better-telegram-mcp Server

Production-grade MCP server for Telegram with dual-mode Bot API + MTProto, 6 composite tools

Documentation

Better Telegram MCP

mcp-name: io.github.n24q02m/better-telegram-mcp

Telegram for AI agents -- messages, chats, media, and contacts across both bot and full user-account modes.

Sister projects from n24q02m (click to expand)

Project	Tagline	Tag
better-code-review-graph	Knowledge graph for token-efficient code reviews -- semantic search and call-...	MCP
better-email-mcp	IMAP/SMTP email for AI agents -- read, send, organize folders, and manage att...	MCP
better-godot-mcp	Composite MCP server for Godot Engine -- 17 composite tools for AI-assisted g...	MCP
better-notion-mcp	Markdown-first Notion for AI agents -- pages, databases, blocks, and comments...	MCP
better-telegram-mcp	Telegram for AI agents -- messages, chats, media, and contacts across both bo...	MCP
claude-plugins	Claude Code plugin marketplace for the n24q02m MCP servers -- install web sea...	Marketplace
imagine-mcp	Image and video understanding + generation for AI agents -- across Gemini, Op...	MCP
jules-task-archiver	Chrome Extension for bulk operations on Jules tasks via batchexecute API -- a...	Tooling
mcp-core	Shared foundation for building MCP servers -- Streamable HTTP transport, OAut...	MCP
mnemo-mcp	Persistent AI memory with hybrid search and embedded sync. Open, free, unlimi...	MCP
qwen3-embed	Lightweight Qwen3 text embedding and reranking via ONNX Runtime and GGUF	Library
skret	Secrets without the server.	CLI
tacet	TACET: a self-distilling neuro-symbolic cascade that amortises LLM cost in kn...	Tooling
web-core	Shared web infrastructure package for search, scraping, HTTP security, and st...	Library
wet-mcp	Open-source MCP server for AI agents: web search, content extraction, and lib...	MCP

Features
Status
Documentation
Tools
Security
Build from Source
Trust Model
License

Features

Dual mode -- Bot API (httpx) for bots, MTProto (Telethon) for user accounts
7 tools with action dispatch: message, chat, media, contact, config, help, config__open_relay
Auto-detect mode -- Set bot token for bot mode, or API credentials for user mode
Web-based OTP auth -- Browser-based authentication with remote relay support for headless environments
Tool annotations -- Each tool declares readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint
MCP Resources -- Documentation available as telegram://docs/* resources
Security hardened -- SSRF protection, path traversal prevention, error sanitization

Status

2026-05-02 -- Architecture stabilization update

Past months saw significant churn around credential handling and the daemon-bridge auto-spawn pattern. This caused multi-process races, browser tab spam, and inconsistent setup UX across plugins. As of v<auto>, the architecture is stable: 2 clean modes (stdio + HTTP), no daemon-bridge layer, no auto-spawn from stdio.

Apologies for the instability period. If you encountered issues with prior versions, please update to v<auto>+ and follow the current Setup docs -- most prior workarounds are no longer needed.

Related plugins from the same author:

wet-mcp -- Web search + content extraction

mnemo-mcp -- Persistent AI memory

imagine-mcp -- Image/video understanding + generation

better-notion-mcp -- Notion API

better-email-mcp -- Email management

better-telegram-mcp -- Telegram

better-godot-mcp -- Godot Engine

better-code-review-graph -- Code review knowledge graph

All plugins share the same architecture -- install once, learn pattern transfers.

Documentation

Full docs at mcp.n24q02m.com/servers/better-telegram-mcp/setup/:

Setup -- install methods for Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, mcp.json
Modes overview -- stdio / local-relay / remote-relay / remote-oauth
Multi-user setup -- per-JWT-sub credential model

Install with AI agent -- paste this to your AI coding agent:

Install MCP server better-telegram-mcp following the steps at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/n24q02m/claude-plugins/main/plugins/better-telegram-mcp/setup-with-agent.md

Tools

Tool	Actions	Description
`message`	`send`, `edit`, `delete`, `forward`, `pin`, `react`, `search`, `history`	Send, edit, delete, forward messages. Pin, react, search, browse history
`chat`	`list`, `info`, `create`, `join`, `leave`, `members`, `admin`, `settings`, `topics`	List and manage chats, groups, channels. Members, admin, forum topics
`media`	`send_photo`, `send_file`, `send_voice`, `send_video`, `download`	Send photos, files, voice notes, videos. Download media from messages
`contact`	`list`, `search`, `add`, `block`	List, search, add contacts. Block/unblock users (user mode only)
`config`	`status`, `set`, `cache_clear`, `setup_status`, `setup_start`, `setup_reset`, `setup_complete`	Server status, runtime settings, cache, credential setup (relay, status, reset, complete)
`help`	--	Full documentation for any topic
`config__open_relay`	--	Re-trigger the zero-config relay setup flow (prints a fresh relay URL for the browser form). Registered via `mcp-core`'s `register_open_relay_tool` so an LLM can restart setup without a manual restart

MCP Resources

URI	Content
`telegram://docs/messages`	Message operations reference
`telegram://docs/chats`	Chat management reference
`telegram://docs/media`	Media send/download reference
`telegram://docs/contacts`	Contact management reference
`telegram://stats`	All documentation combined

Comparison

How better-telegram-mcp stacks up against direct competitors in each pillar:

Capability	better-telegram-mcp	chigwell/telegram-mcp	sparfenyuk/mcp-telegram	guangxiangdebizi/telegram-mcp
Bot API mode (bot token)	Yes (httpx)	No	No	Yes
MTProto user-account mode	Yes (Telethon)	Yes	Yes	No
Send / edit / delete messages	Yes	Yes	No (read-only, draft only)	Yes (send only)
Media download from messages	Yes	Yes	Yes	No (send only)
Contact management (add / block)	Yes (user mode)	Yes	Partial (list only)	No
Web-based / browser OTP auth	Yes (relay form, headless)	No (CLI session string)	No (CLI sign-in)	No (pre-set bot token)
Multi-user remote, per-user isolation	Yes (per-JWT-sub backends)	No	No	No
SSRF protection	Yes (URL validation + DNS-rebinding)	?	?	No
Path-traversal prevention	Yes	Yes (real-path allowed-root)	?	No
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Security

SSRF Protection -- All URLs validated against internal/private IP ranges, DNS rebinding blocked
Path Traversal Prevention -- File paths validated, sensitive directories blocked
Session File Security -- 600 permissions, 2FA via web UI only (never stored in env vars)
Error Sanitization -- Credentials never leaked in error messages

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/n24q02m/better-telegram-mcp.git
cd better-telegram-mcp
uv sync
uv run better-telegram-mcp

Trust Model

This plugin implements TC-NearZK (in-memory, ephemeral). See mcp-core trust model for full classification.

Mode	Storage	Encryption	Who can read your data?
HTTP n24q02m-hosted (default)	In-memory `dict[sub] = MTProtoSession`	In-process only	Server process (cleared on restart)
HTTP self-host	Same as hosted	Same	Only you (admin = user)
stdio	`~/.config/mcp/config.enc` (credentials) + `~/.better-telegram-mcp/<name>.session` (Telethon session)	AES-GCM, machine-bound key	Only your OS user (file perm 0600)

License

MIT -- See LICENSE.

better-telegram-mcp Server

Documentation