How to make Telegram stickers from a photo without an app

You don't need a sticker app, and you can do all of it on a PC. Telegram builds packs through its own bot, @Stickers, which works from Telegram Desktop, the web client or a phone, and the only thing it needs from you is a transparent 512×512 image. Making that image is the part most guides skip. It takes a browser, not an app. The whole flow, start to finish:

Quick answer: the 5 steps

1. Cut the photo into a sticker in your browser. Drop a photo on the Gifsy sticker maker; it removes the background, adds a white outline and shadow, and downloads a 512×512 WebP under 512 KB.
2. Start a sticker pack with @Stickers. In Telegram, open @Stickers and send /newpack — not /newemojipack — then name the pack.
3. Send the sticker as a file. Attach → File. Sent as a photo, Telegram recompresses it and the bot rejects it.
4. Tag it with an emoji, repeat, publish. Reply with one emoji per sticker, add more, then /publish and choose a short link.
5. Add the pack. Open the t.me/addstickers/… link and tap Add Stickers. Share the link with anyone.

What you need

• A photo with one clear subject — a face, a pet, an object — ideally on a plain background.
• A browser. The cut-out runs in it; nothing is uploaded.
• Telegram on any device. Desktop is fine, and easier for the file step.

Step 1 — Cut the photo into a 512×512 sticker in your browser

Open the Telegram sticker maker and drop the photo in. An AI model running in your browser removes the background; the tool then adds a white outline and a soft shadow — the look Telegram's own guide recommends: “a transparent background, white stroke and black shadow effect will make your sticker stand out” — and an optional caption. Download the WebP: it is 512×512 and re-encoded until it is under 512 KB, which is what the bot accepts. The PNG is the same cut-out for anywhere else.

If the cut-out is wrong — fly-away hair, a subject touching the frame edge, a white dog on snow — crop closer or try another photo; there is no erase brush. A thicker outline hides a ragged edge.

Step 2 — Build the pack with @Stickers

1. In Telegram, search for @Stickers and open the chat. Tap Start.
2. Send /newpack. The bot asks for a name — the title people will see.
3. Send the sticker as a file. On desktop: the paperclip → File. On a phone: attach → File (not Gallery). Sent as a photo, Telegram converts it to a compressed JPEG, the transparency is gone, and the bot rejects it.
4. The bot asks for an emoji. Reply with one. It only tags the sticker for the emoji-suggestion panel.
5. Repeat the file + emoji steps for each sticker.
6. Send /publish. The bot asks for an icon (you can skip it) and a short name for the link.
7. You get t.me/addstickers/<shortname>. Open it, tap Add Stickers.

“Exactly 100×100 pixels” — you started an emoji pack

If the bot asks for a 100×100 image you sent /newemojipack, which creates a custom-emoji pack. Cancel with /cancel, send /newpack, and send the same 512×512 file. It is already the right size for a sticker pack.

“File too big” — the 512 KB cap

The bot rejects static stickers over 512 KB. A PNG of a detailed photo can pass that; the WebP from the sticker maker can't, because it is re-encoded until it fits. If you exported a PNG elsewhere, convert it to WebP or drop the photo into the sticker maker.

Step 3 — Share and manage the pack

The t.me/addstickers/… link is the pack. Send it in any chat, put it in a bio, post it anywhere; anyone who opens it can add the pack. To change it later, message @Stickers:

• /addsticker — add a sticker to an existing pack.
• /delsticker — remove one.
• /ordersticker — change the order.
• /editsticker — change a sticker's emoji.
• /stats — how many people have added the pack.

Telegram's built-in editor vs the @Stickers bot vs this tool

Since version 10.11 (April 2024), the Telegram phone apps have their own sticker editor. In Telegram's words, “it takes just one tap to cut out objects and remove the background,” you can add an outline, erase and restore by hand, and save the result to a sticker set without leaving the chat. If you're on your phone and want a quick sticker of your cat, use it. The three routes do different jobs:

So on a PC, or when you want the same cut-out as a file for Discord or a slide as well as Telegram, the route in this guide is the one: make the file in the browser, then build the pack with @Stickers in Telegram Desktop.

Common errors, and what they mean

• “Please send me the sticker as a file” — you sent it as a photo. Attach → File.
• “exactly 100×100 pixels” — emoji pack, not sticker pack. /newpack.
• “too big” — over 512 KB. Use the WebP.
• “must be PNG or WEBP with transparent layer” — a JPG, or a PNG with an opaque background. The sticker maker outputs both formats transparent.
• “short name is already taken” — pick another link name at /publish.

FAQ

Make a Telegram sticker from a photo. The size and format rules in full: Telegram sticker size: 512×512, WebP vs PNG. Want the photo to move instead? Animate it into a GIF.