tgcli

name: tgcli description: Telegram CLI for reading/searching messages, syncing archives, and sending or downloading files. Use when the user asks about Telegram chats, messages, contacts, groups, or files.

Telegram CLI with background sync.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user:

Wants to read or search Telegram messages
Needs recent updates or an inbox-style view of chats
Asks to send a Telegram message or file
Wants to download media or files from Telegram
Wants to look up channels, groups, or contacts
Needs archive/backfill sync for a chat

Install

npm install -g @kfastov/tgcli

Or:

brew install kfastov/tap/tgcli

Authentication

First-time setup needs Telegram API credentials from https://my.telegram.org/apps

tgcli auth

Common Commands

Reading

tgcli channels list --limit 20
tgcli messages list --chat @username --limit 50
tgcli messages search "query" --chat @channel --source archive
tgcli topics list --chat @channel --limit 20

Files & Media

tgcli media download --chat @channel --id 12345
tgcli send file --to @channel --file ./report.pdf --caption "FYI"

Writing

tgcli send text --to @username --message "Hello"

Backfill & Service

tgcli backfill --chat @channel                 # backfill one chat (auto-starts the server, follows progress)
tgcli backfill --chat @channel --background    # enqueue and return the job id
tgcli backfill --chat @channel --depth 5000 --min-date 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z
tgcli backfill status                          # active backfills + server status
tgcli backfill count                           # number of in-progress backfills
tgcli backfill wait                            # block until the queue drains
tgcli backfill cancel --chat @channel          # stop a chat's backfills
tgcli channels watch --chat @channel           # subscribe a chat for archiving (queues a backfill)
tgcli channels unwatch --chat @channel         # stop archiving a chat
tgcli backfill --follow                         # track the server's queue to completion (`sync` is a silent alias)
tgcli service install
tgcli service start

Telegram and archive commands (channels, messages, send, media, topics, tags, metadata, contacts, groups, folders) run through the always-on control server, not the CLI. The CLI is a thin client: it auto-starts tgcli server in the background when one isn't running, has it execute the operation against its warm connection and database, then renders the result; the server shuts itself down once idle. config, service, doctor, and auth stay local. Foreground backfill --chat follows progress on stderr; Ctrl-C detaches (the job keeps running — check tgcli backfill status).

Contacts & Groups

tgcli contacts search "alex"
tgcli groups list --query "Nha Trang"

Output Formats

All commands support --json for structured output:

tgcli messages list --chat @username --limit 5 --json
tgcli channels list --limit 10 --json

Notes

Use --source live|archive|both when listing or searching messages.
--json is best for AI/tooling pipelines.
send commands time out after 30s by default so they never hang on a stuck connection. Override with --timeout 5m or disable with --timeout 0. Long-running commands (backfill, --follow, server) are unbounded by default.
backfill is the canonical archive command; sync (and channels sync --enable/--disable) keep working as aliases. Prefer channels watch/channels unwatch to subscribe/unsubscribe a chat.