Telegram API
3 endpoints read Telegram: channels, messages. From $0.0020 a call. No Telegram login and no cookie; a failed call is free.
One call, as it came back
A recorded call, fields already tidied up: ready for an AI or a spreadsheet.The first 3 rows of a response recorded 2026-10-12 18:56 UTC.
Run it in the Playground · $0.0020{
"code": "ok",
"request_id": "10f8dacb-2806-474a-9e02-1bc72ae387b0",
"data": {
"items": [
{
"id": "priya_reads/1897",
"url": "https://t.me/priya_reads/1897",
"type": "text",
"text": "Three things nobody tells you about weekend hiking.",
"published_at": "2026-08-26T19:12:34.000Z",
"author": { "username": "trail_and_lens", "name": "Maya Chen" },
"metrics": { "views": 1830000 },
"images": [],
"approximate": [
{ "field": "metrics.views", "kind": "approximate" }
]
},
// … 19 more
]
},
"page": {
"next_cursor": "c1.LQSo-Qvh5exgnzZOFCcQ85MChUuwR7TKBMRHut_Y",
"cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-12T19:56:44.000Z",
"has_more": true,
"returned": 20
},
"warnings": [],
"meta": {
"capability": "telegram.channels.messages.list",
"result_status": "complete",
"fetched_at": "2026-10-12T18:56:44.000Z",
"cached": false,
"replayed": false,
"unavailable": {
"title": "platform",
"lang": "capability",
"author.id": "capability",
"author.avatar_url": "capability",
"author.verified": "capability",
"author.followers": "capability",
"metrics.likes": "platform",
"metrics.comments": "capability",
"metrics.shares": "capability",
"metrics.favorites": "platform",
"metrics.reposts": "capability",
"hashtags": "capability",
"mentions": "capability",
"is_pinned": "capability",
"post_id": "capability",
"parent_id": "capability",
"root_id": "capability"
},
"billing": {
"amount": "0.002",
"currency": "USD",
"balance_after": "9.998"
}
}
}From a response recorded 2026-10-12 18:56 UTC. Names, text and IDs are examples, and so are the links: none is the recorded one (the page shows no one's personal data); the figures are as recorded. Long lists are cut. The request ID, cursor and balance are made up.
What you can get
Each row is an endpoint: what it returns and what one call costs.
What people build with it
Ready-made tasks your AI can run on Telegram data. Each is a few calls under a spending cap.
Competitor account monitoring
“What did competitors post this week, and which post took off?”
Account check-up
“How is this account doing?”
Breaking down a hit
“Why did this post take off?”
Ask about Telegram right inside Claude or Cursor
Add the DataXAPI MCP server and the AI finds the Telegram endpoint it needs and calls it; answers link back to the source. You pay for the calls it makes.
https://api.dataxapi.com/mcpStart in three steps
The call shown here is Telegram channel messages. Every other Telegram endpoint is called the same way and answers in the same envelope.
Get a key
Sign in with an emailed code or Google. Free trial, no card needed.
Call it, or let your AI call it
One GET from your code. Or paste this prompt into your agent with your key in it: it sets itself up, then finds and calls these endpoints by itself.
Read the same shape every time
Items are in data.items (one object in data.item), the next page in page.next_cursor, the charge in meta.billing.amount. A failed call is not charged.
curl -G "https://api.dataxapi.com/v1/telegram/channels/messages/list" \ --data-urlencode "username=telegram" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $DATAXAPI_API_KEY"
from dataxapi import DataXAPI dx = DataXAPI() # reads DATAXAPI_API_KEY result = dx.telegram.channels.messages.list(username="telegram") print(result["data"]["items"])
import { DataXAPI } from "@dataxapi/sdk";
const dx = new DataXAPI(); // reads DATAXAPI_API_KEY
const result = await dx.telegram.channels.messages.list({ username: "telegram" });
console.log(result.data.items);dataxapi call telegram.channels.messages.list username=telegram
{
"mcpServers": {
"dataxapi": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://api.dataxapi.com/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer ${DATAXAPI_API_KEY}"
}
}
}
}Add this to your MCP client, then ask your agent to call telegram.channels.messages.list.
Edge cases
What the Telegram endpoints do at their edges, and what to check when a call does not return what you expected.
- Page sizes
- A list returns 20 items a page. Every list goes on to a next page:
page.next_cursor, passed back ascursor, each page a call of its own. - Fields it cannot give
- 3 of the 3 endpoints cannot fill every field of the object they return. Each endpoint's page lists which, and every answer repeats them in
meta.unavailable: a missing field is never a silent zero. - Public channels only
- A handle without a public page reads as a channel that is not there.
- The message ID
- A message's ID is the channel's handle and its number joined by a slash, as in telegram/401. The message list returns it in that form, ready for the message endpoint.
- Views are rounded
- From a thousand up, views are worked out of what the page shows (“2.28M”) and marked approximate.
- No likes or comments
- Messages come without like or comment counts, and a channel has no numeric ID: it is known by its handle.
Questions about the Telegram API
Short answers. The details are on each endpoint's page.
How is the Telegram API priced?
Per call, no subscription. All 3 endpoints cost $0.0020 a call. You are charged when data comes back; a failed call costs nothing.
Do I need a Telegram account or a cookie?
No. One DataXAPI key is all you hold: no Telegram login, no cookie, no device to keep alive. The endpoints return publicly visible data only.
Is the data live?
A call fetches from Telegram at that moment, and meta.fetched_at says when. A result is kept for 24 hours, so a retry with the same Idempotency-Key is not charged again.
Is an empty result charged?
A list that comes back empty is charged its price: the search was run. Reading one object that does not exist answers not_found and is free.
What happens when Telegram changes something?
A call that fails is not charged, whatever the reason. An endpoint that is paused answers capability_paused, also free, and GET /v1/catalog/status says what is up right now.
Related
Call Telegram with one key.
Free trial on sign-up: up to 50 calls at $0.0020. No card. No Telegram login, no cookie, no subscription. A failed call is free.