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ConnectChats vs Open-source Telegram MCP servers

Telegram MCP: open source or hosted

Open-source Telegram MCP servers like chigwell/telegram-mcp give AI tools wide control of your Telegram account, if you run them yourself. ConnectChats connects Telegram as a hosted connector, next to WhatsApp and your other chats.

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Facts as of November 2026. ConnectChats works with WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Slack and 11 more chat apps.

The short version

As of November 2026, chigwell/telegram-mcp is an actively maintained open-source option. It uses Telethon, needs Python 3.10 or later, an api_id and api_hash from my.telegram.org and a session string, and runs locally or in Docker. It offers more than 80 tools, from search to group admin, and is documented for Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code and Codex. ConnectChats plans Telegram next, after WhatsApp, as a hosted connector. Until then, the open-source servers are the way to use Telegram with AI.

Side by side

What ConnectChats and Open-source Telegram MCP servers each offer, feature by feature.

Feature ConnectChats Open-source Telegram MCP servers
What it is Hosted MCP server for your chat apps Self-hosted Telegram MCP server
Telegram Yes Yes
WhatsApp Yes No
Runs on ConnectChats servers Your computer or Docker
Telegram API keys needed No Yes, api_id and api_hash
Tools Read, search, summarize, draft, send 80+ tools, including group admin
Documented AI apps ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Cursor, Codex and more Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code, Codex
Sending Drafts you approve, auto-send per chat Send, edit and delete tools
Open source No Yes, Apache-2.0

Facts about Open-source Telegram MCP servers come from its public website and docs as of November 2026, and can change. Check Open-source Telegram MCP servers for the latest details.

Which one should you pick?

Pick ConnectChats if

  • You want Telegram, WhatsApp and your other chats in your AI app, in one place.
  • You do not want to create Telegram API keys or keep a session string safe yourself.
  • You want every send to wait for your approval.

Pick Open-source Telegram MCP servers if

  • You want an open-source server you can read and change.
  • You want admin tools for your Telegram groups and channels.
  • You want to run everything yourself, for free.

Questions

Does ConnectChats work with Telegram?

Yes. Link Telegram from your ConnectChats dashboard and choose the chats your AI app can see. There are no API keys or session strings to manage.

What do I need to run telegram-mcp?

Python 3.10 or later, an api_id and api_hash from my.telegram.org, and a session string or session file for your account. The README warns that the session string gives full access to your account and that its HTTP endpoint has no authentication.

Which AI apps work with chigwell/telegram-mcp?

As of November 2026, its README documents Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code and Codex. It runs locally over stdio or HTTP, or in Docker.

Try ConnectChats with your chats

ConnectChats works in ChatGPT, Claude and the other supported AI apps. Start with the guide for your app.

Features mentioned on this page

How ConnectChats protects your messages

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