Telegram cli

Source & Trust#

1. Repository: https://github.com/baontq23/node-telegram-cli
2. npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-telegram-cli (published with provenance)
3. Credentials are stored securely via OS Keychain (macOS Keychain / Windows Credential Manager / Linux Secret Service), not in plaintext files

Installation#

1. Requires Node.js >= 20
2. Install globally: npm install -g node-telegram-cli
3. Verify: ntg --version
4. Run ntg login once — interactive, requires phone number + OTP code from Telegram

Critical Rule: Always Use JSON Mode#

1. Add --json flag to every command for machine-readable output
2. --json is a global flag — place it before or after the subcommand
3. Example: ntg --json inbox, ntg --json search @user "keyword"

Peer Format#

1. @username — most reliable, e.g. @johndoe
2. Phone number — for contacts without username, e.g. +84901234567
3. me — your own Saved Messages
4. Chat title — group/channel name in quotes, e.g. "My Group"

Read Commands (No Side Effects)#

1. ntg --json inbox — list recent conversations
2. ntg --json inbox --unread — only unread conversations
3. ntg --json inbox --private — only private 1-on-1 chats
4. ntg --json inbox --unread --private — combine filters
5. ntg --json inbox --chat <peer> --limit <n> — messages from a specific chat
6. ntg --json search <peer> "keyword" — search in a specific chat
7. ntg --json global-search "keyword" — search across all chats
8. ntg --json chat-info <chat> — show group/channel info

Write Commands (Has Side Effects)#

1. ntg msg <peer> "text" — send a text message
2. ntg msg <peer> "text" --silent — send silently (no notification sound)
3. ntg fwd <user> <msgId> — forward a message by ID
4. ntg mark-read <peer> — mark all messages as read
5. ntg delete-msg <msgId> — delete a message
6. ntg send-photo <peer> <file> — send a photo
7. ntg send-video <peer> <file> — send a video
8. ntg send-file <peer> <file> — send a text file as plain messages
9. ntg download <msgId> --chat <peer> — download media from a message
10. ntg download <msgId> --chat <peer> --type <type> — specify media type (photo, video, audio, doc)
11. ntg view <msgId> --chat <peer> — download and open with system viewer
12. ntg clean-downloads — delete all downloaded media files

Group Management#

1. ntg create-group "Topic" @user1 @user2 — create a new group
2. ntg chat-add <chat> <user> — add a user to a group
3. ntg chat-kick <chat> <user> — remove a user from a group
4. ntg chat-rename <chat> "New Name" — rename a group
5. ntg chat-set-photo <chat> <file> — set group photo

Contact Management#

1. ntg add-contact <phone> <firstName> <lastName> — add a contact
2. ntg rename-contact <user> <firstName> <lastName> — rename a contact

JSON Output Schemas#

Inbox (conversation list)

1. name — contact/chat display name
2. peer — identifier to use as <peer> argument
3. peerType — "username" | "phone" | "id"
4. type — "user" | "group" | "channel"
5. unreadCount — number of unread messages
6. lastMessage — text/caption (empty string if media-only)
7. lastMessageId — use with ntg download <id> for media
8. mediaType — "photo" | "video" | "document" | "audio" | "voice" | "sticker" | "location" | "contact" | "poll" | null
9. date — ISO 8601 timestamp

Chat messages (inbox --chat)

1. id — message ID
2. date — ISO 8601 timestamp
3. sender — sender display name
4. text — message text/caption
5. mediaType — same values as above
6. isOutgoing — true if sent by you

Error Handling#

1. Exit code 0 = success
2. Exit code 1 = error (not logged in, peer not found, etc.)
3. If not logged in, commands fail with: "Not logged in. Run ntg login first."

Important Notes#

1. Do NOT use ntg chat <peer> — it is interactive, blocks stdin, not suitable for automation
2. Session persists until ntg logout is called — no re-login needed between commands
3. Downloaded files are saved to ~/.telegram-cli/downloads/
4. Always specify --chat <peer> when downloading media to identify the source chat