# Telegram Channel Scraper: Public Posts, Views & Media (`subimpact/telegram-channel-scraper`) Actor Scrape public Telegram channels via the t.me web preview: one row per post with text, date, views, media, link previews, polls, reactions, hashtags and links, plus channel info. No login, no API key, no browser. $0.30 per 1,000 posts. - **URL**: https://apify.com/subimpact/telegram-channel-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [subimpact](https://apify.com/subimpact) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, News, Lead generation - **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.30 / 1,000 posts This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. 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: Public Posts, Views & Media Read public Telegram channels through their `t.me/s/` web preview and get clean rows back: post text, publication time, view counts, media type, photo and video thumbnail URLs, document names, link previews, polls, reactions, hashtags, mentions and outgoing links. One channel-info row per channel (title, description, subscribers, media counters, avatar, verified flag), then one row per post. No login, no API key, no browser, no Telegram app. Pay only for what you get: **$0.30 per 1,000 posts** and **$1.00 per 1,000 channel-info rows**. A default run over one channel (50 posts plus its info row) costs about **$0.016**, plus Apify platform usage. ### What you get - **One row per post**, newest first: `postId`, `postUrl`, `postedAt`, `text` (line breaks kept, HTML stripped), `views` as an integer plus the `viewsText` Telegram printed ("5.84M" becomes `5840000`). - **Media without downloading it**: `mediaType` (photo, video, document, audio, voice, sticker, poll, mixed, none), `photoUrls`, `videoThumbUrls`, `videoDurationSec`, `documentNames`. - **Rich post details**: `linkPreview`, `poll` with option percentages, `reactions`, `hashtags`, `mentions`, `links`, `replyToPostId`, `isForwarded` plus `forwardedFrom`, `authorSignature`, `isEdited`. - **Channel info row**: `description`, `subscribers`, `photosCount`, `videosCount`, `linksCount`, `filesCount`, `avatarUrl`, `isVerified`, `channelUrl`. - **Filters that save money**: `maxPostsPerChannel`, `maxTotalPosts`, `postedAfter`, `postedBefore`, and Telegram's own in-channel search via `searchQuery`. - **Delta mode (`onlyNew`)** for schedules: each run delivers only posts newer than the highest post id already delivered for that channel. The cursor lives in a key-value store in your own Apify account. - **Single post URLs**: give `https://t.me/durov/531` and you get that post only. Every run also writes a `RUN_SUMMARY` record to the run's key-value store: per-channel status, rows, requests and any problem, so a schedule can be checked without reading logs. ### Quick start Input that works exactly as written: ```json { "channels": ["durov", "telegram"], "maxPostsPerChannel": 50, "includeChannelInfo": true } ``` Channel entries may be written as `durov`, `@durov`, `t.me/durov`, `https://t.me/durov`, `https://t.me/s/durov`, or a single post such as `https://t.me/durov/531`. A monitoring run for one channel, new posts only: ```json { "channels": ["telegram"], "onlyNew": true, "includeChannelInfo": false, "maxPostsPerChannel": 100 } ``` Search inside a channel and keep one week of posts: ```json { "channels": ["durov"], "searchQuery": "Telegram", "postedAfter": "2026-10-18", "includeChannelInfo": false } ``` ### Output example A post row from `t.me/s/durov` (CDN image URLs shortened here for readability): ```json { "recordType": "post", "channel": "durov", "channelTitle": "Pavel Durov", "postId": 531, "postUrl": "https://t.me/durov/531", "postedAt": "2026-07-16T20:45:25.000Z", "isEdited": false, "editedAt": null, "text": "šŸ©µ Telegram now has a Rich Text Editor.\n\nIt supports tables, headings, inline media, lists, AI content, formulas, and more.\n\nšŸ˜ˆ Messaging apps will never be the same!", "views": 5840000, "viewsText": "5.84M", "authorSignature": "Pavel Durov", "isForwarded": false, "forwardedFrom": null, "replyToPostId": null, "mediaType": "video", "photoUrls": [], "videoThumbUrls": ["https://cdn4.telesco.pe/file/JcEMS9Bq90aZQ4T4hTjXv8G...jpg"], "videoDurationSec": null, "documentNames": [], "linkPreview": null, "poll": null, "reactions": [ { "emoji": "stars", "count": 6300 }, { "emoji": "emoji-id:5265077361648368841", "count": 54600 } ], "hashtags": [], "mentions": [], "links": [], "scrapedAt": "2026-10-25T07:49:34.378Z" } ``` The matching channel row: ```json { "recordType": "channel", "channel": "durov", "channelTitle": "Pavel Durov", "description": "Founder of Telegram.", "subscribers": 10300000, "photosCount": 102, "videosCount": 47, "linksCount": 200, "filesCount": null, "avatarUrl": "https://cdn4.telesco.pe/file/enJjZA2XzVbFAjeTOqFmqCmKVB5C...jpg", "isVerified": true, "channelUrl": "https://t.me/durov", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-25T07:49:34.378Z" } ``` A poll row reads like this (`mediaType` is `poll`, question and percentages as Telegram shows them): ```json { "recordType": "post", "channel": "polldemo", "postId": 101, "postedAt": "2026-10-20T09:15:00.000Z", "views": 18400, "mediaType": "poll", "poll": { "question": "Which Telegram app do you use most?", "options": [ { "text": "Mobile", "percent": 52 }, { "text": "Desktop", "percent": 31 }, { "text": "Web", "percent": 17 } ] } } ``` ### Pricing Pay per event, charged only after the row is in the dataset: | Event | Price | Charged when | |---|---|---| | `post` | $0.0003 per post ($0.30 per 1,000) | a post row was pushed | | `channel-info` | $0.001 per channel ($1.00 per 1,000) | a channel-info row was pushed | | `apify-actor-start` | $0.00005 per run | the run starts (platform event) | Buyer pays Apify platform usage separately. Empty channels, search results with no matches, preview-disabled channels and failed requests cost nothing: no row, no charge. Turn `includeChannelInfo` off and you pay only for posts. Typical costs: 500 posts from one channel with channel info = 500 x $0.0003 + $0.001 = **$0.151**. A scheduled hourly `onlyNew` run that finds 3 posts = **$0.0009**. ### How this compares Free-plan list prices on the Apify Store, checked 25 October 2026. Competitor platform usage is charged on top by their listings; check the individual listing, prices change. | Actor | Start fee | Per 1,000 messages | Per 1,000 channel infos | Users on the listing | |---|---|---|---|---| | **telegram-channel-scraper** (this actor) | $0.00005 platform start | **$0.30** | **$1.00** | new | | automation-lab/telegram-scraper | $0.005 | $1.00 | $2.00 | 189 in 30 days | | khadinakbar/telegram-channel-scraper | $0.003 | $2.00 | not listed | 61 | | tugelbay/telegram-posts-scraper | none listed | $2.00 | not listed | 27 | What is different here beyond the price: - **Rows as they are ready**: every post row is pushed and charged the moment it is parsed, so a run that hits its time limit still delivers everything it collected. - **Caps that hold**: `maxPostsPerChannel` plus a global `maxTotalPosts` stop a run before it surprises you. - **Delta mode built in**: `onlyNew` keeps a per-channel post-id cursor in your own key-value store, and never moves the cursor backwards after a failed page. - **Per-channel status record**: `RUN_SUMMARY` says which channel was ok, empty, not found, or had its web preview disabled, and how many requests it took. ### Limits and honest notes - **Public channels with the web preview enabled only.** Private groups, private channels (`t.me/c/...`), invite links (`t.me/+...`) and channels whose owner disabled the preview cannot be read. They come back as `preview_unavailable` or `not_found` in `RUN_SUMMARY`, with no row and no charge. Telegram groups show no web preview at all. - **Telegram serves 20 posts per page.** The actor pages with `?before=` and pauses 300 to 800 ms between pages of the same channel. `maxPostsPerChannel` is a cap, not a promise: a channel with fewer posts returns fewer. - **Counts are a snapshot.** `views`, `subscribers`, `reactions` and poll percentages are what Telegram printed at scrape time. - **`editedAt` is always null**: Telegram marks a post as edited (`isEdited: true`) but never prints the edit time on the public preview. - **`forwardedFrom` can be null even when `isForwarded` is true**: Telegram hides the source name for forwards from private or hidden sources. - **Media are links, not files.** Photo URLs and video thumbnails are the CDN links from the page, and Telegram's CDN links can expire. Nothing is downloaded. - **Animated GIFs** are rendered by Telegram's preview as muted video loops, so they arrive as `mediaType: "video"`. - **In-channel search is Telegram's own**: it matches post text, results are ordered oldest to newest, and paging uses the same `before=` parameter. It is case-insensitive but not a full-text engine over the whole archive. A single post URL returns that post, `searchQuery` applies to channel timelines only. - **Reaction glyphs**: Telegram prints custom emoji as an image with an id, so such reactions carry `emoji: "emoji-id:"`; paid star reactions are reported as `"stars"`. - **One post-id watermark per channel** for `onlyNew`. If you also use `searchQuery` with `onlyNew`, the cursor is shared with the timeline run of that channel; use a separate `stateStoreName` to keep them apart. - **Direct requests by default.** Ten parallel direct requests to `t.me` answered fine when this actor was built. Enable Apify proxy if your runs get rate limited; a proxy failure fails the request, it never falls back to a direct one. ### Responsible use This actor reads the same pages any browser sees on `t.me`, for public channels only. Only collect channels you have a reason to collect. Post text can contain personal data: how you store, process and share it is your responsibility under the GDPR, PDPA and any other law that applies to you. Do not use it to build profiles of private individuals or to evade Telegram's rate limits. ### Development ```bash npm ci npm test # node:test, parses the saved t.me fixtures npm run build ``` Fixtures in `test/fixtures/` were saved from live `t.me` pages on 25 October 2026 (tokens and CDN file names scrubbed). `docs/PARSING.md` lists the selectors the parser relies on. # Actor input Schema ## `channels` (type: `array`): Public channels to read. Any of these forms works: durov, @durov, t.me/durov, t.me/s/durov, https://t.me/durov, or a single post URL such as https://t.me/durov/531 (that post only). Private groups, invite links (t.me/+hash) and channels with the web preview disabled are not readable and are reported in the run summary. ## `maxPostsPerChannel` (type: `integer`): How many posts to collect from each channel, newest first (1 to 10000). Telegram serves 20 posts per page, so this also decides how many pages are fetched. ## `maxTotalPosts` (type: `integer`): Hard cap on post rows across all channels in one run (1 to 1000000). The run stops cleanly when it is reached. ## `searchQuery` (type: `string`): Only posts matching this text, using Telegram's own in-channel search (t.me/s/?q=...). Works with paging and with every other option. Leave empty to read the channel timeline. ## `postedAfter` (type: `string`): ISO date or date-time. Posts older than this are skipped, and paging stops as soon as a page reaches older posts. Example: 2026-08-01 or 2026-08-01T09:00:00Z. ## `postedBefore` (type: `string`): ISO date or date-time. Newer posts are skipped (paging still starts from the newest page). Example: 2026-10-01. ## `includeChannelInfo` (type: `boolean`): Push a channel row (title, description, subscriber count, media counters, avatar, verified flag) before that channel's posts. Costs one channel-info event per channel. ## `onlyNew` (type: `boolean`): Deliver only posts newer than the highest post id already delivered for that channel. The cursor is kept in the named key-value store below, so scheduled runs return just the new posts. ## `stateStoreName` (type: `string`): Name of the key-value store in your Apify account that keeps the per-channel post-id cursors. Leave the default unless you run several configurations of this actor and want separate cursors. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): How many channels are fetched at the same time (1 to 10). Pages inside a channel are always fetched one after another with a short delay. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Direct requests are the default: t.me answered 10 of 10 parallel direct requests when this actor was built. Enable Apify proxy only if your runs are rate limited. A proxy failure fails the request; it never falls back to a direct request. ## Actor input object example ```json { "channels": [ "durov", "@telegram", "https://t.me/s/durov", "https://t.me/durov/531" ], "maxPostsPerChannel": 50, "maxTotalPosts": 500, "searchQuery": "Telegram", "postedAfter": "2026-08-01", "postedBefore": "2026-10-01", "includeChannelInfo": true, "onlyNew": false, "stateStoreName": "telegram-channel-scraper-state", "maxConcurrency": 3, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `recordType` (type: `string`): post for a message row, channel for a channel-info row ## `channel` (type: `string`): Channel username without the @, e.g. durov ## `channelTitle` (type: `string`): Channel display name, e.g. Pavel Durov ## `postId` (type: `string`): Telegram message id inside the channel (post rows only) ## `postUrl` (type: `string`): Canonical public link, https://t.me// (post rows only) ## `postedAt` (type: `string`): Publication time from the post's