Handles configuration management through environment variables, specifically for storing Telegram API credentials including API ID, API hash, and phone number.
Enables interaction with Telegram messaging platform, providing tools to search channels by keywords, list available channels, retrieve messages from channels, and filter messages by regex patterns.
Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@Telegram MCP Serversearch for channels about AI news"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
tgcli
Telegram CLI with background sync and an optional MCP server for your personal account (MTProto, not bot API).
Installation
npm install -g @kfastov/tgclibrew install kfastov/tap/tgcliRelated MCP server: VRChat MCP Server
Authentication
Get Telegram API credentials:
Go to https://my.telegram.org/apps
Log in with your phone number
Create a new application
Copy
api_idandapi_hash
Then authenticate:
tgcli authQuick start
tgcli auth
tgcli sync --follow
tgcli messages list --chat @username --limit 20
tgcli messages search "course" --chat @channel --source archive
tgcli send text --to @username --message "hello"
tgcli serverCommands
tgcli auth Authentication and session setup
tgcli config View and edit config
tgcli sync Archive backfill and realtime sync
tgcli server Run background sync service (MCP optional)
tgcli service Install/start/stop/status/logs for background service
tgcli channels List/search channels
tgcli messages List/search messages
tgcli send Send text or files
tgcli media Download media
tgcli topics Forum topics
tgcli tags Channel tags
tgcli metadata Channel metadata cache
tgcli contacts Contacts and people
tgcli groups Group management
tgcli doctor Diagnostics and sanity checksUse tgcli [command] --help for details. Add --json for machine-readable output.
MCP (optional)
Enable it via config:
tgcli config set mcp.enabled trueBy default the server binds to http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp. To change it:
tgcli config set mcp.host 127.0.0.1
tgcli config set mcp.port 8080Then run tgcli server and point your client at the configured address.
Configuration & Store
The tgcli store lives in the OS app-data directory and contains config.json, sessions, and messages.db.
Override the location with TGCLI_STORE.
Legacy version: see MIGRATION.md.