Claiming a Username for Your Bot ​

When you register a bot, you should choose its username carefully. It will be difficult to change it afterwards.

How should the username look ​

Bot usernames are no different from usernames of users, groups and channels. The only constraint is that a username of a bot must end with "bot."

A username can look like this: @ExampleBot

There are official bots with special usernames that don't follow the form: @pic, @vid, @sticker. Also, you can now buy short usernames on Fragment.

Many usernames are taken ​

A free username must contain at least 5 characters including "bot." However, you can't claim such a short username: all usernames of 5 (and maybe 6) characters are taken.

Unfortunately, all these registered bots are mostly dead. Developers rarely support bots for a long time :(

You can claim a short username through the support ​

It is possible to change a bot username for free, even if it's claimed by another (inactive) bot. You will need to contact the support: @BotSupport. They will check whether your bot works and supports English language.

The common format is the following:

1. @old_username
2. @new_username
3. Some bot description

1. @old_username
2. @new_username
3. Some bot description

Then cross your fingers and hope the support won't ignore you.