Telegram Channel Posts Scraper – Comments & Media

Export public Telegram channel posts with text, dates, views, reactions, links and media references. Telegram Channel Posts Scraper also returns channel context, public discussion counts and optional recent comments in one dataset row per post.

Use it for research archives, social listening and channel comparisons without a Telegram login. Private channels, groups, member lists and private messages are not supported.

Quick start

1. Enter a public channel username or URL.
2. Start with a small post limit. Enable public comments only if you need them.
3. Run the Actor and open its dataset to review the posts.

{
  "channels": ["telegram"],
  "maxPosts": 10,
  "includeMedia": true
}

Prefer a video guide? This short Apify walkthrough shows you how to set up and run an Actor. It uses a different Actor, but the setup steps are the same.

Ready-to-run examples

Choose an example to start with a small, preconfigured input.

• Compare public Telegram channel posts — Collect up to 15 posts across Telegram and Durov.
• Export Telegram post comments and reactions — Request public discussion comments for up to 10 WatcherGuru posts.
• Export Telegram channel text posts — Collect up to 25 Telegram posts without media URLs.

What you get

• Post records: text, publication time, source URL and public counters where available.
• Channel context: title, description, photo, verification and subscriber count when exposed.
• Media and links: media types, preview URLs, hashtags, mentions and link previews.
• Public discussions: counts by default, with optional recent comments nested in the post.
• Focused history: date windows, per-channel limits and message-ID checkpoints for repeatable collection.

Who is it for?

• Researchers archiving public announcements and news.
• Analysts comparing public channel activity and discussion.
• Teams sending post records to spreadsheets, dashboards or an AI assistant for analysis.

Input settings

channels is required. Supply one or more non-blank usernames, @handles or public channel URLs.

Setting	Purpose
channels	Public channels to collect.
maxPosts	Overall post cap. The form suggests 20. Omitted API input uses 50.
maxPostsPerChannel	Optional per-channel cap, otherwise the overall cap applies.
sinceDate, untilDate	Filter timestamped posts using ISO dates or timestamps. Date-only bounds cover the UTC day.
afterPostId, afterPostIds	Exclusive message-ID checkpoints. Per-channel values take precedence.
includeMedia	Include available media preview URLs, enabled by default.
includeCommentCount	Fetch public discussion counts, enabled by default.
includeComments, maxCommentsPerPost	Include recent public comments, off by default, with a default limit of 20 per post.
minComments	Keep posts meeting a public discussion count threshold, default 0.
maxPagesPerChannel	History-page cap. The form suggests 20, omitted API input uses 100.
runTimeSecs	Safe collection time limit, default 270 seconds.
proxyConfiguration	Optional direct or configured proxy access. See field help.
includeRawHtmlSnippet	Optional short post HTML fragment, off by default.

Comments require a publicly accessible linked discussion. A minimum-comment filter also checks counts even when count enrichment is switched off. A post is skipped when that filter cannot be evaluated.

For incremental collection, save your own last-seen post IDs and supply them in afterPostIds. The Actor does not retain checkpoints between runs.

Output data

Each dataset row represents one post. Missing public values are generally null. Optional comment fields appear when requested or when comment enrichment fails.

Fields	Meaning
channelHandle, channelUsername	Normalized channel username.
channelTitle, channelDescription, channelPhotoUrl, channelVerified, subscriberCount	Available public channel context.
postId, postUrl, date, postedAt, text	Post identity, publication time and content. date and postedAt are aliases.
views, replyCount, replies	Available counters. replies is a numeric alias of replyCount.
reactions, reactionCount	Reaction-name-to-count object and its total when present.
links, hashtags, mentions, linkPreview	Extracted links and contextual labels.
mediaUrls, mediaTypes, hasPhoto, hasVideo, hasDocument, hasVoice	Preview URLs and detected media types.
edited, authorName, authorSignature, forwardedFrom	Available public authorship and post labels.
comments, commentsScraped, commentsStatus, commentsError	Optional public comment records and enrichment outcome.
forwards	Compatibility field, usually null because public previews do not expose totals.
rawHtmlSnippet, scrapedAt	Optional HTML fragment and collection timestamp.

This synthetic shape-only example illustrates a subset of fields, not a captured Telegram post:

{
  "channelUsername": "example_channel",
  "postId": "1",
  "postUrl": "https://t.me/example_channel/1",
  "text": "Illustrative public post",
  "views": null,
  "reactions": {"👍": 2},
  "reactionCount": 2,
  "mediaUrls": []
}

The run also writes RUN_SUMMARY to its key-value store with per-channel outcomes and saved-record counts.

Download your results

Open your run's dataset, choose Export and select JSON, CSV or Excel. JSON keeps nested fields together. CSV and Excel are useful when you want to review the records in a spreadsheet.

See Apify's download and export guide for the available formats and field options.

Pricing

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. The start event is charged once after input validation. A run that collects no posts can still incur this start charge.

The post event is charged for each saved post. Public comments are nested in the post rather than charged as separate comment rows. Filtered-out posts are not saved or charged as post events. A saved base post still counts when optional comment enrichment fails.

See the live Pricing tab for current rates and discounts.

Tips for best results

• Start with one channel and a small limit. Check whether it exposes the content you need.
• Balance channel comparisons. Set maxPostsPerChannel so an active channel cannot consume the whole limit.
• Narrow your date window. Older posts may require more history pages and time.
• Request comments only when useful. Disable includeCommentCount too if you do not need counts or a minimum-comment filter.
• Keep your own checkpoints. Message IDs let your workflow avoid collecting previously seen posts.

Limits and caveats

• Only publicly accessible channel previews and discussions are supported. No login, private groups or member lists are accessed.
• Telegram may omit counters, reactions, text or media references. Media URLs are previews, not downloaded files or guaranteed permanent links.
• Date filters apply when timestamps are available. Results are collected by visible history pages, not globally sorted across channels.
• Public discussion access can fail independently. Base posts are preserved when safe, but a minimum-comment filter may skip an unevaluable post.
• Unavailable targets can produce a successful empty dataset with reasons in RUN_SUMMARY. Inaccessibility does not establish that a channel is private or deleted.
• Limits or access problems can leave partial results. Check the run summary rather than assuming a complete historical archive.

Automation and integrations

Save your settings for next time

Once you have an input that works for you, save it as an Apify task. This keeps your settings together so you can use them again without filling in the form from scratch.

Run on a schedule

Need fresh results regularly? You can schedule the Actor or a saved task to run at a time that suits you.

Each scheduled run collects the data again. If you want to compare results or highlight changes, add that step in your own workflow.

Send results to your other tools

Use n8n, Make or Zapier to connect this scraper to the rest of your workflow. For example, you could pass its results to an AI assistant or add records to a spreadsheet. Follow the Apify integration guides for your chosen tool.

For a custom connection, an Apify webhook can notify your app when a run finishes or fails. Your app can then fetch the results or handle the failure.

Telegram workflows for n8n

Use Export Telegram channel posts to Google Sheets with Apify for a searchable archive, or Monitor Telegram channel intelligence with Apify, OpenAI, Google Sheets, and Telegram to classify posts and send alerts in your own workflow.

API usage

Want to collect this data from your own app or automation? The examples below send input to the scraper and show how to collect its results.

The Node.js and Python examples wait for the run to finish before reading its results. The cURL example starts the run and returns its details. Wait for that run to finish, then use its defaultDatasetId to fetch the results.

For setup instructions, see Apify's JavaScript client guide, Python client guide and Actor runs API reference.

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fetch_cat~telegram-channel-posts-scraper/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"channels":["telegram"],"maxPosts":10,"includeMedia":true}'

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('fetch_cat/telegram-channel-posts-scraper').call({
  channels: ['telegram'], maxPosts: 10, includeMedia: true,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('fetch_cat/telegram-channel-posts-scraper').call(run_input={
    'channels': ['telegram'], 'maxPosts': 10, 'includeMedia': True,
})
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items)

MCP and AI agents

You can ask your AI assistant to collect data with Telegram Channel Posts Scraper and help you work with the results. The scraper returns the data, and your assistant can then summarize it, compare records or prepare notes.

Connect your assistant through the Apify MCP server. MCP gives your assistant a way to find this scraper, run it and read the results. Follow the official setup and sign-in guide for your app.

Easier setup with an Apify plugin

If you use a supported coding assistant, the official Apify plugin can set up the connection for you. It connects your assistant to Apify and includes instructions for common tasks. Follow the guide for your particular app.

Use Apify AI in Console

Prefer to keep everything in Apify? Open Apify AI in Console and ask it to find Fetch Cat's Telegram Channel Posts Scraper. You can describe the data you want and ask questions about the results.

Apify AI is currently in beta. It asks for confirmation before starting an Actor, and normal run charges apply.

Choose your assistant

• Claude and Claude Code (Anthropic): Apify setup guide.
• ChatGPT and Codex (OpenAI): Apify setup guides.
• Grok Bot (xAI): Apify plugin guide.
• Gemini CLI (Google): MCP server setup guide. Use the server URL below with the HTTP configuration supported by Gemini CLI.

Connect just this scraper

To keep your setup focused on this scraper, add this server configuration to a compatible MCP client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=fetch_cat/telegram-channel-posts-scraper"
    }
  }
}

Sign in to Apify when your client asks. If your client uses a Bearer token instead, follow its setup guide and keep the token in its secure configuration. Configuration formats vary by app, so use the linked guide if your client needs a different format.

Use Apify's general server

Already connected to the general Apify MCP server at https://mcp.apify.com? You can use it to find this scraper without adding another server. Ask your assistant to use Telegram Channel Posts Scraper by Fetch Cat, or give it the identifier fetch_cat/telegram-channel-posts-scraper.

Your assistant can check the available settings and retrieve the results from the returned run. If the run is still working, it should follow that run rather than start it again. Both connection options use Apify's hosted service.

Example requests

• "Collect ten recent posts from Telegram’s official public channel and summarize their announcement themes."
• "Get up to twenty posts across Telegram and Durov, with at most ten from each, then compare their topics."
• "Collect five recent WatcherGuru posts with up to ten public comments per post and summarize the discussions that are available."

Normal Apify charges apply. Check the live Pricing tab before asking your assistant to run a larger batch.

Pay with x402

If your AI agent has a funded wallet, it can pay for Apify usage through x402. This experimental option lets an agent use Apify without a conventional account.

Apify AGI provides a prepaid API token with a spending cap after payment. Your agent can use that token to run this scraper through the Apify API or an authenticated MCP connection.

Some MCP setups also support paying for each request directly. That is a different payment option, so check the official guide for its availability.

Follow the official guide for wallet setup, supported payment options and current terms. Apify handles the payments. Keep wallet keys and payment tokens in your agent's secure configuration.

Other ways for agents to pay

Apify also supports MPP for prepaid access through AGI and Skyfire for eligible Actors. If your agent already uses one of these, see the agentic payment guide to choose the right setup.

FAQ

Can I scrape private channels or Telegram groups?

No. This scraper collects public channel previews and public discussions only. It does not use a Telegram account.

Can I collect channel history and export it?

Yes, within the available preview history and your post, page and time limits. Use date windows or message-ID checkpoints for focused batches, then export the dataset. A complete archive is not guaranteed.

Are comments and reactions always available?

No. Reactions depend on what Telegram exposes. Comments require an accessible public discussion. Optional comment failures do not invent comment records.

Can I use it from an API or AI assistant?

Yes. Use the API examples or connect through Apify’s hosted MCP server above. The assistant can analyze the returned dataset afterward.

How do charges work?

There is a start event and a per-saved-post event. See the live Pricing tab for current rates. No separate comment-row event is used.

Which related scraper should I use?

Use this Actor for public channel posts. For public channel or profile metadata rather than post history, consider Telegram Public Profiles Scraper below.

Related Actors

• Telegram Public Profiles Scraper — Public profile and channel metadata.
• Reddit Scraper — Related public discussions on Reddit.
• Substack Posts Scraper — Newsletter and publication posts.
• Hacker News Search Scraper — Technology discussion discovery.
• Google News Scraper — News coverage for adjacent research.

Support and feedback

For custom additions or integrations, email hello@fetchcat.dev.

Found an error or have a feature request? Open an issue with the run URL, a non-sensitive input example and what you expected.

Need help sharing it? See Apify’s guide to sharing a run when reporting an issue. Sharing a run can give the developer access to its input, logs and results, so use a run that contains no sensitive data. Please leave out API tokens, passwords, cookies, private documents and personal data. Use a public sample URL or a redacted example instead.

Tried this scraper? We'd love to hear how it worked for you. Leave a review to help others choose the right tool and help us improve it. Your feedback means a lot to us.

Made with care for curious people, AI agents and the possibilities in data. ♥