mcp-tg

MCP server for Telegram Client API (MTProto). Provides 58 tools, 4 resources, 3 prompts, and argument completions for comprehensive Telegram account management.

Uses gotd/td for MTProto protocol — this is a user account client, not a bot.

MCP Protocol Support

Telegram Protocol Features

• Peer cache — resolved peers with access hashes are cached in memory, so numeric ID lookups reuse valid hashes instead of failing
• Invite links — t.me/+hash and t.me/joinchat/hash are resolved via messages.checkChatInvite
• FLOOD_WAIT retry — automatic sleep and retry (up to 3 times) when Telegram rate-limits the client
• Auth guard — tool calls are blocked with a clear error until Telegram authentication completes
• Pagination — offsetDate for dialog listing, offsetId for message search and history

Tools (58)

Messages (11)

• tg_messages_list — List messages in a chat
• tg_messages_get — Get specific messages by ID
• tg_messages_context — Get messages around a specific message
• tg_messages_search — Search messages in a chat
• tg_messages_send — Send a text message
• tg_messages_edit — Edit an existing message
• tg_messages_delete — Delete messages
• tg_messages_forward — Forward messages between chats
• tg_messages_pin — Pin or unpin a message
• tg_messages_react — Add or remove reactions
• tg_messages_mark_read — Mark messages as read

Dialogs (3)

• tg_dialogs_list — List all dialogs
• tg_dialogs_search — Search dialogs by query
• tg_dialogs_get_info — Get chat/channel metadata

Contacts & Users (6)

• tg_contacts_get — Get contact info
• tg_contacts_search — Search contacts
• tg_users_get — Get user info
• tg_users_get_photos — Get user profile photos
• tg_users_block — Block or unblock a user
• tg_users_get_common_chats — Get chats shared with a user

Groups (9)

• tg_groups_list — List groups
• tg_groups_info — Get group info
• tg_groups_join — Join a public channel or supergroup
• tg_groups_leave — Leave a group or channel
• tg_groups_rename — Rename a group
• tg_groups_members_add — Add a member
• tg_groups_members_remove — Remove a member
• tg_groups_invite_link_get — Get invite link
• tg_groups_invite_link_revoke — Revoke invite link

Chat Management (8)

• tg_chats_create — Create a new group or channel
• tg_chats_archive — Archive or unarchive a chat
• tg_chats_mute — Mute or unmute notifications
• tg_chats_delete — Delete a channel or supergroup
• tg_chats_set_photo — Set chat photo
• tg_chats_set_description — Set chat description
• tg_chats_get_admins — List administrators (channels/supergroups)
• tg_chats_set_permissions — Set default permissions

Media & Files (4)

• tg_messages_send_file — Send a file with caption
• tg_media_download — Download media from a message
• tg_media_upload — Upload a file
• tg_media_send_album — Send a media album

Profile (4)

• tg_profile_get — Get own profile info
• tg_profile_set_name — Update display name
• tg_profile_set_bio — Update bio
• tg_profile_set_photo — Set profile photo

Forum Topics (2)

• tg_topics_list — List forum topics
• tg_topics_search — Search forum topics

Stickers (3)

• tg_stickers_search — Search sticker sets
• tg_stickers_get_set — Get a sticker set
• tg_stickers_send — Send a sticker

Drafts (2)

• tg_drafts_set — Set a draft message
• tg_drafts_clear — Clear a draft

Folders (4)

• tg_folders_list — List chat folders
• tg_folders_create — Create a folder
• tg_folders_edit — Edit a folder
• tg_folders_delete — Delete a folder

Status (2)

• tg_typing_send — Send typing indicator
• tg_online_status_set — Set online/offline status

Resources

• tg://dialogs — List of all dialogs (JSON)
• tg://profile — Authenticated user's profile (JSON)
• tg://chat/{peer} — Chat/channel metadata (JSON, URI template)
• tg://chat/{peer}/messages — Recent messages (text, URI template)

Prompts

• reply_to_message — Fetch context around a message for composing replies
• summarize_chat — Fetch recent messages for conversation summarization
• search_and_reply — Search messages and prepare reply context

Peer Resolution

All tools accept peer as a string. Supported formats:

• @username
• username (bare)
• https://t.me/username
• https://t.me/+invite_hash (invite links, if already joined)
• Numeric ID (bot-API style: positive=user, negative=chat, -100xxx=channel)

Peers resolved by username include a valid access hash. Numeric IDs use a cached access hash if available, otherwise AccessHash=0 (some API calls may fail — prefer @username).

Configuration

Authentication

Authentication uses a cascade: environment variable, then MCP elicitation (the client prompts you), then error.

First run:

1. Set TELEGRAM_APP_ID and TELEGRAM_APP_HASH (always required)
2. Optionally set TELEGRAM_PHONE — if not set, the server asks via elicitation
3. Telegram sends a code to your device
4. Optionally set TELEGRAM_AUTH_CODE — if not set, the server asks via elicitation
5. If 2FA is enabled, optionally set TELEGRAM_PASSWORD — or the server asks
6. Session is saved to TELEGRAM_SESSION_FILE

Subsequent runs: session file is loaded automatically, no auth needed.

Session persistence in containers: mount a volume for the session file:

-v ~/.mcp-tg:/home/nobody/.mcp-tg

Multiple sessions: each Claude Code session starts its own container. This is safe for normal use — Telegram allows multiple MTProto connections with the same auth key. However, avoid running many instances simultaneously (5+), as Telegram may rate-limit or drop connections. Session file writes are rare (only on re-auth or DC migration) so volume sharing is safe in practice.

Usage

With Claude Code (stdio via Docker)

claude mcp add mcp-tg -- docker run --rm -i \
  -e TELEGRAM_APP_ID \
  -e TELEGRAM_APP_HASH \
  -v ~/.mcp-tg:/home/nobody/.mcp-tg \
  ghcr.io/lexfrei/mcp-tg:latest

Direct binary

export TELEGRAM_APP_ID=12345
export TELEGRAM_APP_HASH=your_app_hash
./mcp-tg

Container

docker run --rm -i \
  -e TELEGRAM_APP_ID=12345 \
  -e TELEGRAM_APP_HASH=your_app_hash \
  -v ~/.mcp-tg:/home/nobody/.mcp-tg \
  ghcr.io/lexfrei/mcp-tg:latest

Requirements

• Go 1.26.1+
• Telegram API credentials from my.telegram.org

Building

go build ./cmd/mcp-tg

docker build --file Containerfile --tag mcp-tg .

License

BSD 3-Clause License