Docs · Channel posts

Channel posts

A public channel's latest posts, newest first, with text, views, media, links and reactions.

1 credit per callFresh within 5 minutesMCP tool: telegram_channel_posts

GEThttps://api.lurkapi.com/v1/telegram/channel/posts

Example response

When to use this

Use it to monitor what a channel publishes and how far each post reaches. About 20 posts per page, newest first.

Pagination. Pass the response's cursor back as cursor for older posts; it's null at the channel's first post.

Unknown channels return 404 not_found. Channels with their web preview off return 403 not_public.

Example request

Copy one and replace YOUR_API_KEY with your API key (get one free). The code versions read the key from the LURKAPI_API_KEY environment variable instead.

curl "https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/telegram/channel/posts?handle=telegram" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Paste it into a terminal, with your key in place of YOUR_API_KEY.

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  handle: "telegram",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/telegram/channel/posts?${params}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.LURKAPI_API_KEY },
});
const data = await res.json();
if (!data.success) throw new Error(`${data.code}: ${data.error}`);
console.log(data.posts);

Node 18+. Save it as lurk.mjs and run node lurk.mjs. It reads your key from LURKAPI_API_KEY.

import os
import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/telegram/channel/posts",
    params={
        "handle": "telegram",
    },
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["LURKAPI_API_KEY"]},
    timeout=60,
)
data = res.json()
if not data["success"]:
    raise RuntimeError(f"{data['code']}: {data['error']}")
print(data["posts"])

Run pip install requests, save it as lurk.py and run python lurk.py. It reads your key from LURKAPI_API_KEY.

package main

import (
	"encoding/json"
	"fmt"
	"net/http"
	"net/url"
	"os"
	"time"
)

func main() {
	params := url.Values{}
	params.Set("handle", "telegram")
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/telegram/channel/posts?"+params.Encode(), nil)
	req.Header.Set("x-api-key", os.Getenv("LURKAPI_API_KEY"))

	client := &http.Client{Timeout: 60 * time.Second}
	res, err := client.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	var data map[string]any
	if err := json.NewDecoder(res.Body).Decode(&data); err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	if data["success"] != true {
		panic(fmt.Sprintf("%v: %v", data["code"], data["error"]))
	}
	out, _ := json.MarshalIndent(data["posts"], "", "  ")
	fmt.Println(string(out))
}

Save it as main.go and run go run main.go. It reads your key from LURKAPI_API_KEY.

<?php
$params = http_build_query([
    'handle' => 'telegram',
]);
$context = stream_context_create(['http' => [
    'header' => 'x-api-key: ' . getenv('LURKAPI_API_KEY'),
    'timeout' => 60,
    'ignore_errors' => true,
]]);
$body = file_get_contents('https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/telegram/channel/posts?' . $params, false, $context);
$data = json_decode($body, true);
if (!$data['success']) {
    throw new Exception("{$data['code']}: {$data['error']}");
}
print_r($data['posts']);

Save it as lurk.php and run php lurk.php. It reads your key from LURKAPI_API_KEY.

require 'json'
require 'net/http'

uri = URI('https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/telegram/channel/posts')
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(
  'handle' => 'telegram',
)
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req['x-api-key'] = ENV.fetch('LURKAPI_API_KEY')
res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port, use_ssl: uri.scheme == 'https', read_timeout: 60) do |http|
  http.request(req)
end
data = JSON.parse(res.body)
raise "#{data['code']}: #{data['error']}" unless data['success']
puts JSON.pretty_generate(data['posts'])

Save it as lurk.rb and run ruby lurk.rb. It reads your key from LURKAPI_API_KEY.

Parameters

Add them to the URL after a ?, as in ?handle=telegram. Join several with &.

Parameter	Description
`handle` stringrequired	The channel's username, with or without @ (e.g. `telegram`), or its t.me link. Example `telegram`
`cursor` stringoptional	The `cursor` from the previous response, to get older posts.

Example response

A real response, captured from the live API. Lists are trimmed to a couple of items, and long text such as media links is cut short with ….

Show the example response (3 KB)

{
  "success": true,
  "credits_remaining": 999963,
  "credits_charged": 1,
  "posts": [
    {
      "id": 460,
      "url": "https://t.me/telegram/460",
      "channel": "telegram",
      "date": "2026-08-26T19:12:34.000Z",
      "text": "For all the info from today's update and a look back at 13 years of Tele…",
      "html": "For all the info from today&#39;s update and a look back at <b>13 years …",
      "views": 1610000,
      "viewsText": "1.61M",
      "author": null,
      "edited": false,
      "service": false,
      "forwardedFrom": null,
      "replyTo": null,
      "thumbnailUrl": "https://cdn4.telesco.pe/file/oohrGy13Rl0T93Hzll-HyOAQp_drQX8eXkm87KplZ-_…",
      "media": [],
      "linkPreview": {
        "url": "https://telegram.org/blog/welcome-messages-buttons-TG-13",
        "siteName": "Telegram",
        "title": "Welcome Messages, Buttons in Messages and Signed Gifts",
        "description": "Introducing Welcome Messages to greet new members of groups or channels,…",
        "imageUrl": "https://cdn4.telesco.pe/file/oohrGy13Rl0T93Hzll-HyOAQp_drQX8eXkm87KplZ-_…"
      },
      "poll": null,
      "reactions": []
    },
    {
      "id": 459,
      "url": "https://t.me/telegram/459",
      "channel": "telegram",
      "date": "2026-08-26T19:12:24.000Z",
      "text": "Signed Gifts. You can now add your signature and a comment to gifts you …",
      "html": "<b>Signed Gifts.</b> You can now add <b>your signature</b> and a comment…",
      "views": 1420000,
      "viewsText": "1.42M",
      "author": null,
      "edited": false,
      "service": false,
      "forwardedFrom": null,
      "replyTo": null,
      "thumbnailUrl": "https://cdn1.telesco.pe/file/VSXrQGb3EG7TAdJnhxtlziBFNVeZQCFw5H1VJunLW15…",
      "media": [
        {
          "type": "video",
          "url": "https://cdn1.telesco.pe/file/6efb59a075.mp4?token=b8P4SATJNFnoczYfzFJamQ…",
          "thumbnailUrl": "https://cdn1.telesco.pe/file/VSXrQGb3EG7TAdJnhxtlziBFNVeZQCFw5H1VJunLW15…",
          "durationS": 12,
          "title": null
        }
      ],
      "linkPreview": null,
      "poll": null,
      "reactions": []
    }
  ],
  "cursor": "441"
}

Response fields

Every field in a successful response, and what it means. A name with [] belongs to each item of a list: posts[].id is the id of every item in posts. null means there's no value.

Show all 48 fields

Field	Type	Description
success	true	Always true here; errors have `success: false`.
credits_remaining	number	Your balance after this call. On anonymous playground calls: free tries left today.
credits_charged	number	Credits this call cost; 0 on free endpoints. On anonymous playground calls: tries used (1).
posts	object[]	One page of posts, newest first.
posts[].id	number	Post id, unique within the channel. Posts are numbered in order.
posts[].url	string	The post on t.me, e.g. `https://t.me/telegram/441`.
posts[].channel	string	The channel's username, e.g. `telegram`.
posts[].date	stringcan be null	Posted at, ISO 8601 (UTC).
posts[].text	string	Post text (or media caption), plain, with line breaks. Empty if the post has none.
posts[].html	stringcan be null	Post text as HTML: bold, italics, links, quotes. null if the post has no text.
posts[].views	numbercan be null	View count, as a number. Telegram rounds it ("1.2K" → 1200); null if not shown.
posts[].viewsText	stringcan be null	View count as Telegram shows it, e.g. "1.56M"; null if not shown.
posts[].author	stringcan be null	Author signature, on channels that sign posts; null otherwise.
posts[].edited	boolean	The post was edited after it was published.
posts[].service	boolean	A service message ("Channel created", "Channel photo updated"), not a real post.
posts[].forwardedFrom	objectcan be null	Where the post was forwarded from; null if it's original.
posts[].forwardedFrom.name	string	Name of the channel or person it was forwarded from.
posts[].forwardedFrom.url	stringcan be null	Link to the original post or channel; null for hidden accounts.
posts[].replyTo	objectcan be null	The post this one replies to; null if it isn't a reply.
posts[].replyTo.id	numbercan be null	Id of the post it replies to; null if the link isn't a post link.
posts[].replyTo.url	string	Link to the post it replies to.
posts[].replyTo.author	stringcan be null	Name shown on the quoted post.
posts[].replyTo.text	stringcan be null	The quoted post's text, shortened by Telegram; null if it has none.
posts[].thumbnailUrl	stringcan be null	A preview image for the post: the first media's thumbnail, else the link preview's image; null if none.
posts[].media	object[]	Photos, videos, files and stickers attached to the post, in order. Empty for text posts.
posts[].media[].type	string	`photo`, `video`, `document` (a file), `audio` (a music or podcast file) or `sticker`.
posts[].media[].url	stringcan be null	Direct file URL on Telegram's CDN, temporary. null for documents, audio, and videos too big for the web preview (open the post instead).
posts[].media[].thumbnailUrl	stringcan be null	Preview image URL (the photo itself for photos), temporary; null if none.
posts[].media[].durationS	numbercan be null	Video length in seconds; null for other media.
posts[].media[].title	stringcan be null	File name or audio title, for documents and audio; null otherwise.
posts[].linkPreview	objectcan be null	The link preview card under the text; null if none.
posts[].linkPreview.url	string	The linked page.
posts[].linkPreview.siteName	stringcan be null	Site name, e.g. "YouTube".
posts[].linkPreview.title	stringcan be null	Page title.
posts[].linkPreview.description	stringcan be null	Page description.
posts[].linkPreview.imageUrl	stringcan be null	Preview image URL, temporary; null if none.
posts[].poll	objectcan be null	The post's poll; null if it has none.
posts[].poll.question	string	The poll's question.
posts[].poll.type	string	How Telegram labels it, e.g. "Anonymous Poll" or "Quiz".
posts[].poll.options	object[]	The options, in order.
posts[].poll.options[].text	string	The option's text.
posts[].poll.options[].percent	numbercan be null	Share of the votes, a whole percent as Telegram shows it. null from the post endpoint, whose widget hides results.
posts[].poll.voters	numbercan be null	People who voted. Telegram rounds it ("1.2K" → 1200). null from the post endpoint, whose widget hides results.
posts[].reactions	object[]	Reactions in Telegram's order (paid first, then most frequent). Empty if there are none.
posts[].reactions[].type	string	`emoji`, `custom_emoji` (a Premium emoji) or `paid` (Telegram Stars).
posts[].reactions[].emoji	stringcan be null	The emoji, e.g. "👍"; null for paid reactions and custom emoji without a standard look-alike.
posts[].reactions[].count	number	How many, as a number. Telegram rounds large counts ("14.3K" → 14300).
cursor	stringcan be null	Pass as `cursor` for older posts. null on the last page.

Pagination

Results come in pages. For the next page, repeat the call with the same parameters and add the response's cursor as cursor. On the last page, cursor is null. Each page costs 1 credit.

The first five pages, in JavaScript

let cursor = null;for (let page = 1; page <= 5; page++) {const params = new URLSearchParams({ handle: "telegram" });if (cursor) params.set("cursor", cursor);const res = await fetch(`https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/telegram/channel/posts?${params}`, {headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.LURKAPI_API_KEY },});const data = await res.json();if (!data.success) throw new Error(`${data.code}: ${data.error}`);console.log(data.posts);cursor = data.cursor;if (!cursor) break; // last page}

Each call costs 1 credit. Calls turned away before they reach the platform (invalid parameters, a key or balance problem, a rate limit) are free, and so are 5xx errors. A not_found is charged, since the platform was checked. How charging works.

Answers are cached for up to 5 minutes. A repeat call within that time can return the same data, and costs the same.

Errors

A failed call returns success: false, an error message, a code your program can check, and a docs link. These are the errors this endpoint can return. All error codes.

Status	Code	Meaning
401	`missing_api_key`	No API key was sent. Put it in the `x-api-key` header.
401	`invalid_api_key`	This key doesn't exist or was revoked.
402	`insufficient_credits`	Not enough credits for this call. Buy a pack, or wait for tomorrow's free top-up.
402	`over_max_credits`	This call would cost more than the `max_credits` you set. The error says what it needs; raise `max_credits` to allow it. Not charged.
403	`account_suspended`	This account is suspended. Email support@lurkapi.com. Not charged.
403	`not_public`	The platform shows this account or post only to people who are logged in. Try a public one. Charged, since the platform was checked.
404	`not_found`	What you asked for (a post, an ad, a subreddit) doesn't exist, or there's no endpoint at that path. Charged if the platform was checked.
405	`method_not_allowed`	Endpoints only take `GET`, with parameters in the URL.
429	`rate_limited`	Too many calls in a short time. Wait as many seconds as the `retry-after` header says, then retry.
500	`internal_error`	Something broke on our side. Retry. Not charged.
502	`upstream_error`	The platform didn't send a usable answer. Retry. Not charged.
503	`upstream_busy`	All our connections to the platform are busy. Retry in a few seconds. Not charged.
504	`upstream_timeout`	The platform took over 30 seconds to answer (90 for web pages). Retry. Not charged.

Use it in Claude

Connect LurkAPI to Claude and ask in plain English. This endpoint is the telegram_channel_posts tool. For example:

Ask Claude

Use LurkAPI's telegram_channel_posts tool with handle "telegram", then summarize what you find.

Claude calls telegram_channel_posts with arguments like these, and each call costs 1 credit:

Tool arguments

{"handle": "telegram"}

To save tokens, tool results leave out empty fields, keep one URL per image or video, and give transcripts as plain text unless you pass timestamps=true. A result over 45,000 characters comes in parts. Its _note gives the offset for the next part, and later parts are free for 15 minutes. Pass trim=false for the full response.

From the blog

All posts

Channel posts

When to use this

Example request

Parameters

Example response

Response fields

Cost and freshness

Errors

Use it in Claude

From the blog

Best Reddit scrapers in 2026: price and speed compared

Instagram MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT

Best Threads scrapers in 2026: what 1,000 posts cost