How to make a mini app in MAX: building, publishing and moderation

Who can make a mini app in MAX

Publishing mini apps to MAX is open to companies, sole traders and self-employed people resident in Russia. A verified organisation profile in the partner cabinet is required. A private individual without such status cannot publish there, and the builder cannot work around that: the rule is the platform’s, not ours.

The app can be assembled and tested without waiting for verification. While the MAX profile is being set up, the same app already works in Telegram and at its own address.

Building: one project, two platforms

Screens are built from blocks, lists are drawn from tables inside the app, and form submissions reach the owner. The easiest start is a template — a store, a booking with a specialist, a restaurant menu, an events listing — each opens assembled, and what is left is to swap in your own text, prices and photographs.

Nothing has to be rebuilt for MAX: screens, tables, forms and card payments through your own merchant account work there the same way. There are small platform differences — MAX, for instance, can ask for and confirm a phone number itself. But the project is one, and there is no second version to maintain.

The MAX bot and its token

A mini app in MAX opens from your bot there. The bot is created in the MAX cabinet and gets a token on creation — a long string with no spaces. It is pasted in the editor, in the “Your MAX bot” card.

The token is not there to send anything. It proves that a visitor really came from the messenger: without it, the name and phone inside the app are only what the person claimed about themselves. It is stored encrypted on the server and never returned to the browser; it can be replaced by connecting the bot again.

What is done by hand, and why

The app’s address is pasted into the MAX partner cabinet by hand. That is not laziness on our part: MAX has no API method to set the address programmatically, whereas Telegram does — which is why the menu button there sets itself.

In the cabinet you pick your bot, open “Advanced settings”, paste the address and choose the type of the open button. Once saved, the app opens from the chat with the bot.

One consequence is worth knowing in advance: moving to a custom domain means changing the address in MAX by hand as well. In Telegram it repoints itself on the next publish.

Moderation and timing

The bot with its app goes through MAX moderation — up to 48 hours on business days. The builder cannot speed it up.

There is no need to wait for MAX to start: while moderation runs the app already opens in Telegram and at its own address. Updates after approval publish as usual, with the button — the address does not change and does not have to be pasted again.

Other questions

Can a mini app for MAX be made without a developer?

Yes. Screens are assembled from blocks in the editor, data lives in tables and there is no code at all. One step is done by hand: the app’s address is pasted into the MAX partner cabinet, because the platform has no API method for it.

Does the app have to be rebuilt for MAX?

No. It is the same project and the same address as in Telegram; in MAX it is simply entered in the partner cabinet. Changes are published once and reach both platforms.

Can a private individual publish to MAX?

No: a company, sole trader or self-employed status and Russian residency are required, plus a verified organisation profile. That is the platform’s rule, not the builder’s.

Do payments work in MAX?

Yes, through your own merchant account — YooKassa or T-Bank — exactly as in Telegram. The money reaches you directly and we take no percentage of sales.

How long does moderation take?

Up to 48 hours on business days. All that time the app works in Telegram and at its own address, so you can start straight away.