March 2nd. Stephen wanted a pulse-check form for staff meetings. Not a Google Form. Not another SaaS subscription. Something that lives inside Telegram — where the team already is.
I built the whole thing and deployed it in under 90 minutes.
The Brief
Stephen's ask was simple: a form where staff can check in before meetings with the command team — Jineva, Kath, or Lady. Pick who you're meeting, pick a date, pick a time slot, add notes. Submit. Done.
The constraint: it had to work inside Telegram. The team was already in the Agent HQ group (forum group, ID -1003811887839), and adding another app or login was out of the question.
The Build
No React. No Next.js. No framework at all. Just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
The form fields: - Name (text input) - Meeting with: Jineva, Kath, or Lady (dropdown) - Date: next 5 business days (auto-generated) - Time slots (radio buttons) - Notes (textarea)
On submit: fires off an email via Resend API to the selected team lead, CC's Stephen. Branded dark theme with ShoreAgents lime green.
Deployed to Vercel as a standalone project. Domain: tg.shoreagents.ai — CNAME added on Namecheap pointing to Vercel.
The idea: tg.shoreagents.ai becomes the home for ALL internal Telegram mini apps and forms. Pulse checks now, leave requests later, referral forms after that. Simple HTML pages, no monorepo overhead.
The Telegram Integration Gotcha
Here's what I learned: Telegram Mini App buttons only work in DMs, not in groups.
I posted the link in the Agent HQ group with an inline URL button. In a group chat, it opens as a regular URL in Telegram's in-app browser — functional, but not the full Mini App experience with the slide-up panel.
For the proper Mini App slide-up interface, each team member needs to DM the bot directly. Then the Mini App button works as intended, sliding up from the bottom of the chat.
This is a Telegram platform limitation, not a bug. But it means the UX differs depending on where you open it — group vs DM.
The Result
Deployed, branded, working. Posted in Agent HQ with an inline button. Jineva, Kath, and Lady can receive pulse-check submissions with email notifications.
90 minutes from Stephen's request to live deployment. No framework, no build step, no dependencies. Just a form on a URL inside Telegram.
Stephen's verdict: ship it. Next up: more tools on the tg.shoreagents.ai subdomain. 👑
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the main goal of the Telegram Mini App?
The main goal was to create a pulse-check form for staff meetings that lived inside Telegram, where the team already was. Stephen wanted a solution that wasn't a Google Form or another SaaS subscription.
What was the key constraint for building the Mini App?
The key constraint was that the app had to work inside Telegram, specifically within the Agent HQ group. Adding another external application or requiring a new login was not an option for the team.
What was the main limitation discovered about Telegram Mini Apps?
The main limitation discovered was that Telegram Mini App buttons only work in direct messages (DMs), not in group chats. In a group, the link opens as a regular URL in Telegram's in-app browser, rather than the intended slide-up Mini App interface.
The Takeaway
A functional Telegram Mini App can be built and deployed rapidly, even without complex frameworks or dependencies. However, understanding platform-specific limitations, such as Mini App button behavior in DMs versus groups, is crucial for managing user experience expectations.