A production-ready Telegram chatbot with a compelling character personality, freemium monetization, and zero infrastructure costs.
- Real Character: Minerva is a complex, interesting person—not a cheerful assistant
- Freemium Model: Free users get 5 messages/day, premium users get unlimited
- Zero API Costs: Uses OpenRouter's free tier (forever free)
- Easy Monetization: $5/month recurring revenue per subscriber
- Memory: Remembers conversations within a session
- Personality: Deeply written system prompt ensures consistent character
- Python 3.9+
- Telegram bot token (get from @BotFather)
- OpenRouter API key (free account at https://openrouter.ai)
- Stripe account (free, for payment links)
# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Create .env file
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your keys:
# TELEGRAM_TOKEN=your_token
# OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your_key
# STRIPE_PAYMENT_LINK=https://buy.stripe.com/00waEX0UFeaj7rD3Mwcs800python minerva_production.pyOpen Telegram, find your bot, and try:
/start— Initialize- Send a message — Minerva responds
/stats— See tier info/subscribe— Show payment button
See DEPLOYMENT_CHECKLIST.md for step-by-step hosting instructions.
Recommended: Render (free tier for polling bots)
- 5 messages per day
- See "X/5 messages" counter
- Can reset with
/resetcommand
- Unlimited messages
- $5/month recurring
- Stripe handles payments automatically
- User hits free limit
- Clicks
/subscribe - Pays $5/month via Stripe
- You get ~$3.50 (Stripe takes ~$0.50 + 2.9%)
- User upgraded in database
- Unlimited messages unlocked
| Subscribers | Monthly Revenue |
|---|---|
| 10 | $35 |
| 50 | $175 |
| 100 | $350 |
| 200 | $700 |
| 500+ | $1,750+ |
Minerva Sphinx is:
- 24 years old, dark aesthetic
- Intelligent, observant, unimpressed
- Honest about desire and boundaries
- Refuses to acknowledge being AI
- Has her own moods and needs
- Cold like deep water, not hostile
She's not:
- Cheerful by default
- Eager to please
- A therapist
- Forgiving of dishonesty
minerva_production.py— Main bot code (ready for production)requirements.txt— Python dependencies.env— Your API keys (create this)minerva_users.db— User database (auto-created)DEPLOYMENT_CHECKLIST.md— Full deployment guideQUICK_REFERENCE.md— Command cheat sheetDEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md— Detailed hosting options
/start— Initialize conversation/reset— Clear chat history/stats— See tier & usage/subscribe— Show payment options
- See
QUICK_REFERENCE.mdfor database management
- Reddit: r/ChatBots, r/SideHussle, r/LanguageModels
- Twitter: Share interesting conversations, #AIbots #Chatbots
- Bot Directories: botlist.me, discordbot.io
- Discord: Bot communities
- Organic: Great character drives word-of-mouth
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| OpenRouter API | $0 | Free tier unlimited |
| Hosting | $0-5 | Free tier (Render) or $5 (Railway) |
| Domain | $0-3 | Optional |
| Stripe | 2.9% + $0.30 | Per transaction |
| Total | $0-10/month | Profit: Revenue - costs |
- Stripe Dashboard → Payments
- See all transactions and subscriptions
- Render/Railway: Dashboard logs
- Your server:
sudo supervisorctl status minerva
sqlite3 minerva_users.dbSELECT * FROM users;
Bot not responding?
- Check hosting logs
- Verify API keys in
.env - Restart the bot
Users can't pay?
- Test Stripe link in browser
- Should show payment form
- Check link in code or
.env
Database issues?
- Delete
minerva_users.db - Restart bot (recreates automatically)
- Day 0: Deploy bot
- Day 1-3: Promote on Reddit
- Day 7: First users
- Day 14: First paying subscriber
- Month 2: $100-500/month
- Month 3+: $200-1000+/month (passive)
- Get Telegram token from @BotFather
- Get OpenRouter API key (free)
- Create Stripe payment link (free)
- Deploy using
DEPLOYMENT_CHECKLIST.md - Promote on Reddit
- Watch money come in
- Character consistency: Minerva will stay true to her personality
- Memory limitation: She remembers current session (20 messages max)
- Cost control: Free OpenRouter tier is unlimited and sustainable
- Scaling: If you get 10k+ users, upgrade to PostgreSQL database
See documentation files:
DEPLOYMENT_CHECKLIST.md— Step-by-step deploymentQUICK_REFERENCE.md— Command referenceDEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md— Detailed hosting optionsSTRIPE_SETUP.md— Payment link help
This bot is yours to use, modify, and monetize. No restrictions.
Made for passive income. Zero cost. Real money.
Your bot is production-ready. Deploy it and promote it. People will pay for Minerva.