# Telegram MCP — setup on a new machine

Reproduces the working integration this project uses: read Oleg's Telegram channels/DMs as a user (MTProto, not a bot) through the `chigwell/telegram-mcp` server, registered in Claude Code + Claude Desktop.

Time: ~10 minutes. Most of it is one-time Telegram credentials.

---

## 0. Prereqs

- `git`, `curl`, `jq`, `node` (for `npx`)
- A clone of this repo (`cv-2026`) — it holds the `.env` shape and the CLAUDE.md safety policy that govern this integration.

---

## 1. Get Telegram API credentials (one-time per Telegram account)

Open https://my.telegram.org/apps and create a new application:

- **App title:** anything (e.g. `telegram-mcp`)
- **Short name:** 5–32 alphanumeric, e.g. `tgmcp`
- **URL:** *must not be empty* — put `https://t.me` (form says optional but errors otherwise)
- **Platform:** Desktop
- **Description:** optional

You'll get `api_id` (number) and `api_hash` (32-char hex). Treat them like a password.

If you see a generic `ERROR` popup, fill in the URL field — that's the most common cause.

Save both into the project `.env`:

```
TELEGRAM_API_ID=<id>
TELEGRAM_API_HASH=<hash>
TELEGRAM_SESSION_STRING=
```

Confirm `.env` is in `.gitignore`.

---

## 2. Install the server (Python, isolated via `uv`)

The server is `chigwell/telegram-mcp` — a Telethon-based MCP server. Python lives inside its own `uv`-managed venv, nothing leaks into the project.

```bash
# install uv if missing (goes into ~/.local/bin, no sudo)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# clone + sync (creates .venv with locked deps)
mkdir -p /projects/my-utils && cd /projects/my-utils
git clone https://github.com/chigwell/telegram-mcp.git telegram
cd telegram
~/.local/bin/uv sync
```

Two binaries appear at `/projects/my-utils/telegram/.venv/bin/`:
- `telegram-mcp` — the MCP server
- `telegram-mcp-generate-session` — one-shot session-string generator

---

## 3. Generate the session string (one-time, interactive)

From the cv-2026 project root (where `.env` lives):

```bash
set -a && source .env && set +a && \
  /projects/my-utils/telegram/.venv/bin/telegram-mcp-generate-session
```

At the prompts:

- **Account label:** *leave empty* (Enter). A label adds a `_<LABEL>` suffix to env var names and we don't need multi-account.
- **Login method:** `1` (QR) is the fastest — scan from any device where Telegram is already open (Settings → Devices → Link Desktop Device).
  - Alternative: `2` (phone). The code arrives **inside Telegram** as a message from the official `Telegram` account, not via SMS — check there first.

Output ends with a ~350-char string. Paste it into `.env` as `TELEGRAM_SESSION_STRING=<value>`.

---

## 4. Register in Claude Code + Claude Desktop

[`add-mcp`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/add-mcp) writes the server entry into both client configs in one shot. **Important gotcha:** with `--yes`, `add-mcp` stores `${VAR}` placeholders literally instead of resolving them — Claude Desktop won't expand env vars at runtime, so we resolve them manually with `jq` right after.

```bash
# from the cv-2026 project root
set -a && source .env && set +a && \
  npx -y add-mcp "/projects/my-utils/telegram/.venv/bin/telegram-mcp" \
    -n telegram \
    --env 'TELEGRAM_API_ID=${TELEGRAM_API_ID}' \
    --env 'TELEGRAM_API_HASH=${TELEGRAM_API_HASH}' \
    --env 'TELEGRAM_SESSION_STRING=${TELEGRAM_SESSION_STRING}' \
    -a claude-code -a claude-desktop \
    -g -y

# fix the literal-placeholder issue — substitute actual values into both configs
set -a && source .env && set +a && \
  for CFG in ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json ~/.claude.json; do
    jq --arg id "$TELEGRAM_API_ID" --arg hash "$TELEGRAM_API_HASH" --arg sess "$TELEGRAM_SESSION_STRING" \
      '.mcpServers.telegram.env.TELEGRAM_API_ID = $id
       | .mcpServers.telegram.env.TELEGRAM_API_HASH = $hash
       | .mcpServers.telegram.env.TELEGRAM_SESSION_STRING = $sess' \
      "$CFG" > "$CFG.tmp" && mv "$CFG.tmp" "$CFG"
  done
```

macOS Claude Desktop config path is `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` — adjust the loop.

---

## 5. Restart and verify

- **Claude Desktop:** quit and reopen.
- **Claude Code:** start a new session (this CLI loads MCP servers at session start).

In the new session, ask: *"проверь доступ к телеграму"*. The agent should call `mcp__telegram__get_me` and return your handle.

If tools never appear, check the server starts cleanly:

```bash
set -a && source .env && set +a && /projects/my-utils/telegram/.venv/bin/telegram-mcp
# Ctrl+C after it prints startup logs — it's an stdio MCP server, this just smoke-tests it
```

---

## 6. Safety policy (already in CLAUDE.md, do not skip)

The server is **write-capable** — it can send/edit/delete messages on Oleg's behalf. Safety is enforced by `CLAUDE.md` (section *"Telegram MCP — safety policy"*), not by tool exposure, because read-only mode was too limiting. Two absolute rules:

1. **Never** destructive/irreversible actions, even on explicit request (delete messages/chats/folders, terminate sessions, change profile, bulk operations).
2. **Writes** (send/edit messages, join/leave, add to folder, etc.) need per-conversation permission for the specific target chat — except for chats listed in [`.claude/telegram-write-whitelist.md`](../.claude/telegram-write-whitelist.md) (currently empty).

Both files (`CLAUDE.md` section and the whitelist) live in this repo — cloning cv-2026 brings them with you.