About Mcp Telegram
Mcp Telegram is an MCP server built with Telethon that lets LLMs interact with a Telegram account over MTProto. It covers sending, editing and deleting messages, searching chats, managing drafts and downloading media. It is intended for users who want AI assistants to work with their own Telegram account.
Key features
- 01Send, edit and delete messages
- 02Search users, groups and channels
- 03Read and set message drafts
- 04Download photos, videos and documents
Use cases
- 01Letting an AI assistant send or organize Telegram messages
- 02Reading chat history from within Claude Desktop or Cursor
- 03Downloading media from group or channel messages
MCP support
The server exposes Telegram operations as MCP tools to MCP clients such as Claude Desktop and Cursor.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
We haven’t collected a package or remote endpoint for this server. Follow the instructions in the project README.
Tools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project README
Enable LLMs to control your Telegram
Connect Large Language Models to Telegram via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Built with Telethon, this server allows AI agents to interact with Telegram, enabling features like sending/editing/deleting messages, searching chats, managing drafts, downloading media, and more using the MTProto.
Table of Contents
🚀 Getting Started
Prerequisites
- Python 3.10 or higher
uvInstall via the official uv guide.
Installation
Install the mcp-telegram CLI tool:
uv tool install mcp-telegram
⚙️ Usage
Important
Please ensure you have read and understood Telegram's ToS before using this tool. Misuse of this tool may result in account restrictions.
The mcp-telegram command-line tool is your entry point.
mcp-telegram --help # See all commands
Login
First, authenticate with your Telegram account:
mcp-telegram login
This interactive command will prompt you for:
- API ID & API Hash: Obtain these from my.telegram.org/apps.
- Phone Number: Your Telegram-registered phone number (international format, e.g.,
+1234567890). - Verification Code: Sent to your Telegram account upon first login.
- 2FA Password: If you have Two-Factor Authentication enabled.
Your credentials are securely stored in the session file for future use.
Warning
Keep your API credentials private and never share them publicly
Note
Use
mcp-telegram logoutto logout from current session ormcp-telegram clear-sessionto remove all stored session data.
Connect to the MCP server
To use MCP Telegram with MCP clients like Claude Desktop or Cursor, you'll need to configure the MCP server. The configuration process varies by client and operating system.
For detailed setup instructions, please refer to:
The configuration file should contain:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-telegram": {
"command": "mcp-telegram" /* Use full path if client can't find the command (e.g. "/usr/local/bin/mcp-telegram"). See IMPORTANT section below for full path instructions. */,
"args": ["start"],
"env": {
"API_ID": "<your_api_id>",
"API_HASH": "<your_api_hash>"
}
}
}
}
Note
Configuration paths vary by OS and client. For example:
- macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/or~/.cursor/- Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\or%APPDATA%\Cursor\
Important
If your client cannot execute
mcp-telegramdespite it being accessible in the terminal, try using the full path to the executable. You can find this by runningwhich mcp-telegram(macOS/Linux) orwhere mcp-telegram(Windows) in your terminal. Replace thecommandvalue in the configuration with the full path.
After saving the configuration file, restart your application.
🧰 Available Tools
Here's a comprehensive list of tools you can use to interact with Telegram through MCP:
📨 Messaging Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
send_message | ✉️ Send text messages or files to any user, group, or channel |
edit_message | ✏️ Modify content of previously sent messages |
delete_message | 🗑️ Remove one or multiple messages |
get_messages | 📜 Retrieve message history with advanced filtering options |
🔍 Search & Navigation
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
search_dialogs | 🔎 Find users, groups, and channels by name or username |
message_from_link | 🔗 Access specific messages using Telegram links |
📝 Draft Management
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
get_draft | 📋 View current message draft for any chat |
set_draft | ✍️ Create or clear message drafts |
📂 Media Handling
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
media_download | 📸 Download photos, videos, and documents from messages |
Note
For detailed parameter information and example use cases, run
mcp-telegram toolsin your terminal.
🛠️ Troubleshooting
Database Locked Errors
Running multiple mcp-telegram instances using the same session file can cause database is locked errors due to Telethon's SQLite session storage. Ensure only one instance uses a session file at a time.
Force-Stopping Existing Processes
If you need to stop potentially stuck processes:
- macOS / Linux:
pkill -f "mcp-telegram" - Windows:
taskkill /F /IM mcp-telegram.exe /T(Check Task Manager for the exact process name)
🤝 Contributing
We welcome contributions! If you'd like to help improve MCP Telegram, please feel free to submit issues, feature requests, or pull requests. Your feedback and contributions help make this project better for everyone.
📝 License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
Made with ❤️ by Yeabsira Driba
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.