MCP Telegram

Hosted version available! Don't want to self-host? Use mcp-telegram.com -- connect Telegram to Claude.ai in 30 seconds with QR code. No API keys needed.

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that connects AI assistants like Claude to Telegram via the MTProto protocol. Unlike bots, this runs as a userbot -- it operates under your personal Telegram account using GramJS, giving full access to your chats, contacts, and message history.

Features

MTProto protocol -- direct Telegram API access, not the limited Bot API
Userbot -- operates as your personal account, not a bot
21 tools -- messaging, chat management, media, contacts, and more
QR code login -- authenticate by scanning a QR code in the Telegram app
Session persistence -- login once, stay connected across restarts
Human-readable output -- sender names are resolved, not just numeric IDs
Works with any MCP client -- Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Mastra, etc.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or later
Telegram API credentials -- API_ID and API_HASH from my.telegram.org

Quick Start

1. Get Telegram API credentials

Go to my.telegram.org and log in with your phone number.
Navigate to API development tools.
Create a new application (any name and platform).
Copy the App api_id and App api_hash.

2. Login

TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH npx @overpod/mcp-telegram login

A QR code will appear in the terminal. Open Telegram on your phone, go to Settings > Devices > Link Desktop Device, and scan the code. The session is saved to ~/.telegram-session and reused automatically.

3. Add to Claude

claude mcp add telegram -s user \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH \
  -- npx @overpod/mcp-telegram

That's it! Ask Claude to run telegram-status to verify.

Installation Options

npx (recommended, zero install)

No need to clone or install anything. Just use npx @overpod/mcp-telegram.

Global install

npm install -g @overpod/mcp-telegram
mcp-telegram          # run server
mcp-telegram login    # QR login

From source

git clone https://github.com/overpod/mcp-telegram.git
cd mcp-telegram
npm install && npm run build

Usage with MCP Clients

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add telegram -s user \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH \
  -- npx @overpod/mcp-telegram

Claude Desktop

Open your config file:
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
- Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Add the Telegram server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "telegram": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@overpod/mcp-telegram"],
      "env": {
        "TELEGRAM_API_ID": "YOUR_ID",
        "TELEGRAM_API_HASH": "YOUR_HASH"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop.
Ask Claude: "Run telegram-login" -- a QR code will appear. If the image is not visible, Claude will provide a browser link to view the QR code. Scan it in Telegram (Settings > Devices > Link Desktop Device).
Ask Claude: "Run telegram-status" to verify the connection.

Note: No terminal required! Login works entirely through Claude Desktop.

Cursor / VS Code

Add the same JSON config above to your MCP settings (Cursor Settings > MCP, or VS Code MCP config).

Mastra

import { MCPClient } from "@mastra/mcp";

const telegramMcp = new MCPClient({
  id: "telegram-mcp",
  servers: {
    telegram: {
      command: "npx",
      args: ["@overpod/mcp-telegram"],
      env: {
        TELEGRAM_API_ID: process.env.TELEGRAM_API_ID!,
        TELEGRAM_API_HASH: process.env.TELEGRAM_API_HASH!,
      },
    },
  },
});

Available Tools

Connection

Tool	Description
`telegram-status`	Check connection status and current account info
`telegram-login`	Authenticate via QR code

Messaging

Tool	Description
`telegram-send-message`	Send a text message to a chat
`telegram-send-file`	Send a file (photo, document, video, etc.) to a chat
`telegram-edit-message`	Edit a previously sent message
`telegram-delete-message`	Delete messages in a chat
`telegram-forward-message`	Forward messages between chats

Reading

Tool	Description
`telegram-list-chats`	List recent dialogs with unread counts
`telegram-read-messages`	Read recent messages from a chat
`telegram-search-chats`	Search for chats, users, or channels by name
`telegram-search-messages`	Search messages in a chat by text
`telegram-get-unread`	Get chats with unread messages

Chat Management

Tool	Description
`telegram-mark-as-read`	Mark a chat as read
`telegram-get-chat-info`	Get detailed info about a chat (name, type, members count, description)
`telegram-get-chat-members`	List members of a group or channel
`telegram-join-chat`	Join a group or channel by username or invite link
`telegram-pin-message`	Pin a message in a chat
`telegram-unpin-message`	Unpin a message in a chat

User Info

Tool	Description
`telegram-get-contacts`	Get your contacts list with phone numbers
`telegram-get-profile`	Get detailed profile info for a user (bio, photo, last seen)

Media

Tool	Description
`telegram-download-media`	Download media from a message to a local file

Tool Parameters

Common patterns

Most tools accept chatId as a string -- either a numeric ID (e.g., "-1001234567890") or a username (e.g., "@username").

telegram-send-message

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`chatId`	string	yes	Chat ID or @username
`text`	string	yes	Message text
`replyTo`	number	no	Message ID to reply to
`parseMode`	`"md"` / `"html"`	no	Message formatting mode

telegram-list-chats

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`limit`	number	no	Number of chats to return (default: 20)
`offsetDate`	number	no	Unix timestamp for pagination
`filterType`	`"private"` / `"group"` / `"channel"`	no	Filter by chat type

telegram-read-messages

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`chatId`	string	yes	Chat ID or @username
`limit`	number	no	Number of messages (default: 10)
`offsetId`	number	no	Message ID for pagination

telegram-send-file

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`chatId`	string	yes	Chat ID or @username
`filePath`	string	yes	Absolute path to the file
`caption`	string	no	File caption

telegram-download-media

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`chatId`	string	yes	Chat ID or @username
`messageId`	number	yes	Message ID containing media
`downloadPath`	string	yes	Absolute path to save the file

telegram-forward-message

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`fromChatId`	string	yes	Source chat ID or @username
`toChatId`	string	yes	Destination chat ID or @username
`messageIds`	number[]	yes	Array of message IDs to forward

telegram-edit-message

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`chatId`	string	yes	Chat ID or @username
`messageId`	number	yes	ID of the message to edit
`text`	string	yes	New message text

telegram-delete-message

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`chatId`	string	yes	Chat ID or @username
`messageIds`	number[]	yes	Array of message IDs to delete

telegram-pin-message

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`chatId`	string	yes	Chat ID or @username
`messageId`	number	yes	Message ID to pin
`silent`	boolean	no	Pin without notification (default: false)

telegram-join-chat

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`target`	string	yes	Username (@group), link (t.me/group), or invite link (t.me/+xxx)

telegram-search-messages

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`chatId`	string	yes	Chat ID or @username
`query`	string	yes	Search text
`limit`	number	no	Max results (default: 20)

telegram-search-chats

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`query`	string	yes	Search query (name or username)
`limit`	number	no	Max results (default: 10)

telegram-get-chat-members

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`chatId`	string	yes	Chat ID or @username
`limit`	number	no	Number of members (default: 50)

telegram-get-contacts

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`limit`	number	no	Number of contacts (default: 50)

telegram-get-profile

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`userId`	string	yes	User ID or @username

telegram-get-unread

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`limit`	number	no	Number of unread chats (default: 20)

Development

npm run dev        # Start with file watching (tsx)
npm start          # Start the MCP server
npm run login      # QR code login in terminal
npm run build      # Compile TypeScript
npm run lint       # Check code with Biome
npm run lint:fix   # Auto-fix lint issues
npm run format     # Format code with Biome

Project Structure

src/
  index.ts            -- MCP server entry point, 21 tool definitions
  telegram-client.ts  -- TelegramService class (GramJS wrapper)
  qr-login-cli.ts     -- CLI utility for QR code login

Tech Stack

TypeScript -- ES2022, ESM modules
GramJS (telegram) -- Telegram MTProto client
@modelcontextprotocol/sdk -- MCP server framework
Zod -- Runtime schema validation for tool parameters
Biome -- Linter and formatter
tsx -- TypeScript execution without a build step
dotenv -- Environment variable management

Security

API credentials are stored in .env (gitignored)
Session is stored in .telegram-session (gitignored)
Phone number is not required -- QR-only authentication
This is a userbot (personal account), not a bot -- respect the Telegram Terms of Service

License

MIT

MCP Telegram

MCP Telegram

Features

Prerequisites

Quick Start

1. Get Telegram API credentials

2. Login

3. Add to Claude

Installation Options

npx (recommended, zero install)

Global install

From source

Usage with MCP Clients

Claude Code (CLI)

Claude Desktop

Cursor / VS Code

Mastra

Available Tools

Connection

Messaging

Reading

Chat Management

User Info

Media

Tool Parameters

Common patterns

telegram-send-message

telegram-list-chats

telegram-read-messages

telegram-send-file

telegram-download-media

telegram-forward-message

telegram-edit-message

telegram-delete-message

telegram-pin-message

telegram-join-chat

telegram-search-messages

telegram-search-chats

telegram-get-chat-members

telegram-get-contacts

telegram-get-profile

telegram-get-unread

Development

Project Structure

Tech Stack

Security

License

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