How to Create a Custom Emoji Pack on Telegram

To create a custom emoji pack, prepare your images at exactly 100x100 pixels, open Telegram's official @Stickers bot, start a new emoji pack, upload each emoji and match it to a standard emoji, then give the pack a short name. Telegram publishes it at a link anyone can open to add it. Creating a pack is open to everyone, but using custom emoji freely in messages is a Telegram Premium feature, with some exceptions for boosted groups.

This guide covers file formats, the upload steps, design tips for a tiny canvas, who can use your emoji where, and how to fix the errors people hit most.

What custom emoji are

Custom emoji are small images that sit inside text, like ordinary emoji, instead of being sent as a separate picture. You can put one in the middle of a sentence, in a channel post, in a reaction, or next to your name as an emoji status.

They differ from stickers in three ways:

• Size. A sticker is a large image sent on its own. A custom emoji is the height of a line of text.
• Placement. Stickers are messages. Custom emoji are characters inside messages.
• Canvas. Stickers are made at 512 pixels on the long side. Custom emoji are made at 100x100 pixels.

If you want large images to send on their own, see our guide to creating a sticker pack. This article is only about emoji packs.

The three kinds of custom emoji

Telegram accepts three formats, and one pack must use just one of them:

• Static emoji. A still image in PNG or WEBP format.
• Animated emoji. A vector animation in Telegram's TGS format, which is a compressed Lottie animation.
• Video emoji. A short looping clip in WEBM format using the VP9 video codec.

Static emoji are by far the easiest to make. Choose animated or video only if motion really adds something.

Who can create and who can use custom emoji

This is the part people most often get wrong, so it is worth being precise.

Creating a pack

Telegram's help pages say everyone can create new custom emoji. You do not need Premium to upload a pack through @Stickers.

Using custom emoji in messages

Using custom emoji in your own messages, from any pack, anywhere, is a Telegram Premium feature. Users without Premium still see custom emoji that others send. They can add packs to their collection but cannot type them freely in every chat.

Exceptions worth knowing

• Boosted groups. A group that reaches the required boost level can set a group emoji pack. Members of that group can use emoji from that pack inside that group, Premium or not. The level is set by Telegram and can change, so check the group's boost screen. Our boosts guide explains how levels work.
• Channels. Posts in a channel can contain custom emoji when the admin writing them has Premium. Boosted channels can also unlock options such as custom reactions and an emoji status. The levels for each option are shown in the channel's boost settings.
• Emoji status. The emoji next to a person's name is a Premium feature for users. Channels can unlock their own through boosts.

The rules around Premium and boosts change from time to time. Before you make a pack for a specific audience, check what they will actually be able to do with it. For a broader comparison, see Telegram Premium vs free.

Planning the pack

A pack that people actually use starts with what they will use it for, not with the art.

Decide the job of the pack

Most packs do one of four jobs:

• Brand marks. Your logo, mascot or product icons, used in your own posts and as a status.
• Reactions. Expressions your community uses often: agreement, laughter, surprise, a "this is news" flag.
• Post furniture. Bullets, dividers, numbers and topic markers that make long channel posts easier to scan.
• Community jokes. Faces and phrases specific to a group.

Mixing jobs is fine, but knowing the main one tells you what to draw first and how to match standard emoji.

Start small, then add

Begin with the emoji you are sure people will use, often eight to fifteen. You can add more later without changing the link. A small, consistent pack beats a large one where half the emoji never get used.

Example: post furniture for a news channel

An illustrative example. A local news channel designs a red "breaking" dot, a blue "explainer" dot, a calendar mark for events and a pin for locations. Each is linked to a similar standard emoji. Admins start each post with one marker, so readers can see the type of post before reading a word.

Static, animated or video?

• Static is fastest to make, smallest to load and calmest to read. Choose it for bullets, markers and logos.
• Video suits playful reactions and is easy to make with ordinary video tools, but the file size limit is tight.
• Animated TGS gives the sharpest motion but needs vector animation skills.

Remember that some people switch off autoplaying animations, for example with Telegram's power saving options. Animated emoji should still make sense as a still frame.

Before you start

Gather these before you open the bot. It makes the upload a ten-minute job instead of an afternoon.

• Finished files, all in the same format, named clearly so you can match each one to its meaning.
• A plan for which standard emoji each one represents. Telegram uses these to suggest your custom emoji when people type. A heart-shaped logo should be linked to a heart, a laughing mascot to a laughing face.
• A pack title that people will see, such as "Kiki the Cat".
• A short name for the link, using Latin letters, numbers and underscores. It becomes part of the pack's address and cannot be changed later.
• The rights to the artwork. Use your own art, art you commissioned with rights to use it, or material you have permission for. Packs using other people's characters or logos can be reported and removed.
• Your Telegram app updated, so the bot's newer options display properly.

Preparing the files

Getting the files right is most of the work. The bot rejects anything that does not match the format.

Static emoji: PNG or WEBP

Telegram's documentation for custom emoji states that a static image must be exactly 100x100 pixels, in PNG or WEBP format.

1. Draw or import your design on a square canvas. Working larger and scaling down at the end gives cleaner edges.
2. Keep a transparent background unless a background is part of the design.
3. Leave a small margin around the edge, so the design does not touch the borders and look cropped.
4. Export at exactly 100x100 pixels.
5. Look at the exported file at real size. If you cannot read it on a phone, simplify it.

Video emoji: WEBM with VP9

Telegram's documentation for video emoji asks for exactly 100x100 pixels, no longer than three seconds, VP9 codec in a WEBM container, and no audio track. Telegram's encoding guide also gives a small maximum file size for emoji. Check that page before you export, because a clip that is slightly too large is the most common rejection.

1. Create the animation at a square size and keep it short. A loop that repeats smoothly looks better than a long clip that jumps.
2. Remove any audio track.
3. Export to WEBM with the VP9 codec at 100x100 pixels.
4. If the file is too large, shorten the clip, reduce the frame rate, simplify the motion, or lower the quality setting, in that order.

Animated emoji: TGS

TGS files are vector animations exported from a Lottie-compatible workflow. Telegram's animated stickers page describes the requirements and an export plugin for this. It is the most demanding route. Use it if you already work with vector animation, because a TGS emoji stays sharp at any screen density and is very small.

Making emoji readable at tiny size

A custom emoji appears at the size of text. Detail that looks lovely at 512 pixels becomes noise at that size.

• Use bold shapes. One clear silhouette beats a detailed illustration.
• Use thick outlines. Thin lines vanish, especially on small phone screens.
• Avoid text. Even short words are unreadable at emoji size. If you need letters, use one or two large ones.
• Test on dark and light themes. A dark design disappears on a dark chat background. A light outline around the shape solves this.
• Keep a consistent style. A pack where every emoji shares line weight and colours looks professional and is easier to recognise.

Adaptive colour emoji

Telegram supports emoji packs whose emoji are recoloured to fit the context, for example matching the text colour in a message or the accent colour when used as a status. This suits simple one-colour icons, such as a logo mark. If you want this, design in a single flat colour. The bot or the pack settings let you mark the pack this way. The exact option name varies, so read the bot's prompts carefully.

Briefing an artist

If you commission the pack, a clear brief saves rounds of corrections. Include:

• The format you want, static, video or TGS, and the exact size of 100x100 pixels.
• That the background should be transparent and the design should leave a small margin.
• The list of emoji with a one-line meaning for each and the standard emoji it will match.
• Your colours, and whether the logo should work in a single colour for adaptive use.
• File naming, such as a number and a meaning, so uploads go in order.
• Who owns the rights to the finished artwork and the source files.

A pre-publish check

Before uploading, put each finished emoji through this quick test on a phone:

1. View it at actual size next to a line of text. Can you tell what it is in one glance?
2. View it on a dark background and a light one.
3. View it even smaller, the way it appears as a reaction or a status beside a name.
4. Compare it with the rest of the pack. Does it share the same line weight, colours and margin?
5. For motion, watch it loop several times. Does the loop jump? Does the still frame make sense?

How to create the pack with @Stickers

@Stickers is Telegram's official bot for creating sticker and emoji packs. It also offers a built-in Mini App for creating and managing packs. Telegram has described this app as a way to create stickers and emoji, manage packs and see usage statistics. Depending on your app version, you may be offered the app, the classic chat commands, or both.

Make sure you open the real bot. Check that the username is exactly @Stickers, because copycat bots with similar names exist.

Using the Mini App

1. Search for @Stickers in Telegram and open it.
2. Open the bot's app from its menu button or start screen.
3. Choose to create a new emoji pack rather than a sticker pack.
4. Pick the format if asked, then upload your first file.
5. Choose the standard emoji that best matches it. You can usually pick more than one.
6. Repeat for every emoji in the pack.
7. Enter the title and the short name for the link.
8. Publish. The app shows the pack and its link.

Using chat commands

1. Open @Stickers and send the command to start a new emoji pack. The bot lists its commands when you open its menu or type a slash.
2. Choose the type of emoji: static, animated or video.
3. Send the title for your pack.
4. Send your first file. Send it as a file, not as a compressed photo, so the bot receives the exact pixels.
5. Reply with the standard emoji that match it.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each emoji.
7. When you have added them all, send the command to publish.
8. If the bot asks for an icon, send one or skip it to use the first emoji.
9. Send the short name. The bot replies with the pack's link.

The pack's link uses Telegram's emoji-pack address, with your short name at the end. Anyone who opens it can preview the pack and add it.

Sending files without compression on each device

The bot needs the original file. How you send one depends on the app.

• Android: tap the attachment icon, choose File rather than Gallery, and pick the image from your storage.
• iPhone and iPad: tap the attachment icon, choose File, then pick from the Files app. If the image is in Photos, save it to Files first.
• Telegram Desktop: drag the file into the chat. If a dialog offers to compress images, turn compression off before sending.
• Web versions: use the attachment button and choose to send as a file or document.

Creating packs with your own bot

Developers can also create custom emoji packs through the Bot API. A bot calls the method for creating a new sticker set and sets the sticker type to custom emoji. Packs created this way have names that end with the bot's username, and the bot must have a user who will own the pack. This suits apps that let users build packs automatically. For most people, @Stickers is simpler. Our guide to creating a bot with BotFather covers the first step if you want to try.

Using your pack

Adding it to your collection

Open the pack's link and add it. It now appears in your emoji panel in a section for custom emoji.

Typing custom emoji

With Premium, open the emoji panel in any chat, switch to your custom packs, and tap an emoji to insert it into your message. Telegram also suggests custom emoji when you type a standard emoji that you linked to them, which is why the matching step matters.

Using it in a group as a group pack

1. Make sure the group has reached the boost level needed for a group emoji pack.
2. Open the group's settings, find the emoji pack option and choose your pack.
3. Members can now use emoji from that pack in that group.

Using it in a channel

Admins with Premium can include custom emoji in posts. With enough boosts, you can also set custom reactions so readers react with your emoji. See setting up channel reactions for how reactions work in general.

Emoji status

A Premium user can set any custom emoji as their status next to their name. A channel can set one once it reaches the required boost level. Using your brand's emoji as a status is a quiet way to make it familiar.

Getting people to add and use your pack

A published pack sits unused unless people see it in action.

1. Use it yourself first. Emoji in your own posts are the best advertisement. Readers can tap a custom emoji in a message to see the pack it came from and add it.
2. Put the link where people look. Your channel or group description, a pinned post and your profile bio all work.
3. Turn it into reactions. Once your channel can set custom reactions, readers use your emoji every time they react.
4. Make it a group pack. In a group, boosting to the needed level lets everyone use the pack there. Explain to members that boosts unlock it, since many do not know they can boost.
5. Add to it over time. New emoji tied to events or running jokes give people a reason to look at the pack again.

The @Stickers Mini App is described by Telegram as showing usage statistics for your packs. Where your version offers this, it tells you which emoji people actually use, which helps decide what to draw next.

Rules, rights and trust

Emoji packs are public, and Telegram can remove packs that break its rules or that are reported for infringement.

• Copyright and trademarks. Do not upload characters, logos or artwork you do not have the right to use. A pack built on a famous brand can disappear overnight, taking every post that used it with it.
• Misleading marks. Avoid emoji that imitate Telegram's own verification check or official badges. Placed next to a name or in a post, they can make readers think an account is something it is not. Telegram's real verification works differently; see how to get verified on Telegram.
• Content rules. Packs with illegal or adult content break Telegram's rules and should not be made.
• Keep your source files. If you ever need to prove a pack is yours, the layered originals are your evidence.

Managing and editing a pack

You can change a pack after publishing. Changes show up for everyone who added it.

1. Open @Stickers or its Mini App.
2. Choose the option to edit or manage your packs.
3. Select the pack.
4. Add new emoji, remove ones you no longer want, reorder them, or change which standard emoji they match.
5. Change the pack icon if you want a different face for it in the panel.

You can also delete the whole pack. People who added it lose it, and emoji from it in old messages may stop displaying as intended. Prefer removing individual emoji over deleting a pack people use.

The link's address is fixed for good. If you need a new address, create a new pack and point people to it.

Worked examples

Example: a channel's brand pack

An illustrative example. A cycling news channel makes a pack of twelve static emoji: its logo in one colour, a bike, a helmet, a trophy and a few reactions. The logo is designed as a single flat shape so it can be an adaptive emoji. The admin, who has Premium, uses the logo in post headers. Once the channel reaches the right boost level, the bike and trophy become custom reactions. Readers start using them in comments, and the pack link is posted in the channel description.

Example: a group's inside jokes

A gaming group makes a pack of its members' running jokes as video emoji. Each clip is under three seconds and loops cleanly. The group's members boost it to the level needed for a group emoji pack, and everyone, Premium or not, can now use the pack in that group.

Example: a small shop

A handmade candle shop creates emoji for each product line and a "new arrival" badge. It uses them in its broadcast channel to mark product types at a glance. It does not expect customers to use them, so it does not worry about who has Premium.

Troubleshooting

The bot says the image size is wrong

The file is not exactly 100x100 pixels. Re-export at that size. Check that your editor did not add a border or round the size.

The bot does not reply

Check that you opened @Stickers and not a lookalike. Send the start command again, or cancel the current step with the bot's cancel command and begin again. If the bot's Mini App will not load, update Telegram and try the chat commands instead, or the other way round. Busy periods can also slow replies, so wait a minute before resending, or you may add the same emoji twice.

The bot treats my upload as a photo

You sent a compressed image. Send it as a file or document so the exact pixels arrive.

A video emoji is rejected

Usually the file is too large, too long, or has an audio track. Shorten the clip, remove audio, reduce the frame rate or quality, and confirm the codec is VP9 in WEBM.

My emoji look blurry

They were scaled up from a smaller drawing, or exported with heavy compression. Draw larger, scale down once, and export at good quality.

I cannot use my own emoji in a chat

You probably do not have Premium, and the chat is not a group whose group pack is your pack. Creating a pack does not unlock using it everywhere.

The pack link says it does not exist

Check the short name for typos. Names are exact. If you deleted the pack, the link no longer works.

Someone else's pack uses my artwork

Report the pack through Telegram. Our guide on how to report on Telegram explains the options. Keep your original files as proof of authorship.

Common mistakes

• Mixing formats in one pack. A pack is static, animated or video, not a mix.
• Designing at sticker size and shrinking. Detail disappears. Design for the small size from the start.
• Using thin lines and small text. Neither survives at text height.
• Skipping the emoji matching. Your emoji then rarely appear as suggestions.
• Choosing a short name in a hurry. It cannot be changed later.
• Using a copycat bot. Only @Stickers is Telegram's official tool.
• Assuming everyone can type your emoji. Most people need Premium or a boosted group pack.
• Using other people's characters or logos. The pack can be removed after a report.

What to do next

• Share your pack link in your channel description, a pinned post and your bio. Our pinned message examples include ideas.
• If you run a channel, combine your pack with stories and reactions; see using stories to grow a channel.
• Make a matching sticker pack for larger reactions and replies.
• If you want more people to discover your channel, submit it to our directory. It is free, and every listing is reviewed by a person.

FAQ

Do I need Telegram Premium to create a custom emoji pack?

No. Telegram's help pages say anyone can create custom emoji. Premium is needed to use custom emoji freely in your own messages.

What size should custom emoji be?

Exactly 100x100 pixels, for static images and video emoji. Static images must be PNG or WEBP. Video emoji must be WEBM with VP9, no audio and no longer than three seconds.

Can I make a pack from my existing stickers?

You can reuse the artwork, but you have to export it again at 100x100 pixels and create a new emoji pack. Sticker packs and emoji packs are separate.

Can people without Premium use my emoji?

They can see them in messages. In a group that has set your pack as its group emoji pack, members can use it there. Elsewhere, typing custom emoji needs Premium.

How do I share my emoji pack?

Share the link the bot gives you when you publish. Anyone who opens it can preview and add the pack.

Can I delete or rename a pack later?

You can change the title, add or remove emoji, or delete the pack. The short name in the link cannot be changed.

Summary

A custom emoji pack is a set of 100x100 images that work like text characters. Prepare files in one format, static PNG or WEBP, TGS animation, or WEBM video, then upload them through Telegram's official @Stickers bot, match each one to a standard emoji, and publish with a short name. Anyone can create a pack, but using custom emoji freely needs Premium, while boosted groups can share one pack with all members. Design bold, simple shapes that read at text size, and test them on both light and dark themes.