253 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
253 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
# Telegram Channel Scraper 📱
|
|
|
|
A powerful Python script that allows you to scrape messages and media from Telegram channels using the Telethon library. Features include real-time continuous scraping, media downloading, and data export capabilities.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
___________________ _________
|
|
\__ ___/ _____/ / _____/
|
|
| | / \ ___ \_____ \
|
|
| | \ \_\ \/ \
|
|
|____| \______ /_______ /
|
|
\/ \/
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## What's New in v2.0 🎉
|
|
|
|
**Major Performance Improvements:**
|
|
- **5-10x faster scraping** with batch database operations
|
|
- **3x faster media downloads** with parallel processing (up to 3 concurrent downloads)
|
|
- **10-20x faster database operations** through connection pooling and batch insertions
|
|
- **Memory-efficient exports** that handle large datasets without running out of memory
|
|
- **Enhanced progress reporting** with actual message counts and percentages
|
|
|
|
**New Features:**
|
|
- **Message count display** in channel view
|
|
- **Configurable download concurrency** (adjustable in code)
|
|
- **Better error handling** with exponential backoff retry mechanism
|
|
- **Optimized database structure** with indexes for faster queries
|
|
- **Object-oriented design** for better code maintainability
|
|
|
|
**Technical Improvements:**
|
|
- Database connection pooling
|
|
- Batch message insertions (100 messages per batch)
|
|
- Streaming exports for large datasets
|
|
- Improved flood control handling
|
|
- Periodic state saving (every 50 messages)
|
|
|
|
## Features 🚀
|
|
|
|
- Scrape messages from multiple Telegram channels
|
|
- Download media files (photos, documents) with parallel processing
|
|
- Real-time continuous scraping
|
|
- Export data to JSON and CSV formats
|
|
- SQLite database storage with optimized performance
|
|
- Resume capability (saves progress)
|
|
- Media reprocessing for failed downloads
|
|
- Enhanced progress tracking with message counts
|
|
- Interactive menu interface
|
|
|
|
## Prerequisites 📋
|
|
|
|
Before running the script, you'll need:
|
|
|
|
- Python 3.7 or higher
|
|
- Telegram account
|
|
- API credentials from Telegram
|
|
|
|
### Required Python packages
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
pip install -r requirements.txt
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Contents of `requirements.txt`:
|
|
```
|
|
telethon
|
|
aiohttp
|
|
asyncio
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Getting Telegram API Credentials 🔑
|
|
|
|
1. Visit https://my.telegram.org/auth
|
|
2. Log in with your phone number
|
|
3. Click on "API development tools"
|
|
4. Fill in the form:
|
|
- App title: Your app name
|
|
- Short name: Your app short name
|
|
- Platform: Can be left as "Desktop"
|
|
- Description: Brief description of your app
|
|
5. Click "Create application"
|
|
6. You'll receive:
|
|
- `api_id`: A number
|
|
- `api_hash`: A string of letters and numbers
|
|
|
|
Keep these credentials safe, you'll need them to run the script!
|
|
|
|
## Setup and Running 🔧
|
|
|
|
1. Clone the repository:
|
|
```bash
|
|
git clone https://github.com/robertaitch/telegram-scraper.git
|
|
cd telegram-scraper
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
2. Install requirements:
|
|
```bash
|
|
pip install -r requirements.txt
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
3. Run the script:
|
|
```bash
|
|
python telegram-scraper.py
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
4. On first run, you'll be prompted to enter:
|
|
- Your API ID
|
|
- Your API Hash
|
|
- Your phone number (with country code)
|
|
- Your phone number (with country code) or bot, but use the phone number option when prompted second time.
|
|
- Verification code (sent to your Telegram)
|
|
|
|
## Initial Scraping Behavior 🕒
|
|
|
|
When scraping a channel for the first time, please note:
|
|
|
|
- The script will attempt to retrieve the entire channel history, starting from the oldest messages
|
|
- **Significantly faster than previous versions** due to batch processing and parallel downloads
|
|
- Initial scraping time depends on:
|
|
- The total number of messages in the channel
|
|
- Whether media downloading is enabled
|
|
- The size and number of media files
|
|
- Your internet connection speed
|
|
- Telegram's rate limiting
|
|
- The script uses pagination and maintains state, so if interrupted, it can resume from where it left off
|
|
- **Enhanced progress display** shows actual message counts (e.g., "1,500/10,000 messages")
|
|
- Messages are stored in the database in batches for optimal performance
|
|
- **Media downloads run in parallel** (up to 3 simultaneous downloads) for faster processing
|
|
|
|
## Usage 📝
|
|
|
|
The script provides an interactive menu with the following options:
|
|
|
|
- **[A]** Add new channel
|
|
- Enter the channel ID or channelname
|
|
- **[R]** Remove channel
|
|
- Remove a channel from scraping list
|
|
- **[S]** Scrape all channels
|
|
- One-time scraping of all configured channels
|
|
- **[M]** Toggle media scraping
|
|
- Enable/disable downloading of media files
|
|
- **[C]** Continuous scraping
|
|
- Real-time monitoring of channels for new messages
|
|
- **[E]** Export data
|
|
- Export to JSON and CSV formats (memory-efficient for large datasets)
|
|
- **[V]** View saved channels
|
|
- List all saved channels **with message counts**
|
|
- **[L]** List account channels
|
|
- List all channels with ID:s for account
|
|
- **[Q]** Quit
|
|
|
|
### Channel IDs 📢
|
|
|
|
You can use either:
|
|
- Channel username (e.g., `channelname`)
|
|
- Channel ID (e.g., `-1001234567890`)
|
|
|
|
## Data Storage 💾
|
|
|
|
### Database Structure
|
|
|
|
Data is stored in SQLite databases, one per channel with **optimized indexes**:
|
|
- Location: `./channelname/channelname.db`
|
|
- Table: `messages`
|
|
- `id`: Primary key
|
|
- `message_id`: Telegram message ID (indexed)
|
|
- `date`: Message timestamp (indexed)
|
|
- `sender_id`: Sender's Telegram ID
|
|
- `first_name`: Sender's first name
|
|
- `last_name`: Sender's last name
|
|
- `username`: Sender's username
|
|
- `message`: Message text
|
|
- `media_type`: Type of media (if any)
|
|
- `media_path`: Local path to downloaded media
|
|
- `reply_to`: ID of replied message (if any)
|
|
|
|
### Media Storage 📁
|
|
|
|
Media files are stored in:
|
|
- Location: `./channelname/media/`
|
|
- Files are named using message ID or original filename
|
|
- **Parallel downloads** for faster media acquisition
|
|
|
|
### Exported Data 📊
|
|
|
|
Data can be exported in two formats with **memory-efficient processing**:
|
|
1. **CSV**: `./channelname/channelname.csv`
|
|
- Human-readable spreadsheet format
|
|
- Easy to import into Excel/Google Sheets
|
|
- **Streaming export** handles large datasets
|
|
|
|
2. **JSON**: `./channelname/channelname.json`
|
|
- Structured data format
|
|
- Ideal for programmatic processing
|
|
- **Memory-optimized** for large files
|
|
|
|
## Performance Tuning ⚙️
|
|
|
|
You can adjust these performance settings in the code:
|
|
- `max_concurrent_downloads = 3`: Number of simultaneous media downloads
|
|
- `batch_size = 100`: Number of messages processed in each batch
|
|
- `state_save_interval = 50`: How often to save progress
|
|
|
|
## Features in Detail 🔍
|
|
|
|
### Continuous Scraping
|
|
|
|
The continuous scraping feature (`[C]` option) allows you to:
|
|
- Monitor channels in real-time
|
|
- Automatically download new messages
|
|
- Download media as it's posted with parallel processing
|
|
- Run indefinitely until interrupted (Ctrl+C)
|
|
- Maintains state between runs
|
|
|
|
### Media Handling
|
|
|
|
The script can download:
|
|
- Photos
|
|
- Documents
|
|
- Other media types supported by Telegram
|
|
- **Parallel downloads** for faster processing
|
|
- **Improved retry mechanism** with exponential backoff
|
|
- Skips existing files to avoid duplicates
|
|
|
|
## Error Handling 🛠️
|
|
|
|
The script includes:
|
|
- **Enhanced retry mechanism** with exponential backoff for failed media downloads
|
|
- State preservation in case of interruption
|
|
- **Improved flood control** compliance
|
|
- Comprehensive error logging for failed operations
|
|
- **Better rate limit handling** with automatic waiting
|
|
|
|
## Limitations ⚠️
|
|
|
|
- Respects Telegram's rate limits
|
|
- Can only access public channels or channels you're a member of
|
|
- Media download size limits apply as per Telegram's restrictions
|
|
|
|
## Contributing 🤝
|
|
|
|
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
|
|
|
|
## License 📄
|
|
|
|
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
|
|
|
|
## Disclaimer ⚖️
|
|
|
|
This tool is for educational purposes only. Make sure to:
|
|
- Respect Telegram's Terms of Service
|
|
- Obtain necessary permissions before scraping
|
|
- Use responsibly and ethically
|
|
- Comply with data protection regulations |