Telegram CLI
Fast Telegram CLI for reading, searching, and sending messages.
When to Use
Use this skill when the user:
- Asks to check Telegram messages or inbox
- Wants to search Telegram for a topic/keyword
- Wants to send a Telegram message to someone
- Asks about a Telegram group, contact, or chat
- Wants to see unread messages
- Needs to look up group members or admins
Install
npm install -g @cyberdrk/tg
Or from source:
cd ~/Code/cyberdrk305/telegram && npm install && npm run build && npm link
Authentication
First-time setup requires API credentials from https://my.telegram.org/apps
tg auth
Commands
Reading
tg inbox # Unread messages summary
tg chats # List all chats
tg read "ChatName" -n 50 # Read last 50 messages
tg read "ChatName" --since "1h" # Messages from last hour
tg read @username -n 20 # Read DM with user
tg search "query" --chat "ChatName" # Search within chat
tg search "query" --all # Search all chats
Writing
tg send @username "message" # Send DM
tg send "GroupName" "message" # Send to group
tg reply "ChatName" 12345 "response" # Reply to message ID
Contacts & Groups
tg contact @username # Get contact info
tg members "GroupName" # List group members
tg admins "GroupName" # List admins only
tg groups --admin # Groups where you're admin
Status
tg whoami # Show logged-in account
tg check # Verify session
Output Formats
All commands support --json for structured output suitable for processing:
tg inbox --json # JSON format
tg read "Chat" --json # JSON with messages array
tg chats --json # JSON with chat list
Examples
Check inbox:
tg inbox
Read recent messages from a chat:
tg read "MetaDAO Community" -n 20
Search for a topic:
tg search "futarchy" --chat "MetaDAO"
Send a message:
tg send @username "Hello, checking in!"
Notes
- Chat names can be partial matches (e.g., "MetaDAO" matches "MetaDAO Community")
- Usernames must start with @ (e.g., @username)
- Messages are returned in reverse chronological order (newest first)
- The
--sinceflag accepts formats like "1h", "30m", "7d"