Telegram Reader

Telegram News Skill (Read-Only)

Reads Telegram channels and groups for financial news and market research using tdl, a Telegram CLI tool.

This skill is read-only. It is designed for financial research: reading channel messages, monitoring financial news channels, and exporting message history. It does NOT support sending messages, joining/leaving channels, or any write operations.

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Step 1: Ensure tdl Is Installed

Current environment status:

!`(command -v tdl && tdl version 2>&1 | head -3 || echo "TDL_NOT_INSTALLED") 2>/dev/null`

If the status above shows a version number, tdl is installed — skip to Step 2.

If TDL_NOT_INSTALLED, install tdl based on the user's platform:

Ask the user which installation method they prefer. Default to Homebrew on macOS, curl script on Linux.

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Step 2: Ensure tdl Is Authenticated

Current auth status:

!`(tdl chat ls --limit 1 2>&1 >/dev/null && echo "AUTH_OK" || echo "AUTH_NEEDED") 2>/dev/null`

If AUTH_OK, skip to Step 3.

If AUTH_NEEDED, guide the user through login. Login requires interactive input — the user must enter their phone number and verification code manually.

Login methods

Method A: QR Code (recommended — fastest)

tdl login -T qr

A QR code will be displayed in the terminal. The user scans it with their Telegram mobile app (Settings > Devices > Link Desktop Device).

Method B: Phone + Code

tdl login -T code

The user enters their phone number, then the verification code sent to their Telegram app.

Method C: Import from Telegram Desktop

If the user has Telegram Desktop installed and logged in:

tdl login

This imports the session from the existing desktop client. The desktop client must be from the official website, NOT from the App Store or Microsoft Store.

Namespaces

By default, tdl uses a default namespace. To manage multiple accounts:

tdl login -n work -T qr      # Login to "work" namespace
tdl chat ls -n work           # Use "work" namespace for commands

Important login notes

• Login is a one-time operation. The session persists on disk after successful login.
• If login fails, ask the user to check their internet connection and try again.
• Never ask for or handle Telegram passwords/2FA codes programmatically — always let the user enter them interactively.

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Step 3: Identify What the User Needs

Match the user's request to one of the read operations below.

Chat identifiers

The -c flag accepts multiple formats:

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Step 4: Execute the Command

Listing chats

# List all chats
tdl chat ls

# JSON output for processing
tdl chat ls -o json

# Filter for channels only
tdl chat ls -f "Type contains 'channel'"

# Search by name
tdl chat ls -f "VisibleName contains 'Bloomberg'"

Exporting messages

Always use --all --with-content to get text messages (not just media):

# Last 20 messages from a channel
tdl chat export -c @channel_name -T last -i 20 --all --with-content -o /tmp/tdl-export.json

# Messages from a time range (Unix timestamps)
tdl chat export -c @channel_name -T time -i 1710288000,1710374400 --all --with-content -o /tmp/tdl-export.json

# Messages by ID range
tdl chat export -c @channel_name -T id -i 100,200 --all --with-content -o /tmp/tdl-export.json

Key rules

1. Check auth first — run tdl chat ls --limit 1 before other commands to verify the session is valid 2. Always use `--all --with-content` when exporting messages for reading — without these flags, tdl only exports media messages 3. Use `-o FILE` to save exports to a file, then read the JSON — this is more reliable than parsing stdout 4. Start with small exports — use -T last -i 20 unless the user asks for more 5. Use filters on `chat ls` to help users find the right channel before exporting 6. NEVER execute write operations — this skill is read-only; do not send messages, join channels, or modify anything 7. Convert timestamps — when the user gives dates, convert to Unix timestamps for the -T time filter

Working with exported JSON

After exporting, read the JSON file and extract the relevant information:

# Export messages
tdl chat export -c @channel_name -T last -i 20 --all --with-content -o /tmp/tdl-export.json

# Read and process the export
cat /tmp/tdl-export.json

The export JSON contains message objects with fields like id, date, message (text content), from_id, views, and media metadata.

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Step 5: Present the Results

After fetching data, present it clearly for financial research:

1. Summarize key messages — highlight the most relevant news or market updates 2. Include timestamps — show when each message was posted 3. Group by topic — if multiple channels, organize by theme (macro, earnings, crypto, etc.) 4. Flag actionable information — note breaking news, price targets, earnings surprises 5. Provide channel context — mention which channel/group each message came from 6. For channel lists, show channel name, member count, and type

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Step 6: Diagnostics

If something isn't working:

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Reference Files

• references/commands.md — Complete tdl command reference for reading channels and exporting messages

Read the reference file when you need exact command syntax or detailed flag documentation.

telegram-reader

Read-only Telegram skill for financial news and market research using tdl.

What it does

Reads Telegram channels and groups for financial news — exporting messages, listing channels, and monitoring financial news feeds. Capabilities include:

• List chats — view all your Telegram channels, groups, and contacts with filtering
• Export messages — read recent messages from any channel or group you've joined
• Time-range queries — fetch messages from specific time periods
• Channel search — find channels by name or type

This skill is read-only. It does NOT support sending messages, joining/leaving channels, or any write operations.

Authentication

Requires a one-time interactive login via QR code or phone number. After login, the session persists on disk — no further authentication needed.

Triggers

• "check my Telegram", "read Telegram channel", "Telegram news"
• "what's new in my Telegram channels", "export messages from"
• "financial news on Telegram", "crypto Telegram", "market news Telegram"
• Any mention of Telegram in context of financial news or market research

Platform

Works on Claude Code and other CLI-based agents. Does not work on Claude.ai — the sandbox restricts network access and binaries required by tdl.

Setup

# As a plugin (recommended — installs all skills)
npx plugins add himself65/finance-skills --plugin finance-social-readers

# Or install just this skill
npx skills add himself65/finance-skills --skill telegram-reader

See the main README for more installation options.

Prerequisites

• tdl installed (brew install telegram-downloader on macOS)
• One-time login: tdl login -T qr (scan QR code with Telegram mobile app)

Reference files

• references/commands.md — Complete tdl command reference for reading channels and exporting messages

tdl Command Reference (Read-Only)

Complete reference for tdl commands used in the telegram skill. Only read operations are documented — this skill does not support write operations.

Global Flags

Login

QR Code Login (recommended)

tdl login -T qr

Displays a QR code in the terminal. Scan with Telegram mobile app (Settings > Devices > Link Desktop Device).

Phone + Code Login

tdl login -T code

Enter phone number and verification code interactively.

Desktop Client Import

tdl login

Imports session from Telegram Desktop. Client must be from official website, not App Store or Microsoft Store.

Optional flags:

List Chats

tdl chat ls [flags]

Filter examples

# All channels
tdl chat ls -f "Type contains 'channel'"

# Search by name
tdl chat ls -f "VisibleName contains 'Bloomberg'"

# Channels with specific name
tdl chat ls -f "Type contains 'channel' && VisibleName contains 'Finance'"

# Groups with topics
tdl chat ls -f "len(Topics)>0"

# List available filter fields
tdl chat ls -f -

Export Messages

tdl chat export -c CHAT [flags]

Chat identifier formats

Range selection

Content flags

Topic / Reply flags

Filtering messages

# List available filter fields
tdl chat export -c CHAT -f -

# Filter by views
tdl chat export -c CHAT -T last -i 50 -f "Views>200"

# Filter by media
tdl chat export -c CHAT -T last -i 50 -f "Media.Name endsWith '.pdf'"

Complete export examples

# Last 20 messages with text content from a channel
tdl chat export -c @WallStreetBets -T last -i 20 --all --with-content -o /tmp/wsb.json

# Messages from the last 24 hours (adjust timestamps)
tdl chat export -c @MarketNews -T time -i $(date -d '24 hours ago' +%s),$(date +%s) --all --with-content -o /tmp/market.json

# macOS timestamp variant
tdl chat export -c @MarketNews -T time -i $(date -v-24H +%s),$(date +%s) --all --with-content -o /tmp/market.json

# Export from a topic in a group
tdl chat export -c @CryptoGroup --topic 42 -T last -i 30 --all --with-content -o /tmp/crypto.json

Useful Patterns

Read latest news from multiple channels

# Export from each channel
for channel in "@Channel1" "@Channel2" "@Channel3"; do
  tdl chat export -c "$channel" -T last -i 10 --all --with-content -o "/tmp/tdl-${channel#@}.json"
done

Find a channel then read it

# Step 1: Find the channel
tdl chat ls -f "VisibleName contains 'crypto'" -o json

# Step 2: Export messages (use the ID or username from step 1)
tdl chat export -c @found_channel -T last -i 20 --all --with-content -o /tmp/export.json

Unix timestamp helpers

# macOS: 24 hours ago
date -v-24H +%s

# macOS: 7 days ago
date -v-7d +%s

# macOS: specific date
date -j -f "%Y-%m-%d" "2026-03-01" +%s

# Linux: 24 hours ago
date -d '24 hours ago' +%s

# Linux: specific date
date -d '2026-03-01' +%s

# Current time
date +%s