# Telegram Channel Scraper (`ahaham_bytiz/telegram-channel-scraper`) Actor Scrape public Telegram channels without authentication. Extract messages, views, media, reactions, forwards, publish dates from any public channel. No API keys or phone number required — uses Telegram's public web preview (t.me/s/channel). - **URL**: https://apify.com/ahaham\_bytiz/telegram-channel-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Max Consta](https://apify.com/ahaham_bytiz) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Lead generation, SEO tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.00005 / actor start This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Telegram Channel Scraper Scrape public Telegram channels **without authentication** — no API ID, no API hash, no phone number, no session files. Uses Telegram's public web preview (t.me/s/channel) to extract messages, views, reactions, media URLs, forwards, polls, and link previews. ### Why this actor? Every other Telegram scraper on Apify Store requires you to provide a Telegram API ID + API hash and often a phone number, which creates two major problems: 1. You need to set up a personal Telegram dev account. 2. Your account gets flagged/banned for scraping activity. This actor avoids both — it uses only public, unauthenticated endpoints. Trade-off: you can't scrape private channels, and message counts like exact views on very old messages may be approximations. ### Features - **Zero credentials** — no API keys, no phone number - **Full message data** — text, views, date, author, forwards, replies - **Reactions** — emoji + count for each reaction (including paid ⭐ reactions) - **Media extraction** — photo URLs, video sources, documents, voice messages - **Polls** — question + options - **Link previews** — URL, title, description, site name - **Channel metadata** — subscriber count, verified status, description - **Historical pagination** — goes back in time via `?before=` until the limit you set - **Date filtering** — `fromDate`, `toDate` to narrow scope ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `channels` | array | List of public channels — accepts `@username`, `t.me/username`, `t.me/s/username` | | `maxMessagesPerChannel` | integer | Stop after this many messages per channel | | `fromDate` | string | ISO date — skip messages older than this | | `toDate` | string | ISO date — skip messages newer than this | | `includeMedia` | boolean | Include media URLs in output | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | Optional — t.me rarely blocks, but useful for very high volume | #### Example input ```json { "channels": ["@durov", "@telegram", "@breakingmash"], "maxMessagesPerChannel": 500, "fromDate": "2025-01-01", "includeMedia": true } ```` ### Output Each message: ```json { "channel": "durov", "messageId": 497, "url": "https://t.me/durov/497", "date": "2026-04-20T22:55:10+00:00", "text": "France's Agency for Secure Documents was hacked...", "author": "Pavel Durov", "views": 713000, "isForwarded": false, "forwardedFrom": null, "replyToUrl": null, "photos": ["https://cdn4.telesco.pe/..."], "videos": [], "documents": [], "voices": [], "poll": null, "reactions": [ { "emoji": "⭐", "count": 4820, "paid": true }, { "emoji": "custom:5265077361648368841", "emojiId": "5265077361648368841", "count": 27600 } ], "linkPreview": null, "hasMedia": false } ``` ### Pricing (Pay-per-result) - **$0.30 per 1000 messages** extracted ### Use cases - **Social listening** — monitor brand/keyword mentions across dozens of channels - **News aggregation** — pull latest posts from news channels into your own feed - **Crypto/finance** — track announcements from project channels - **Market research** — compare engagement (views, reactions) across channels - **Competitive intelligence** — monitor competitor channels - **Dataset building** — collect training data for NLP / sentiment analysis ### Limitations - Public channels only (groups and private channels are not supported) - View counts for very old messages may be approximate (Telegram rounds them) - Reaction emojis that use Telegram's custom emoji system come back as `custom:` — resolve via Telegram's Bot API if you need the visual emoji ### Notes Respect Telegram's [Terms of Service](https://telegram.org/tos) and the laws in your jurisdiction. This actor reads the same public data anyone can see in a web browser. # Actor input Schema ## `channels` (type: `array`): Public Telegram channels to scrape. Accepts usernames (@channel), full URLs (https://t.me/channel), or preview URLs (https://t.me/s/channel). ## `maxMessagesPerChannel` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of messages to fetch per channel. Older messages are loaded by paginating backwards through history. ## `fromDate` (type: `string`): Only include messages posted on or after this date (ISO 8601, e.g. 2024-01-01). Leave empty to ignore. ## `toDate` (type: `string`): Only include messages posted on or before this date. Leave empty to ignore. ## `includeMedia` (type: `boolean`): Extract photo/video/document URLs from messages. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Optional proxy. Not required — t.me/s/ rarely blocks, but helps for very high volume. ## Actor input object example ```json { "channels": [ "@durov" ], "maxMessagesPerChannel": 100, "includeMedia": true, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "channels": [ "@durov" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("ahaham_bytiz/telegram-channel-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "channels": ["@durov"], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("ahaham_bytiz/telegram-channel-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "channels": [ "@durov" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } }' | apify call ahaham_bytiz/telegram-channel-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=ahaham_bytiz/telegram-channel-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Telegram Channel Scraper", "description": "Scrape public Telegram channels without authentication. Extract messages, views, media, reactions, forwards, publish dates from any public channel. No API keys or phone number required — uses Telegram's public web preview (t.me/s/channel).", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "OmnjqkiOCo1b84Vdb" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/ahaham_bytiz~telegram-channel-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-ahaham_bytiz-telegram-channel-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/ahaham_bytiz~telegram-channel-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-ahaham_bytiz-telegram-channel-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/ahaham_bytiz~telegram-channel-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-ahaham_bytiz-telegram-channel-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "channels" ], "properties": { "channels": { "title": "Channels", "type": "array", "description": "Public Telegram channels to scrape. Accepts usernames (@channel), full URLs (https://t.me/channel), or preview URLs (https://t.me/s/channel).", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxMessagesPerChannel": { "title": "Max messages per channel", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 10000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of messages to fetch per channel. Older messages are loaded by paginating backwards through history.", "default": 100 }, "fromDate": { "title": "From date", "type": "string", "description": "Only include messages posted on or after this date (ISO 8601, e.g. 2024-01-01). Leave empty to ignore." }, "toDate": { "title": "To date", "type": "string", "description": "Only include messages posted on or before this date. Leave empty to ignore." }, "includeMedia": { "title": "Include media URLs", "type": "boolean", "description": "Extract photo/video/document URLs from messages.", "default": true }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Optional proxy. Not required — t.me/s/ rarely blocks, but helps for very high volume." } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```