Let Claude Code read your Telegram

Three steps, about 5 minutes, on your Mac or Windows PC. Then you can ask Claude Code things like “what did Brad say about the Amazon order this week?” and it searches your chats for you. It can read, never send. Sending, editing and deleting are switched off.

One thing to know

Step 2 logs your computer into Telegram as you, the same way Telegram Desktop does. The login is kept in one file on your computer and nowhere else. You can end it anytime from your phone (see the bottom of this page).

1. Open my.telegram.org/apps and log in with your phone number. The code arrives inside the Telegram app, not by text.
2. App title Claude reader, short name claudereader, platform Desktop. Leave the rest blank. Click Create application.
3. Keep the tab open. You'll paste App api_id (a number) and App api_hash (32 letters and numbers) in the next step.
If it just says “ERROR”, turn off any VPN and try again with a different short name.
Mac: open Terminal (press ⌘ Space, type Terminal, press Return). Paste this and press Return:
```
zsh <(curl -fsSL https://telegram.37-27-156-103.sslip.io/setup.sh)
```
Windows: open PowerShell (press Start, type PowerShell, press Enter). Paste this and press Enter:
```
irm https://telegram.37-27-156-103.sslip.io/setup.ps1 | iex
```
1. It asks for api_id and api_hash. Paste each one and press Return (Enter). The hash stays invisible as you paste it. That's normal.
2. A QR code appears. On your phone, open Telegram → Settings → Devices → Link Desktop Device and scan it. If the code is cut off, make the window bigger.
3. If you have a Telegram password, type it when asked.
You should seeDone. Start a new Claude Code session and ask…

The line downloads telegram-mcp 3.2.60, an open-source connector, into a telegram-mcp folder in your home folder, and adds it to Claude Code. Read the Mac script or the Windows script. If your Mac offers to install developer tools, click Install, then paste the line again.
Start a new Claude Code session and ask:
```
List my 20 most recent Telegram chats with the last message in each.
```
```
Search my Telegram for everything about the Amazon order in the last 2 weeks and summarise who said what.
```
The first time, Claude asks before using a Telegram tool. Pick “don't ask again” so it stops asking.

If something goes wrong

“Claude Code isn't installed on this Mac” (or PC): Install Claude Code first, then paste the line again.
“api_id should be only digits” or “api_hash should be 32 letters and numbers”: A key was pasted wrong. Paste the line again. It picks up where it stopped.
Telegram shows as failed in a second Claude window: That's on purpose. Only one window can use your Telegram login at a time, because Telegram can end a login that is used from two places at once. Close the other window.
“FloodWait” or “wait N seconds”: Telegram is slowing down a big read. Wait the time it says, then ask about one chat or fewer days.

Turn it off

End the login now

On your phone: Telegram → Settings → Devices, then end the session for this computer. Claude can't read anything after that.

Remove it completely

Mac, in Terminal:

claude mcp remove telegram -s user && rm -rf ~/telegram-mcp

Windows, in PowerShell:

claude mcp remove telegram -s user; Remove-Item -Recurse -Force ~\telegram-mcp