# Telegram Scraper - Channels, Messages, Media & Search (`scrapesage/telegram-scraper`) Actor Scrape public Telegram channels: full message history, media, reactions, polls, forwards, replies, link previews, channel stats, and in-channel keyword search. HTTP-only, no login or phone number required. - **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapesage/telegram-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Scrape Sage](https://apify.com/scrapesage) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, News, Lead generation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $2.00 / 1,000 message scrapeds 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 Scraper — Channels, Messages, Media & Search (No Login) Extract data from **public Telegram channels** at scale — no login, no phone number, no API keys. Paste channel usernames or `t.me` links and get clean, structured JSON: full message history, media, reactions, polls, forwards, replies, link previews, and channel statistics. Includes **in-channel keyword search**, which most Telegram scrapers don't offer. Built HTTP-only (no headless browser) for **fast, low-cost, reliable** runs. ### What you can do - **Scrape full message history** from any public channel (`messages` mode), oldest-to-newest, with no early page cap. - **Search inside a channel by keyword** — uses Telegram's native channel search to return only matching messages. - **Pull channel metadata** (`channelInfo` mode): title, username, description, avatar, subscriber/photo/video/file/link counts. - **Filter by date** — only messages newer than / older than a given date (ISO or relative like `7 days`, `3 months`). - **Download media** (photos, videos, voice, documents) into the run's key-value store. Media URLs are always included. ### Use cases - Crypto / web3 community & trading-signal monitoring - OSINT, threat intelligence, and news aggregation - Brand, topic, and competitor tracking - Dataset building for LLM/RAG pipelines and sentiment analysis ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `channels` *(required)* | array | Channel usernames or links: `@telegram`, `telegram`, `https://t.me/telegram`. | | `resultsType` | string | `messages` (default) or `channelInfo`. | | `maxMessages` | integer | Max messages per channel (default `100`). | | `searchQuery` | string | Optional keyword — returns only matching messages in each channel. | | `oldestMessageDate` | string | Stop once messages are older than this (ISO or `7 days`). | | `newestMessageDate` | string | Skip messages newer than this. | | `downloadMedia` | boolean | Download attached media into the key-value store (default `false`). | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | Proxy settings (Apify Proxy datacenter recommended). | #### Example input ```json { "channels": ["@durov", "https://t.me/telegram"], "resultsType": "messages", "maxMessages": 200, "oldestMessageDate": "30 days", "downloadMedia": false } ```` ### Output Each message is one dataset record: ```json { "channel": "durov", "messageId": 372, "url": "https://t.me/durov/372", "date": "2026-05-21T14:02:11+00:00", "text": "Example post text...", "views": 1200000, "author": "Pavel Durov", "forwardedFrom": null, "replyToUrl": null, "isPinned": false, "hashtags": ["#telegram"], "mentions": ["@telegram"], "links": ["https://example.com"], "media": [{ "type": "photo", "url": "https://cdn5.telesco.pe/file/..." }], "poll": null, "linkPreview": null } ``` In `channelInfo` mode each record contains `title`, `username`, `description`, `avatarUrl`, `subscribers`, and content counts. ### Pricing (pay-per-event) This actor charges per result, so you only pay for data you receive. Configure these event names in the Apify console: | Event | Suggested price | |---|---| | `actor-start` | $0.001 | | `message` | $0.002 | | `channel-info` | $0.003 | | `media` | $0.001 | At ~$2 per 1,000 messages it undercuts existing per-post Telegram scrapers while returning far richer data. ### Notes & limits - **Public channels only.** Private/invite-only channels and the messages of standard user accounts are not accessible via the public web preview and are skipped with a clear log message. - Reaction counts and some fields are included only when Telegram exposes them on the public preview. - `searchQuery` performs **within-channel** search (per the channels you provide); it does not discover new channels across all of Telegram. ### Run via API The actor is fully runnable via the Apify API and integrates with Make, Zapier, n8n, and webhooks like any other actor. # Actor input Schema ## `channels` (type: `array`): Public Telegram channels to scrape. Accepts @username, plain username, or t.me/username URL (also t.me/s/username). Private/invite-only channels are not supported. ## `resultsType` (type: `string`): Scrape messages from each channel, or only the channel's metadata/stats. ## `maxMessages` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of messages to scrape from each channel. Ignored when 'What to scrape' is 'Channel info only'. ## `searchQuery` (type: `string`): Optional. When set, only messages matching this keyword are returned for each channel (uses Telegram's native in-channel search). Leave empty to scrape the full timeline. ## `oldestMessageDate` (type: `string`): Optional. Stop scraping a channel once messages older than this date are reached. Accepts ISO date (e.g. 2026-01-01) or relative values like '7 days', '3 months'. ## `newestMessageDate` (type: `string`): Optional. Skip messages newer than this date. Accepts ISO date or relative values like '1 day'. ## `downloadMedia` (type: `boolean`): Download photos/videos/documents attached to messages into the run's key-value store and add a reference to each record. Media URLs are always included regardless of this setting. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Proxy settings. Telegram's public web preview is lenient, but a proxy improves reliability at scale. Apify Proxy (datacenter) recommended. ## Actor input object example ```json { "channels": [ "@telegram", "https://t.me/durov" ], "resultsType": "messages", "maxMessages": 100, "downloadMedia": false, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `messages` (type: `string`): One record per Telegram message (in 'messages' mode) or per channel (in 'channelInfo' mode), stored in the default dataset. ## `media` (type: `string`): Photos, videos, voice notes, and documents downloaded into the default key-value store when 'Download media files' is enabled. # 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": [ "telegram", "durov" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("scrapesage/telegram-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": [ "telegram", "durov", ] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("scrapesage/telegram-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": [ "telegram", "durov" ] }' | apify call scrapesage/telegram-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrapesage/telegram-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Telegram Scraper - Channels, Messages, Media & Search", "description": "Scrape public Telegram channels: full message history, media, reactions, polls, forwards, replies, link previews, channel stats, and in-channel keyword search. HTTP-only, no login or phone number required.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "ZnEafoOlszSP094Nn" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/scrapesage~telegram-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-scrapesage-telegram-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/scrapesage~telegram-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-scrapesage-telegram-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/scrapesage~telegram-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-scrapesage-telegram-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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 / usernames", "type": "array", "description": "Public Telegram channels to scrape. Accepts @username, plain username, or t.me/username URL (also t.me/s/username). Private/invite-only channels are not supported.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "resultsType": { "title": "What to scrape", "enum": [ "messages", "channelInfo" ], "type": "string", "description": "Scrape messages from each channel, or only the channel's metadata/stats.", "default": "messages" }, "maxMessages": { "title": "Max messages per channel", "minimum": 1, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of messages to scrape from each channel. Ignored when 'What to scrape' is 'Channel info only'.", "default": 100 }, "searchQuery": { "title": "Keyword search (within channel)", "type": "string", "description": "Optional. When set, only messages matching this keyword are returned for each channel (uses Telegram's native in-channel search). Leave empty to scrape the full timeline." }, "oldestMessageDate": { "title": "Only messages newer than", "type": "string", "description": "Optional. Stop scraping a channel once messages older than this date are reached. Accepts ISO date (e.g. 2026-01-01) or relative values like '7 days', '3 months'." }, "newestMessageDate": { "title": "Only messages older than", "type": "string", "description": "Optional. Skip messages newer than this date. Accepts ISO date or relative values like '1 day'." }, "downloadMedia": { "title": "Download media files", "type": "boolean", "description": "Download photos/videos/documents attached to messages into the run's key-value store and add a reference to each record. Media URLs are always included regardless of this setting.", "default": false }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Proxy settings. Telegram's public web preview is lenient, but a proxy improves reliability at scale. Apify Proxy (datacenter) recommended.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true } } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```