 -->|"No, keep it simple"| TG["📱 Telegram"]

    classDef question fill:#F59E0B,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef answer fill:#10B981,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff

    class Q1,Q2 question
    class SLACK,DISC,WA,TG answer
```

| Platform     | Best For                                     | Setup Difficulty |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------------- | :--------------: |
| **Telegram** | Personal bots, public bots, quick prototypes |      ⭐ Easy      |
| **Discord**  | Communities, gaming, developer groups        |      ⭐ Easy      |
| **Slack**    | Workplaces, teams, internal tools            |     ⭐⭐ Medium    |
| **WhatsApp** | Business communication, customer support     |   ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced   |

***

## Getting Started — 3 Ways

Pick the way that fits you best:

```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
graph LR
    subgraph "Choose Your Style"
        CLI["🖥️ CLI<br/>One command, no code"]
        PY["🐍 Python<br/>Full control"]
        YAML["📄 YAML<br/>Config file"]
    end

    classDef cli fill:#8B0000,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef py fill:#189AB4,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef yaml fill:#6366F1,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff

    class CLI cli
    class PY py
    class YAML yaml
```

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="CLI (Easiest)">
    No code needed. One command:

    ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
    # Telegram
    praisonai bot telegram --token $TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN

    # Discord
    praisonai bot discord --token $DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN

    # Slack
    praisonai bot slack --token $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN --app-token $SLACK_APP_TOKEN
    ```

    A default AI assistant is created automatically.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Python">
    ```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
    from praisonaiagents import Agent
    from praisonai.bots import TelegramBot

    agent = Agent(
        name="assistant",
        instructions="You are a helpful assistant",
        llm="gpt-4o-mini"
    )

    bot = TelegramBot(token="YOUR_BOT_TOKEN", agent=agent)

    import asyncio
    asyncio.run(bot.start())
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="YAML">
    ```yaml theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
    platform: telegram
    token: "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}"

    agent:
      name: "My Assistant"
      instructions: "You are a helpful AI assistant."
      llm: "gpt-4o-mini"
    ```

    ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
    praisonai bot start --config bot.yaml
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Adding Superpowers

Your bot can do more than just chat. Add capabilities with simple flags:

```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
graph LR
    BOT["🤖 Bot"] --> MEM["🧠 Memory<br/>Remembers conversations"]
    BOT --> KNOW["📚 Knowledge<br/>Answers from your docs"]
    BOT --> WEB["🌐 Web Search<br/>Finds info online"]
    BOT --> THINK["💡 Thinking<br/>Deeper reasoning"]

    classDef bot fill:#8B0000,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef cap fill:#189AB4,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff

    class BOT bot
    class MEM,KNOW,WEB,THINK cap
```

| Capability     | CLI Flag          | What It Does                                   |
| -------------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| **Memory**     | `--memory`        | Remembers what users said in previous messages |
| **Knowledge**  | `--knowledge`     | Answers from your PDF, text, or markdown files |
| **Web Search** | `--web`           | Searches the internet for up-to-date info      |
| **Thinking**   | `--thinking high` | Takes more time to give better, deeper answers |

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
# A bot that remembers conversations and searches the web
praisonai bot telegram --token $TOKEN --memory --web
```

***

## Bot vs Gateway

Two ways to deploy your agent for real-time chat:

```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
graph LR
    subgraph "Bot"
        B1["One platform"] --> B2["One agent"]
    end

    subgraph "Gateway"
        G1["Multiple platforms"] --> G2["Multiple agents"]
    end

    classDef bot fill:#189AB4,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef gw fill:#F59E0B,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff

    class B1,B2 bot
    class G1,G2 gw
```

|               | Bot                          | Gateway                                   |
| ------------- | ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| **Platforms** | One at a time                | All at once                               |
| **Agents**    | One per bot                  | Multiple, with routing                    |
| **Best for**  | Quick start, single platform | Production, multi-channel                 |
| **Command**   | `praisonai bot telegram`     | `praisonai gateway --config gateway.yaml` |

<Tip>
  Start with a **Bot** to get running in minutes. Switch to **Gateway** when you need multiple platforms or agents.
</Tip>

***

## Best Practices

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Start with Telegram">
    Telegram is the easiest platform to set up — just message @BotFather and get a token in seconds.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Add memory for better conversations">
    Enable `--memory` so your bot remembers context between messages. Users get a much better experience.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Keep instructions simple">
    Write bot instructions like you're talking to a person: "You are a helpful assistant for our customer support team. Be friendly and concise."
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Test locally, deploy with Docker">
    Use Socket Mode or polling for local testing. When ready for production, deploy with Docker and webhook mode.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Messaging Bots" icon="robot" href="/features/messaging-bots">
    Detailed platform setup guides and configuration options
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bot vs Gateway" icon="code-compare" href="/concepts/bot-vs-gateway">
    Deep dive into deployment models
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bot Commands" icon="terminal" href="/features/bot-commands">
    Built-in bot commands and custom commands
  </Card>

  <Card title="Agents" icon="user" href="/concepts/agents">
    Create and configure AI agents
  </Card>
</CardGroup>