# Telegram Channel Scraper · $1/1K · No Login, New Posts Only (`featherscrape/telegram-channel-scraper`) Actor

Scrape public Telegram channels without an account or phone number: messages, views, reactions, photos, videos, links and subscriber counts. Filter by date or keyword, and monitor channels: each run returns only new posts, so you never pay twice for the same message.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/featherscrape/telegram-channel-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Feather Scrape](https://apify.com/featherscrape) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, News, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.70 / 1,000 messages

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Telegram Channel Scraper

Scrape **public Telegram channels** without an account, phone number or API key: every message with its **text, date, views, reactions, photos, videos, links, hashtags** and the channel's **subscriber count**. Turn on **monitoring mode** to get only the new posts on each scheduled run.

- 🔔 **Monitoring mode**: schedule the Actor (every hour, every day…) and receive only messages posted since the previous run — you pay only for new posts
- 🔎 **Keyword and date filters**: keep only messages mentioning your brand, a token or a topic; messages that don't match are not charged
- 📊 **Engagement data**: views, every reaction with its count (including paid Stars), forwards origin, link previews
- ⚡ **Fast and cheap**: plain HTTP requests on Telegram's public web preview, ~20 messages per request, several channels in parallel
- 🔐 **No login, no risk for your account**: nothing to connect, no Telegram API credentials

### Use cases

- **Crypto & trading signals**: follow token announcements, whale alerts and news channels in real time
- **News and media monitoring**: aggregate breaking news channels into your own feed, Slack or database
- **Brand monitoring & OSINT**: track mentions of your company, product or keywords across public channels
- **Market and audience research**: compare channels by subscribers, views and reactions
- **AI pipelines**: feed fresh channel content to your LLM, RAG or alerting workflows (n8n, Make, Zapier)

### Output

One item per message, newest first:

```json
{
    "channel": "durov",
    "channelTitle": "Pavel Durov",
    "channelSubscribers": 10500000,
    "messageId": 528,
    "url": "https://t.me/durov/528",
    "date": "2026-06-15T18:58:13+00:00",
    "text": "The UK government wants to ban social media for children under 16…",
    "views": 18900000,
    "reactions": [
        {"emoji": "⭐", "isPaidStars": true, "count": 14300},
        {"emoji": null, "customEmojiId": "5265077361648368841", "isPaidStars": false, "count": 132000}
    ],
    "mediaType": "photo",
    "photos": ["https://cdn4.telesco.pe/file/…jpg"],
    "videos": [],
    "links": ["https://…"],
    "hashtags": [],
    "mentions": [],
    "linkPreview": {"url": "https://…", "siteName": "…", "title": "…", "description": "…"},
    "forwardedFrom": null,
    "isEdited": false,
    "author": "Pavel Durov"
}
```

### How to use it

1. Add one or more **channels**: `durov`, `@durov` or `https://t.me/durov`.
2. Set **Max messages per channel**, and optionally **keywords** or a **date range**.
3. For a live feed, turn on **Only new messages** and **schedule** the Actor. Connect a webhook or an integration (Slack, Google Sheets, n8n, Make, Zapier) to receive new posts automatically.

#### Input example

```json
{
    "channels": ["cointelegraph", "@whale_alert_io", "https://t.me/bbcbreaking"],
    "maxMessagesPerChannel": 50,
    "keywords": ["bitcoin", "ETF"],
    "newerThanDays": 7
}
```

### Pricing

You pay per message returned (see the pricing tab). In monitoring mode, runs without new posts cost almost nothing. Set **Max messages in total** to cap your spending.

### FAQ

**Can I scrape private channels or groups?** No. The Actor only reads channels that have a public web preview at `t.me/s/<channel>`. Invite links (`t.me/+…`) are skipped.

**How far back can I go?** As far as the channel's history goes; use **Max pages per channel** (about 20 messages per page) to limit the scan on very active channels.

**Why do some reactions have no emoji?** They use Telegram custom emojis, which only have an ID (`customEmojiId`).

**How does monitoring mode remember what it already returned?** It stores the last message ID of each channel in a key-value store named `telegram-channels-monitor` in your account. Delete it to start over.

**Is it legal?** The Actor only collects data that Telegram publishes publicly on the web. You are responsible for using it in line with applicable laws and Telegram's terms.

### Support

Found a bug or need a field? Open an issue on the Issues tab or email **FeatherScrape@protonmail.com**. Issues are answered within 48 hours.

# Actor input Schema

## `channels` (type: `array`):

Public Telegram channels: usernames (durov, @durov) or links (https://t.me/durov). Private channels, groups and invite links (t.me/+…) are not supported.

## `maxMessagesPerChannel` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of messages to return for each channel, newest first.

## `onlyNewMessages` (type: `boolean`):

Return only messages posted since your previous run with this option on. Schedule the Actor (e.g. hourly) to get a feed of new posts and pay only for them. The first run returns the latest messages.

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Optional: return only messages containing at least one of these words (case-insensitive). Messages that don't match are not charged.

## `newerThanDays` (type: `integer`):

Optional: stop at messages older than N days.

## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):

Optional: oldest message date to include (YYYY-MM-DD, UTC).

## `dateTo` (type: `string`):

Optional: newest message date to include (YYYY-MM-DD, UTC).

## `maxPagesPerChannel` (type: `integer`):

Safety limit on how far back to scan (about 20 messages per page). Useful with keywords on very active channels.

## `maxResultsTotal` (type: `integer`):

Optional cap on the total number of messages across all channels, to control your spending.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy used to reach Telegram. The default Apify Proxy works in most cases.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "channels": [
    "durov",
    "telegram"
  ],
  "maxMessagesPerChannel": 100,
  "onlyNewMessages": false,
  "maxPagesPerChannel": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `messages` (type: `string`):

Messages with text, date, views, reactions, media, links, hashtags and channel subscribers.

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "channels": [
        "durov",
        "telegram"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("featherscrape/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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "channels": [
        "durov",
        "telegram",
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("featherscrape/telegram-channel-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).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",
    "telegram"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call featherscrape/telegram-channel-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,featherscrape/telegram-channel-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/nq6AEorr9Aa2pHNPg/builds/QYQj9mrNhWGJwgt8I/openapi.json