Telegram Channel Search API. Channels matching your search.

Channels for any topic, niche or name. We handle the proxies, blocks and platform changes.

Finds public Telegram channels by topic, niche or name through a web search, one result per channel with its username and link. Name, bio and subscriber count come with it where the search index shows them. Add fill=true to get each channel's full, current record in the same response: exact subscribers, photo, badge, creation date, numeric ID, and whether it is a channel or a group. Page through the results with the cursor.

GET /v1/telegram/search_channels

Read the API reference

1 credit per page, +1 per result filled in, up to 51 credits, $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000 pages
16 typed fields null when unknown
50 channels per page, the search engine's ranking (most relevant first)
query is all it needs, e.g. crypto news channel

Send one request. Get up to 50 channels back.

Copy the request in your language, or hand it to your agent. Sign up for an API key and your first 100 credits are free.

$ npm install socialtap

query = crypto news channel

Open in playground

GET /v1/telegram/search_channelsTry in

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  query: "crypto news channel",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://socialtap.dev/v1/telegram/search_channels?${params}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY ?? "" },
});
const body = await res.json();
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${body.error.code}: ${body.error.message}`);
const { data, page, meta } = body;
console.log(data, meta.credits_charged);

import os

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://socialtap.dev/v1/telegram/search_channels",
    params={"query": "crypto news channel"},
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"]},
)
body = res.json()
if not res.ok:
    raise RuntimeError(f"{body['error']['code']}: {body['error']['message']}")
data, page, meta = body["data"], body["page"], body["meta"]
print(data, meta["credits_charged"])

require "json"
require "net/http"

uri = URI("https://socialtap.dev/v1/telegram/search_channels")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form('query' => 'crypto news channel')
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = ENV.fetch("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY")
res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port, use_ssl: uri.scheme == "https") { |http| http.request(req) }
body = JSON.parse(res.body)
raise "#{body["error"]["code"]}: #{body["error"]["message"]}" unless res.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess)
pp body["data"]
puts body["meta"]["credits_charged"]

<?php

$query = http_build_query([
    'query' => 'crypto news channel',
]);
$ch = curl_init('https://socialtap.dev/v1/telegram/search_channels?' . $query);
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => ['x-api-key: ' . getenv('SOCIALTAP_API_KEY')],
]);
$body = json_decode(curl_exec($ch), true);
if (curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_RESPONSE_CODE) >= 400) {
    throw new RuntimeException($body['error']['code'] . ': ' . $body['error']['message']);
}
print_r($body['data']);
echo $body['meta']['credits_charged'], PHP_EOL;

package main

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

func main() {
	q := url.Values{}
	q.Set("query", "crypto news channel")
	req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://socialtap.dev/v1/telegram/search_channels?"+q.Encode(), nil)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	req.Header.Set("x-api-key", os.Getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()
	var body struct {
		Data  json.RawMessage `json:"data"`
		Page  json.RawMessage `json:"page"`
		Meta  map[string]any  `json:"meta"`
		Error *struct {
			Code    string `json:"code"`
			Message string `json:"message"`
		} `json:"error"`
	}
	if err := json.NewDecoder(res.Body).Decode(&body); err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	if body.Error != nil {
		log.Fatalf("%s: %s", body.Error.Code, body.Error.Message)
	}
	fmt.Println(string(body.Data), body.Meta["credits_charged"])
}

curl -G 'https://socialtap.dev/v1/telegram/search_channels' \
  --data-urlencode 'query=crypto news channel' \
  -H "x-api-key: $SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"

{
  "data": [
    {
      "approximate_fields": [],
      "community": null,
      "details": null,
      "hashtag": null,
      "matched_url": "https://t.me/CryptoRankNews",
      "place": null,
      "platform": "telegram",
      "platform_specific": {},
      "position": 0,
      "post": null,
      "profile": {
        "avatar_url": null,
        "bio": "The official channel of CryptoRank.io platform Business request: @CryptoRank_BDtm Community chat - @CryptoRankEn Support - @cryptorank_io_sup СНГ чат - @cryptorank_ru Twitter x.com/CryptoRank_io",
        "display_name": null,
        "id": null,
        "is_verified": null,
        "metrics": {
          "follower_count": null,
          "following_count": null,
          "post_count": null,
          "total_like_count": null,
          "total_view_count": null
        },
        "url": "https://t.me/CryptoRankNews",
        "username": "CryptoRankNews"
      },
      "snippet": "The official channel of CryptoRank.io platform Business request: @CryptoRank_BDtm Community chat - @CryptoRankEn Support - @cryptorank_io_sup СНГ чат - @cryptorank_ru Twitter x.com/CryptoRank_io",
      "sound": null,
      "title": "Telegram: View @CryptoRankNews",
      "type": "profile",
      "unknown_fields": [],
      "url": "https://t.me/CryptoRankNews"
    },
    {
      "approximate_fields": [],
      "community": null,
      "details": null,
      "hashtag": null,
      "matched_url": "https://t.me/ptktck",
      "place": null,
      "platform": "telegram",
      "platform_specific": {},
      "position": 1,
      "post": null,
      "profile": {
        "avatar_url": null,
        "bio": "Coins research, crypto news from PTKTCK team - Website: https://ptktck.com/ - Group Chat: https://t.me/ptktckgr - Fanpage: https://www.fb.com/ptktck - Group Facebook: https://www.fb.com/groups/ptktck",
        "display_name": "PTKTCK - Coin Research | Crypto News Channel",
        "id": null,
        "is_verified": null,
        "metrics": {
          "follower_count": null,
          "following_count": null,
          "post_count": null,
          "total_like_count": null,
          "total_view_count": null
        },
        "url": "https://t.me/ptktck",
        "username": "ptktck"
      },
      "snippet": "Coins research, crypto news from PTKTCK team - Website: https://ptktck.com/ - Group Chat: https://t.me/ptktckgr - Fanpage: https://www.fb.com/ptktck - Group Facebook: https://www.fb.com/groups/ptktck",
      "sound": null,
      "title": "PTKTCK - Coin Research | Crypto News Channel",
      "type": "profile",
      "unknown_fields": [],
      "url": "https://t.me/ptktck"
    },
    {
      "approximate_fields": [],
      "community": null,
      "details": null,
      "hashtag": null,
      "matched_url": "https://t.me/s/Finance",
      "place": null,
      "platform": "telegram",
      "platform_specific": {},
      "position": 2,
      "post": null,
      "profile": {
        "avatar_url": null,
        "bio": null,
        "display_name": "Money 💰 Crypto & Finance",
        "id": null,
        "is_verified": null,
        "metrics": {
          "follower_count": null,
          "following_count": null,
          "post_count": null,
          "total_like_count": null,
          "total_view_count": null
        },
        "url": "https://t.me/Finance",
        "username": "Finance"
      },
      "snippet": "💰 #1 Crypto & Finance Channel on Telegram ⚡ Breaking crypto news first 📊 Bitcoin & altcoin signals 🐋 Whale alerts & on-chain data 💎 Airdrops, listings & alpha BTC ETH SOL | DeFi NFT Web3 🔔 Turn on notifications",
      "sound": null,
      "title": "Money 💰 Crypto & Finance",
      "type": "profile",
      "unknown_fields": [],
      "url": "https://t.me/Finance"
    }
  ],
  "page": {
    "has_more": true,
    "next_cursor": "c1.EXAMPLE_CURSOR",
    "next_cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-26T12:00:00Z",
    "end_reason": null
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_3f9c2a7d1e8b4c6a9f0e2d4b6a8c0e1f",
    "platform": "telegram",
    "source": "web_search",
    "is_cached": false,
    "credits_charged": 1,
    "latency_ms": 1222,
    "fetched_at": "2026-10-25T12:00:00Z",
    "input": null,
    "credits_remaining": 9999,
    "client_request_id": null,
    "warnings": []
  }
}

import { SocialTap } from "socialtap";

const client = new SocialTap(); // apiKey defaults to process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY

const res = await client.telegram.searchChannels.list({ query: "crypto news channel" });
console.log(res.data);
console.log(res.credits.charged, res.meta.request_id);

import java.net.URI;
import java.net.URLEncoder;
import java.net.http.HttpClient;
import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        String query = "query=" + encode("crypto news channel");
        HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
            .uri(URI.create("https://socialtap.dev/v1/telegram/search_channels?" + query))
            .header("x-api-key", System.getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
            .GET()
            .build();
        HttpResponse<String> response = HttpClient.newHttpClient()
            .send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
        // An error is {"error": {"code", "message", ...}}; success is {data, meta}, meta.credits_charged its price.
        if (response.statusCode() >= 400) throw new RuntimeException(response.body());
        System.out.println(response.body());
    }

    static String encode(String value) {
        return URLEncoder.encode(value, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
    }
}

using System.Text.Json;

using var http = new HttpClient();
http.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"));

var query = string.Join("&",
    "query=" + Uri.EscapeDataString("crypto news channel"));
var res = await http.GetAsync("https://socialtap.dev/v1/telegram/search_channels?" + query);
using var body = JsonDocument.Parse(await res.Content.ReadAsStringAsync());
if (!res.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
    var error = body.RootElement.GetProperty("error");
    throw new Exception($"{error.GetProperty("code")}: {error.GetProperty("message")}");
}
Console.WriteLine(body.RootElement.GetProperty("data"));
Console.WriteLine(body.RootElement.GetProperty("meta").GetProperty("credits_charged"));

// Cargo.toml: reqwest = { version = "0.12", features = ["blocking", "json"] }, serde_json = "1"
use std::env;

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let res = reqwest::blocking::Client::new()
        .get("https://socialtap.dev/v1/telegram/search_channels")
        .query(&[("query", "crypto news channel")])
        .header("x-api-key", env::var("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY")?)
        .send()?;
    let ok = res.status().is_success();
    let body: serde_json::Value = res.json()?;
    if !ok {
        return Err(format!("{}: {}", body["error"]["code"], body["error"]["message"]).into());
    }
    println!("{} {}", body["data"], body["meta"]["credits_charged"]);
    Ok(())
}

200 OK · GET https://socialtap.dev/v1/telegram/search_channelsLong arrays and strings are shortened here. Real responses are complete.Docs

One schema on 6 platforms.

The response reference lists every field, its type and when it is null. See the full schema.

Null means unknown
A field Telegram doesn't show is null, never zero or an empty string, so a real zero always means zero.
What it accepts
Words to find Telegram channels by, as a web search reads them: a topic, a niche, a channel's name (crypto news, golang jobs, "the block").
Write one parser
Telegram, TikTok, Instagram and 3 more platforms answer in these fields, so the code that reads one reads them all.

platformstring: Platform the item is on.
typestring: The kind of item the result names, as the resource that describes it: profile (an account), post, hashtag, sound, place or community. The item's summary is the field of that name, and a filled result's record is details.<type>. A search that finds several kinds (a platform's top search) mixes them in one list. New values may be added as more kinds are searchable; treat unknown values as other.
positioninteger: Zero-based rank of the result in the list, across pages: the search engine's order, counting only the results kept.
urlstring: The item's canonical link on the platform (the account's page for a profile, the post's for a post).
matched_urlstring: The page the index listed: the item's own page, or one of its pages that names it (a video of an account, for a profile found through it).
titlestring: The page's title as the index shows it: often the item's name, but not the item's own field. Null when the index shows none.
snippetstring: The index's excerpt of the page: often the item's description and counts as the page stated them when it was indexed, days or weeks ago. Null when the index shows none.
profileobject: The account the result names (type profile): what its link and the index's text say of it, completed from details when the result is filled. Null for every other type.

What teams build with the Telegram Channel Search API.

Map the channels around a topic or niche
Find where a coin's or city's audience gathers
Look up a channel by its display name
Build a list of channels to track

Good to know before you build.

Telegram has no logged-out search, so results come from a public web search engine's index of t.me's pages, in the engine's ranking. A channel the index has not crawled is not found.
Without fill, a channel's id, avatar_url and is_verified are null, and its name, bio and subscriber count are the index's copy of its page when it shows them at all (listed in approximate_fields when rounded or cut). With fill=true each result's details.profile is the channel's live record from the Telegram Channel API, and its summary is updated from it.
bio is only read from the channel's own page or its preview's header. An index often quotes one of the channel's recent posts instead, which stays in snippet alone.
A channel found through one of its posts or its preview's older pages is listed once under its own link, with the page the index found in matched_url.
Sticker sets, invite links, private chats' links and t.me's other pages are never listed. Accounts whose indexed page calls them a bot or a user are left out. When the index's copy doesn't say, a bot, a user or a public group can still be listed, and with fill=true details.profile.platform_specific.telegram.account_type tells them apart.
A result the channel lookup could not fetch (a renamed or removed channel) stays unfilled and costs nothing extra, and meta.warnings says so.
since and until narrow the pages the search engine searches by the date it gives each page, so they find channels with a page dated in the window (often far fewer): a channel's result has no date of its own to check.
The index goes only so deep: a search usually ends after one to three pages (page.end_reason end).
A query too long for a search engine to read is refused with invalid_input, at no charge: shorten it.
Case doesn't matter. The query's own site: operators are removed, and intitle:, inurl:, in: and operators like them are read as the plain words they name.

From 1 credit per page. Failed requests are free.

Buy credits once and spend them on any endpoint, on any platform.

Plans and packs How this endpoint is priced How credits work

Source	Price per successful page	Per 1,000 pages
Any source	1 credit + 1 per result filled in up to 51 credits (50 results filled in)	$0.75–$1.97 + $0.75–$1.97 per result filled in

Cache hits are free.
Credits from packs and top-ups never expire.
A monthly plan's credits are spent first, and what is left of them ends at each renewal.
Prices exclude tax: sales tax is added at checkout where it applies.
Outside the US, plans and packs are sold to businesses: checkout asks for your VAT, GST or other business tax ID.

Questions about the Telegram Channel Search API.

Try it with your own search.

Type it in the playground, or copy the request into your code.

free credits

No credit card
Failed requests are free
Works on all 218 endpoints

Start for free Read the docs

Telegram Channel Search API. Channels matching your search.

Telegram Channel Search API at a glance

Send one request. Get up to 50 channels back.

One schema on 6 platforms.

Null means unknown

What it accepts

Write one parser

What teams build with the Telegram Channel Search API.

Map the channels around a topic or niche

Find where a coin's or city's audience gathers

Look up a channel by its display name

Build a list of channels to track

Good to know before you build.

From 1 credit per page. Failed requests are free.

Questions about the Telegram Channel Search API.

Web results on 5 more platforms.

Telegram API. 4 endpoints, one key.

Try it with your own search.