WTelegramClient

Example programs using WTelegramClient

For these examples to work as a fully-functional Program.cs, be sure to start with these lines:

using System;
using System.Linq;
using TL;

using var client = new WTelegram.Client(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable);
await client.LoginUserIfNeeded();

In this case, environment variables are used for configuration so make sure to go to your Project Properties > Debug > Launch Profiles > Environment variables and add at least these variables with adequate values: api_id, api_hash, phone_number

Remember that these are just simple example codes that you should adjust to your needs. In real production code, you might want to properly test the success of each operation or handle exceptions, and avoid calling the same methods (like Messages_GetAllChats) repetitively.

➡️ Use Ctrl-F to search this page for the example matching your needs
WTelegramClient covers 100% of Telegram Client API, much more than the examples below: check the full API methods list!
More examples can also be found in the Examples folder and in answers to StackOverflow questions.

Change logging settings

By default, WTelegramClient logs are displayed on the Console screen.
If you are not in a Console app or don’t want the logs on screen, you can redirect them as you prefer:

// • Log to file in replacement of default Console screen logging, using this static variable:
static StreamWriter WTelegramLogs = new StreamWriter("WTelegram.log", true, Encoding.UTF8) { AutoFlush = true };
...
WTelegram.Helpers.Log = (lvl, str) => WTelegramLogs.WriteLine($"{DateTime.Now:yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss} [{"TDIWE!"[lvl]}] {str}");

// • Log to VS Output debugging pane in addition (+=) to the default Console screen logging:
WTelegram.Helpers.Log += (lvl, str) => System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine(str);

// • In ASP.NET service, you will typically send logs to an ILogger:
WTelegram.Helpers.Log = (lvl, str) => _logger.Log((LogLevel)lvl, str);

// • Disable logging (⛔️𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗗𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 as you won't be able to diagnose any upcoming problem):
WTelegram.Helpers.Log = (lvl, str) => { };

The lvl argument correspond to standard LogLevel values

Send a message to someone by @username

var resolved = await client.Contacts_ResolveUsername("JsonDumpBot"); // username without the @
await client.SendMessageAsync(resolved, "/start");

Note: This also works if the @username points to a channel/group, but you must already have joined that channel before sending a message to it. If the username is invalid/unused, the API call raises an RpcException.

Convert message to/from HTML or Markdown, and send it to ourself (Saved Messages)

// HTML-formatted text:
var text = $"Hello <u>dear <b>{HtmlText.Escape(client.User.first_name)}</b></u>\n" +
           "Enjoy this <code>userbot</code> written with <a href=\"https://github.com/wiz0u/WTelegramClient\">WTelegramClient</a>";
var entities = client.HtmlToEntities(ref text);
var sent = await client.SendMessageAsync(InputPeer.Self, text, entities: entities);
// if you need to convert a sent/received Message to HTML: (easier to store)
text = client.EntitiesToHtml(sent.message, sent.entities);

// Markdown-style text:
var text2 = $"Hello __dear *{Markdown.Escape(client.User.first_name)}*__\n" +
            "Enjoy this `userbot` written with [WTelegramClient](https://github.com/wiz0u/WTelegramClient)";
var entities2 = client.MarkdownToEntities(ref text2);
var sent2 = await client.SendMessageAsync(InputPeer.Self, text2, entities: entities2);
// if you need to convert a sent/received Message to Markdown: (easier to store)
text2 = client.EntitiesToMarkdown(sent2.message, sent2.entities);

See HTML formatting style and MarkdownV2 formatting style for details.
Note: For the tg://user?id= notation to work, you need to pass the _users dictionary in arguments (see below)

List all dialogs (chats/groups/channels/user chat) we are currently in

var dialogs = await client.Messages_GetAllDialogs();
foreach (Dialog dialog in dialogs.dialogs)
{
    switch (dialogs.UserOrChat(dialog))
    {
        case User     user when user.IsActive: Console.WriteLine("User " + user); break;
        case ChatBase chat when chat.IsActive: Console.WriteLine(chat); break;
    }
    //var latestMsg = dialogs.messages.FirstOrDefault(m => m.Peer.ID == dialog.Peer.ID && m.ID == dialog.TopMessage);
}

Notes:

List all chats (groups/channels NOT users) that we joined and send a message to one

var chats = await client.Messages_GetAllChats();
foreach (var (id, chat) in chats.chats)
    if (chat.IsActive)
        Console.WriteLine($"{id} : {chat}");
Console.Write("Choose a chat ID to send a message to: ");
long chatId = long.Parse(Console.ReadLine());
await client.SendMessageAsync(chats.chats[chatId], "Hello, World");

Notes:

List the members from a chat

For a basic Chat: (see Terminology in ReadMe)

var chatFull = await client.Messages_GetFullChat(1234567890); // the chat we want
foreach (var (id, user) in chatFull.users)
    Console.WriteLine(user);

For a Channel/Group:

var chats = await client.Messages_GetAllChats();
var channel = (Channel)chats.chats[1234567890]; // the channel we want
for (int offset = 0; ;)
{
    var participants = await client.Channels_GetParticipants(channel, null, offset);
    foreach (var (id, user) in participants.users)
        Console.WriteLine(user);
    offset += participants.participants.Length;
    if (offset >= participants.count || participants.participants.Length == 0) break;
}

For big Channel/Group, Telegram servers might limit the number of members you can obtain with the normal above method.
In this case, you can use the following helper method, but it can take several minutes to complete:

var chats = await client.Messages_GetAllChats();
var channel = (Channel)chats.chats[1234567890]; // the channel we want
var participants = await client.Channels_GetAllParticipants(channel);

You can use specific filters, for example to list only the channel owner/admins:

var participants = await client.Channels_GetParticipants(channel, filter: new ChannelParticipantsAdmins());
foreach (var participant in participants.participants) // This is the better way to enumerate the result
{
    var user = participants.users[participant.UserID];
    if (participant is ChannelParticipantCreator cpc) Console.WriteLine($"{user} is the owner '{cpc.rank}'");
    else if (participant is ChannelParticipantAdmin cpa) Console.WriteLine($"{user} is admin '{cpa.rank}'");
}

Note: It is not possible to list only the Deleted Accounts. Those will be automatically removed by Telegram from your group after a while

Fetch all messages (history) from a chat/user

var chats = await client.Messages_GetAllChats();
InputPeer peer = chats.chats[1234567890]; // the chat (or User) we want
for (int offset_id = 0; ;)
{
    var messages = await client.Messages_GetHistory(peer, offset_id);
    if (messages.Messages.Length == 0) break;
    foreach (var msgBase in messages.Messages)
    {
        var from = messages.UserOrChat(msgBase.From ?? msgBase.Peer); // from can be User/Chat/Channel
        if (msgBase is Message msg)
            Console.WriteLine($"{from}> {msg.message} {msg.media}");
        else if (msgBase is MessageService ms)
            Console.WriteLine($"{from} [{ms.action.GetType().Name[13..]}]");
    }
    offset_id = messages.Messages[^1].ID;
}

Notes:

Monitor all Telegram events happening for the user

This is done through the client.OnUpdates callback event, or via the UpdateManager class that simplifies the handling of updates.

See Examples/Program_ListenUpdates.cs.

Monitor new messages being posted in chats in real-time

You have to handle update events containing an UpdateNewMessage. This can be done through the client.OnUpdates callback event, or via the UpdateManager class that simplifies the handling of updates.

See the HandleMessage method in Examples/Program_ListenUpdates.cs.

You can filter specific chats the message are posted in, by looking at the Message.peer_id field.
See also explanation below to extract user/chat info from messages.

Downloading photos, medias, files

This is done using the helper method client.DownloadFileAsync(file, outputStream) that simplifies the download of a photo/document/file once you get a reference to its location (through updates or API calls).

See Examples/Program_DownloadSavedMedia.cs that download all media files you forward to yourself (Saved Messages)

Upload a media file and post it with caption to a chat

const int ChatId = 1234567890; // the chat we want
const string Filepath = @"C:\...\photo.jpg";

var chats = await client.Messages_GetAllChats();
InputPeer peer = chats.chats[ChatId];
var inputFile = await client.UploadFileAsync(Filepath);
await client.SendMediaAsync(peer, "Here is the photo", inputFile);

Send a grouped media album using photos from various sources

// Photo 1 already on Telegram: latest photo found in the user's Saved Messages
var history = await client.Messages_GetHistory(InputPeer.Self);
PhotoBase photoFromTelegram = history.Messages.OfType<Message>().Select(m => m.media).OfType<MessageMediaPhoto>().First().photo;
// Photo 2 uploaded now from our computer:
var uploadedFile = await client.UploadFileAsync(@"C:\Pictures\flower.jpg");
// Photo 3 specified by external url:
const string photoUrl = "https://picsum.photos/310/200.jpg";

var inputMedias = new List<InputMedia>
{
    photoFromTelegram, // PhotoBase has implicit conversion to InputMediaPhoto
    new InputMediaUploadedPhoto { file = uploadedFile },
    new InputMediaPhotoExternal { url = photoUrl },
    //or Document, InputMediaDocument, InputMediaUploadedDocument, InputMediaDocumentExternal...
};
await client.SendAlbumAsync(InputPeer.Self, inputMedias, "My first album");

Note: Don’t mix Photos and file Documents in your album, it doesn’t work well

Forward or copy a message to another chat

// Determine which chats and message to forward/copy
var chats = await client.Messages_GetAllChats();
var from_chat = chats.chats[1234567890];  // source chat
var to_chat = chats.chats[1234567891];    // destination chat
var history = await client.Messages_GetHistory(from_chat, limit: 1);
var msg = history.Messages[0] as Message; // last message of source chat

// • Forward the message (only the source message id is necessary)
await client.Messages_ForwardMessages(from_chat, new[] { msg.ID }, new[] { WTelegram.Helpers.RandomLong() }, to_chat);

// • Copy the message without the "Forwarded" header (only the source message id is necessary)
await client.Messages_ForwardMessages(from_chat, new[] { msg.ID }, new[] { WTelegram.Helpers.RandomLong() }, to_chat, drop_author: true);

// • Alternative solution to copy the message (the full message is needed)
await client.SendMessageAsync(to_chat, msg.message, msg.media?.ToInputMedia(), entities: msg.entities);

Schedule a message to be sent to a chat

var chats = await client.Messages_GetAllChats();
InputPeer peer = chats.chats[1234567890]; // the chat we want
DateTime when = DateTime.UtcNow.AddMinutes(3);
await client.SendMessageAsync(peer, "This will be posted in 3 minutes", schedule_date: when);

Note: Make sure your computer clock is synchronized with Internet time

Fun with stickers, GIFs, dice, and animated emojies

// • List all stickerSets the user has added to his account
var allStickers = await client.Messages_GetAllStickers();
foreach (var stickerSet in allStickers.sets)
    Console.WriteLine($"Pack {stickerSet.short_name} contains {stickerSet.count} stickers");
//if you need details on each: var sticketSetDetails = await client.Messages_GetStickerSet(stickerSet);

// • Send a random sticker from the user's favorites stickers
var favedStickers = await client.Messages_GetFavedStickers();
var stickerDoc = favedStickers.stickers[new Random().Next(favedStickers.stickers.Length)];
await client.SendMessageAsync(InputPeer.Self, null, stickerDoc);

// • Send a specific sticker given the stickerset shortname and emoticon
var friendlyPanda = await client.Messages_GetStickerSet("Friendly_Panda");
var laughId = friendlyPanda.packs.First(p => p.emoticon == "😂").documents[0];
var laughDoc = friendlyPanda.documents.First(d => d.ID == laughId);
await client.SendMessageAsync(InputPeer.Self, null, laughDoc);

// • Send a GIF from an internet URL
await client.SendMessageAsync(InputPeer.Self, null, new InputMediaDocumentExternal
        { url = "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Rotating_earth_%28large%29.gif" });

// • Send a GIF stored on the computer (you can save inputFile for later reuse)
var inputFile = await client.UploadFileAsync(@"C:\Pictures\Rotating_earth_(large).gif");
await client.SendMediaAsync(InputPeer.Self, null, inputFile);

// • Send a random dice/game-of-chance effect from the list of available "dices", see https://core.telegram.org/api/dice
var appConfig = await client.Help_GetAppConfig();
var emojies_send_dice = appConfig.config["emojies_send_dice"] as string[];
var dice_emoji = emojies_send_dice[new Random().Next(emojies_send_dice.Length)];
var diceMsg = await client.SendMessageAsync(InputPeer.Self, null, new InputMediaDice { emoticon = dice_emoji });
Console.WriteLine("Dice result:" + ((MessageMediaDice)diceMsg.media).value);

// • Send an animated emoji with full-screen animation, see https://core.telegram.org/api/animated-emojis#emoji-reactions
// Please note that on Telegram Desktop, you won't view the effect from the sender user's point of view
// You can view the effect if you're on Telegram Android, or if you're the receiving user (instead of Self)
var msg = await client.SendMessageAsync(InputPeer.Self, "🎉");
await Task.Delay(5000); // wait for classic animation to finish
await client.SendMessageAsync(InputPeer.Self, "and now, full-screen animation on the above emoji");
// trigger the full-screen animation, 
var typing = await client.Messages_SetTyping(InputPeer.Self, new SendMessageEmojiInteraction {
    emoticon = "🎉", msg_id = msg.id,
    interaction = new DataJSON { data = @"{""v"":1,""a"":[{""t"":0.0,""i"":1}]}" }
});
await Task.Delay(5000);

Fun with custom emojies and reactions on pinned messages

// • Sending a message with custom emojies in Markdown to ourself:
var text = "Vicksy says Hi! ![👋](tg://emoji?id=5190875290439525089)";
var entities = client.MarkdownToEntities(ref text, premium: true);
await client.SendMessageAsync(InputPeer.Self, text, entities: entities);
// also available in HTML: <tg-emoji emoji-id="5190875290439525089">👋</tg-emoji>

// • Fetch all available standard emoji reactions
var all_emoji = await client.Messages_GetAvailableReactions();

var chats = await client.Messages_GetAllChats();
var chat = chats.chats[1234567890]; // the chat we want

// • Check reactions available in this chat
var full = await client.GetFullChat(chat);
Reaction reaction = full.full_chat.AvailableReactions switch
{
    ChatReactionsSome some => some.reactions[0], // only some reactions are allowed => pick the first
    ChatReactionsAll all =>                      // all reactions are allowed in this chat
        all.flags.HasFlag(ChatReactionsAll.Flags.allow_custom) && client.User.flags.HasFlag(TL.User.Flags.premium)
        ? new ReactionCustomEmoji { document_id = 5190875290439525089 }     // we can use custom emoji reactions here
        : new ReactionEmoji { emoticon = all_emoji.reactions[0].reaction }, // else, pick the first standard emoji reaction
    _ => null                                    // reactions are not allowed in this chat
};
if (reaction == null) return;

// • Send the selected reaction on the last 2 pinned messages
var messages = await client.Messages_Search<InputMessagesFilterPinned>(chat, limit: 2);
foreach (var msg in messages.Messages)
    await client.Messages_SendReaction(chat, msg.ID, reaction: new[] { reaction });

Note: you can find custom emoji document IDs via API methods like Messages_GetFeaturedEmojiStickers or inspecting messages entities. Access hash is not required

You can also use helper methods AnalyzeInviteLink and GetMessageByLink to more easily fetch information from links.

Add/Invite/Remove someone in a chat

var chats = await client.Messages_GetAllChats();
var chat = chats.chats[1234567890]; // the target chat

After the above code, once you have obtained an InputUser or User, you can:

// • Directly add the user to a Chat/Channel/group:
var miu = await client.AddChatUser(chat, user);
// You may get exception USER_NOT_MUTUAL_CONTACT if the user left the chat previously and you want to add him again
//      or a result with miu.missing_invitees listing users that denied the right to be added to a chat

// • Obtain the main invite link for the chat, and send it to the user:
var mcf = await client.GetFullChat(chat);
var invite = (ChatInviteExported)mcf.full_chat.ExportedInvite;
await client.SendMessageAsync(user, "Join our group with this link: " + invite.link);

// • Create a new invite link for the chat/channel, and send it to the user
var invite = (ChatInviteExported)await client.Messages_ExportChatInvite(chat, title: "MyLink");
await client.SendMessageAsync(user, "Join our group with this link: " + invite.link);
// • Revoke then delete that invite link (when you no longer need it)
await client.Messages_EditExportedChatInvite(chat, invite.link, revoked: true);
await client.Messages_DeleteExportedChatInvite(chat, invite.link);

// • Remove the user from a Chat/Channel/Group:
await client.DeleteChatUser(chat, user);

Send a message to someone by phone number

var contacts = await client.Contacts_ImportContacts(new[] { new InputPhoneContact { phone = "+PHONENUMBER" } });
if (contacts.imported.Length > 0)
    await client.SendMessageAsync(contacts.users[contacts.imported[0].user_id], "Hello!");

Note: Don’t use this method too much. To prevent spam, Telegram may restrict your ability to add new phone numbers or ban your account.

Retrieve the current user’s contacts list

There are two different methods. Here is the simpler one:

var contacts = await client.Contacts_GetContacts();
foreach (User contact in contacts.users.Values)
    Console.WriteLine($"{contact} {contact.phone}");

The second method uses the more complex GDPR export, takeout session system. Here is an example on how to implement it:

using TL.Methods; // methods as structures, for Invoke* calls

var takeout = await client.Account_InitTakeoutSession(contacts: true);
var finishTakeout = new Account_FinishTakeoutSession();
try
{
    var savedContacts = await client.InvokeWithTakeout(takeout.id, new Contacts_GetSaved());
    foreach (SavedPhoneContact contact in savedContacts)
        Console.WriteLine($"{contact.first_name} {contact.last_name} {contact.phone}, added on {contact.date}");
    finishTakeout.flags = Account_FinishTakeoutSession.Flags.success;
}
finally
{
    await client.InvokeWithTakeout(takeout.id, finishTakeout);
}

Collect Users/Chats description structures and access hash

Many API calls return a structure with a users and a chats field at the root of the structure. This is also the case for updates passed to client.OnUpdates.

These two dictionaries give details (including access hash) about the various users/chats that will be typically referenced in subobjects deeper in the structure, typically in the form of a Peer object or a user_id/chat_id field.

In such case, the root structure inherits the IPeerResolver interface, and you can use the UserOrChat(peer) method to resolve a Peer into either a User or ChatBase (Chat,Channel…) description structure (depending on the kind of peer it was describing)

You can also use the CollectUsersChats helper method to collect these 2 fields into 2 aggregate dictionaries to remember details (including access hashes) about all the users/chats you’ve encountered so far. This method also helps dealing with incomplete min structures.

Example of usage:

private Dictionary<long, User> _users = new();
private Dictionary<long, ChatBase> _chats = new();
...
var dialogs = await client.Messages_GetAllDialogs();
dialogs.CollectUsersChats(_users, _chats);

private async Task OnUpdates(UpdatesBase updates)
{
    updates.CollectUsersChats(_users, _chats);
    ...
}

// example of UserOrChat usage:
var firstPeer = dialogs.UserOrChat(dialogs.dialogs[0].Peer);
if (firstPeer is User firstUser) Console.WriteLine($"First dialog is with user {firstUser}");
else if (firstPeer is ChatBase firstChat) Console.WriteLine($"First dialog is {firstChat}");

Note: If you need to save/restore those dictionaries between runs of your program, it’s up to you to serialize their content to disk

Get chat and user info from a message

First, you should read the above section about collecting users/chats, and the FAQ about dealing with IDs.

A message contains those two fields/properties:

These two fields derive from class Peer and can be of type PeerChat, PeerChannel or PeerUser depending on the nature of WHERE & WHO (private chat with a user? message posted BY a channel IN a chat? …)

✳️ It is recommended that you use the UpdateManager class, as it handles automatically all of the details below, and you just need to use Manager.UserOrChat(peer) or Manager.Users/Chats dictionaries

The root structure where you obtained the message (typically UpdatesBase or Messages_MessagesBase) inherits from IPeerResolver. This allows you to call .UserOrChat(peer) on the root structure, in order to resolve those fields into a User class, or a ChatBase-derived class (typically Chat or Channel) which will give you details about the peer, instead of just the ID.

However, in some case (typically when dealing with updates), Telegram might choose to not include details about a peer because it expects you to already know about it (UserOrChat returns null). That’s why you should collect users/chats details each time you’re dealing with Updates or other API results inheriting from IPeerResolver, and use the collected dictionaries to find details about users/chats (see previous section and Program_ListenUpdates.cs example)

And finally, it may happen that you receive updates of type UpdateShortMessage or UpdateShortChatMessage with totally unknown peers (even in your collected dictionaries). In this case, Telegram recommends that you use the Updates_GetDifference method to retrieve the full information associated with the short message. Here is an example showing how to deal with UpdateShortMessage: (same for UpdateShortChatMessage)

if (updates is UpdateShortMessage usm && !_users.ContainsKey(usm.user_id))
{
    var fullDiff = await client.Updates_GetDifference(usm.pts - usm.pts_count, usm.date, 0)
    fullDiff.CollectUsersChats(_users, _chats);
}

Use a proxy or MTProxy to connect to Telegram

SOCKS/HTTPS proxies can be used through the client.TcpHandler delegate and a proxy library like StarkSoftProxy or xNetStandard:

using var client = new WTelegram.Client(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable);
client.TcpHandler = async (address, port) =>
{
    var proxy = new Socks5ProxyClient(ProxyHost, ProxyPort, ProxyUsername, ProxyPassword);
    //var proxy = xNet.Socks5ProxyClient.Parse("host:port:username:password");
    return proxy.CreateConnection(address, port);
};
await client.LoginUserIfNeeded();

MTProxy (MTProto proxy) can be used to prevent ISP blocking Telegram servers, through the client.MTProxyUrl property:

using var client = new WTelegram.Client(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable);
client.MTProxyUrl = "https://t.me/proxy?server=...&port=...&secret=...";
await client.LoginUserIfNeeded();

You can find a list of working MTProxies in channels like @ProxyMTProto or @MTProxyT (right-click the “Connect” buttons)
If your Telegram client is already connected to such MTPROTO proxy, you can also export its URL by clicking on the shield button 🛡 and then ⋮ > Share

Note: WTelegramClient always uses transport obfuscation when connecting to Telegram servers, even without MTProxy

Change 2FA password

const string old_password = "password";     // current password if any (unused otherwise)
const string new_password = "new_password"; // or null to disable 2FA
var accountPwd = await client.Account_GetPassword();
var password = accountPwd.current_algo == null ? null : await WTelegram.Client.InputCheckPassword(accountPwd, old_password);
accountPwd.current_algo = null; // makes InputCheckPassword generate a new password
var new_password_hash = new_password == null ? null : await WTelegram.Client.InputCheckPassword(accountPwd, new_password);
await client.Account_UpdatePasswordSettings(password, new Account_PasswordInputSettings
{
    flags = Account_PasswordInputSettings.Flags.has_new_algo,
    new_password_hash = new_password_hash?.A,
    new_algo = accountPwd.new_algo,
    hint = "new password hint",
});

Store session data to database or elsewhere, instead of files

If you don’t want to store session data into files (for example if your VPS Hosting doesn’t allow that), or just for easier management, you can choose to store the session data somewhere else, like in a database.

The WTelegram.Client constructor takes an optional sessionStore parameter to allow storing sessions in an alternate manner.
Use it to pass a custom Stream-derived class that will read (first initial call to Length & Read) and store (subsequent Writes) session data to database.

You can find an example for such custom session store in Examples/Program_Heroku.cs

Send/receive end-to-end encrypted messages & files in Secret Chats

This can be done easily using the helper class WTelegram.SecretChats offering methods to manage/encrypt/decrypt secret chats & encrypted messages/files.

You can view a full working example at Examples/Program_SecretChats.cs.

Secret Chats have been tested successfully with Telegram Android & iOS official clients.
You can also check our FAQ for more implementation details.

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