Create Your First Bot

This guide walks you through creating a bot using the Admin Dashboard at app.aerostack.dev. By the end, you will have a working bot connected to a messaging platform with access to MCP tools.

Prerequisites:

An Aerostack account
An MCP workspace with at least one MCP server (or create one during setup)
A messaging platform account (Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, or Slack)

Dashboard Walkthrough

Open the Bot Builder

Name Your Bot

Enter a name for your bot. This is displayed in the dashboard and used to generate the bot’s slug. Choose something descriptive — “Acme Support Bot” is better than “Bot 1”.

Choose a Platform

Select the messaging platform where your bot will live.

What you need: A bot token from @BotFather on Telegram.

Open Telegram and message @BotFather
Send /newbot and follow the prompts
Copy the bot token (looks like 123456789:ABCdefGhIJKlmNoPQRsTUVwxyz)
Paste it into the Bot Token field
Set a Webhook Secret — any random string (recommended for production)

⚠️

Keep your bot token secret. Anyone with this token can control your Telegram bot. If compromised, use /revoke with BotFather to get a new one.

What you need: Application ID, Public Key, and Bot Token from the Discord Developer Portal.

Create a new application in the Discord Developer Portal
Copy the Application ID and Public Key from the General Information tab
Navigate to the Bot tab and copy the Bot Token
Enter all three in the platform configuration fields

You will also need to invite the bot to your server using an OAuth2 URL with bot and applications.commands scopes.

What you need: Bot Token and Signing Secret from api.slack.com/apps.

Create a new Slack app (from scratch)
Add bot token scopes: chat:write, app_mentions:read, im:history, im:read, reactions:write
Install the app to your workspace and copy the Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-...)
Copy the Signing Secret from Basic Information

After activation, you must manually set the Event Subscriptions URL in the Slack App settings and subscribe to message.im and app_mention events.

Connect a Workspace

Select an existing MCP workspace or create a new one. The workspace determines what tools your bot can access.

If you do not have a workspace yet:

Click Create New Workspace
Give it a name
Add MCP servers from the marketplace (e.g., a database MCP for data queries, a Stripe MCP for payments)

The bot inherits all tools from every MCP server, Skill, and Function in the workspace. You can add or remove tools later without changing the bot.

Write a System Prompt

The system prompt defines your bot’s personality, role, and behavior. This is the most important configuration field — it shapes every response.

A good system prompt includes:

Role definition — who the bot is and what it does
Behavioral guidelines — tone, style, boundaries
Tool guidance — when to use specific tools
Escalation rules — when to hand off to humans

Example:

You are a customer support agent for Acme Corp. You help customers with order
inquiries, billing questions, and returns.

Rules:
- Always verify the customer's identity before accessing account data
- Use the orders__get_order tool when customers ask about order status
- Use the stripe__create_refund tool for refunds under $100
- Escalate refunds over $100 to a human agent
- Be concise and professional
- If you do not know the answer, say so honestly

Choose an LLM

Select the LLM provider and model. The default is Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 — a strong balance of capability and cost.

If your bot needs…	Choose
Complex reasoning, nuanced responses	Claude Opus 4, GPT-4o, Gemini 2.5 Pro
Good quality at lower cost	Claude Sonnet 4, GPT-4o
Maximum speed and lowest cost	Claude Haiku, GPT-4o Mini, Gemini 2.5 Flash
Fastest inference	Groq Llama 3.3 70B

Billing mode: Leave on Wallet to use Aerostack’s pooled keys (charges deducted from your balance). Switch to BYOK and enter your own API key if you have negotiated rates or free credits.

Create and Activate

Click Create Bot. Your bot is created in draft status.

Review the configuration on the bot detail page, then click Activate to go live. Activation registers the webhook with your platform (Telegram and Discord do this automatically; Slack and WhatsApp require a manual step in the platform’s settings).

Test It

Send a message to your bot on the platform you chose. You should see a response within a few seconds.

You can also use the Test Console in the dashboard — click the Test button on your bot’s detail page to send messages without going through the platform.

Using a Template (Shortcut)

If you prefer to start from a pre-built configuration, use the Template option when creating a bot:

Click New Bot and select From Template
Choose a template (Customer Support, Community Manager, or Sales Assistant)
Fill in the template’s config values (company name, support hours, etc.)
Select a platform and enter credentials
Click Create Bot — the wizard creates a workspace, connects the template’s suggested MCPs, and builds the bot in one step

Templates come with pre-written system prompts and optional workflows. You can customize everything after creation.

What Happens Under the Hood

When you create a bot, Aerostack:

Stores credentials securely — platform tokens and LLM API keys are encrypted at rest
Links the workspace — the bot gets a managed access token for the workspace gateway
Sets status to draft — the bot exists but does not receive messages yet

When you activate, Aerostack:

Registers the webhook — calls the platform’s API to set the webhook URL (Telegram, Discord) or provides the URL for manual setup (Slack, WhatsApp)
Sets status to active — the bot begins receiving and processing messages
Reports any warnings — missing webhook secrets, manual setup steps, etc.

Next Steps

Connect Tools — Add more capabilities through the workspace
Workflows — Add structured automation
Platform Guides — Detailed setup for each platform
Testing & Debugging — Use the test console and conversation logs

Overview Telegram