# Telegram (`canadesk/telegram`) Actor

Collect public Telegram channel profiles and messages, including text, timestamps, views, media links, replies and polls.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/canadesk/telegram.md
- **Developed by:** [Canadesk Support](https://apify.com/canadesk) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, SEO tools, Social media
- **Features:** Full permissions
- **Stats:** 434 total users, 7 monthly users, 99.6% runs succeeded, 13 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 4.71 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

from $0.25 / 1,000 telegram results

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/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

Collect public channel profiles and messages from **Telegram**. Submit one channel or a list and page back through available message history.

### Features

| **Process** | **What you get** |
| :--- | :--- |
| Get Profile | Available usernames, names, avatars, subscriber counts, descriptions and links |
| Get Messages | Available text, timestamps, views, media links, previews, replies and polls |

Inputs can be channel names, handles, channel links or public post links. Private channels are not included.

### Example

```json
{
  "operation": "gm",
  "profiles": ["telegram", "bloomberg"],
  "scrolltime": 1,
  "maxResults": 100,
  "delay": 3,
  "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": false }
}
```

Use `gp` for profiles or `gm` for messages. `scrolltime` controls additional pages after the initial page; `1` reads up to two pages per channel. `maxResults` applies across all channels. Collection stops when the requested limit or available history is reached.

### Results

Profile mode returns one record per channel with `username`, `fullname`, `avatar_url`, `followers`, `bio`, `url` and an empty `messages` array.

Message mode returns one record per message, with the channel fields and a one-element `messages` array. Each message includes `date`, `fulldate`, `description`, `image`, `video`, `preview`, `link`, `views`, `reply` and `poll`. Fields unavailable in the public preview remain empty. Messages are collected newest first.

### Available channels

Only channels with a public web preview are supported. Private channels, invite-only groups, personal chats and subscriber lists are unavailable. Media links are returned when present in the preview; media files are not downloaded. View and subscriber counts reflect Telegram's displayed, sometimes rounded values.

For help, open an issue and include the shared run URL and channel names.

### Pay-per-event billing

Each valid pay-per-event run with at least one input includes a minimum charge of 100 result units, shared across all inputs in that run. Any placeholder rows are clearly marked and contain no scraped data; filter them out when exporting. Each separate run has its own minimum, including scheduled or API runs. Platform usage is included.

#### Unsuccessful lookups

Where listed in the Pricing tab, a handled lookup problem that prevents a run from returning any real results produces one clear error record and a single $0.02 unsuccessful-lookup fee, in addition to any listed start fee.

# Actor input Schema

## `operation` (type: `string`):

No description

## `profiles` (type: `array`):

Public channel names, @handles or t.me links.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum messages or profile records across all channels.

## `scrolltime` (type: `integer`):

Pages to fetch after the initial page, preserving existing saved-task behavior.

## `retry` (type: `integer`):

Retries for temporary source errors. Verification blocks stop without repeated requests.

## `delay` (type: `integer`):

Waiting time between requests.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Maximum pages across all channels.

## `proxy` (type: `object`):

Select proxies to be used by your crawler.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "operation": "gm",
  "profiles": [
    "telegram",
    "bloomberg"
  ],
  "maxResults": 10000,
  "scrolltime": 1,
  "retry": 0,
  "delay": 3,
  "maxPages": 1000,
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "profiles": [
        "telegram",
        "bloomberg"
    ],
    "proxy": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("canadesk/telegram").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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "profiles": [
        "telegram",
        "bloomberg",
    ],
    "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("canadesk/telegram").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "profiles": [
    "telegram",
    "bloomberg"
  ],
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call canadesk/telegram --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,canadesk/telegram"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/uOucAZxt6QHn9VQRr/builds/jca84spLNkHAYoR8g/openapi.json