mtgo (MTProto Go)

A fast, idiomatic Go client for the Telegram MTProto API.

Note: mtgo stands for MTProto Go. It is a Telegram client library and has no relation to Magic: The Gathering Online.

Features

• Full MTProto 2.0 — encryption, key generation, CDNs, file transfers
• High-level client API — messages, chats, media, inline, stories, payments, business connections
• Handler-based updates — register handlers with filters, priorities, and handler groups
• Middleware — invoker-level (RPC calls) and handler-level (update dispatch) middleware chains
• Plugin system — lifecycle plugins with Start/Stop hooks
• Multi-client — run multiple bots/users in one process with Compose or Idle
• Session import/export — Telethon, Pyrogram, GramJS, mtcute, tdesktop session formats
• Storage backends — SQLite, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or bring your own adapter
• MTProxy support — dd/ee/simple secrets with obfuscated2 and fake TLS
• WebSocket transport — MTProto over WebSocket for restrictive networks
• Auto-reconnect — exponential backoff with jitter and configurable max attempts
• Health checks — periodic ping/pong keepalive with configurable timeout
• Generated TL layer — auto-generated from Telegram schemas; update with one command
• Pure Go — no CGO required (SQLite via modernc.org/sqlite)

Quick Start

# Install as a Go module
go get github.com/mtgo-labs/mtgo

# Install the CLI tool
go install github.com/mtgo-labs/mtgo-cli/cmd/mtgo-cli@latest

# Install the Agent Skill for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, etc.
npx skills add mtgo-labs/mtgo
# or with full URL
npx skills add https://github.com/mtgo-labs/mtgo

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"
    "os"

    "github.com/mtgo-labs/mtgo/telegram"
    "github.com/mtgo-labs/mtgo/telegram/types"
)

func main() {
    client, err := telegram.NewClient(apiID, apiHash, &telegram.Config{
        BotToken:    os.Getenv("BOT_TOKEN"),
        SessionName: "my_bot",
        SavePeers:   true,
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    client.OnMessage(func(client *telegram.Client, msg *types.Message) {
        msg.Reply(msg.Text)
    }, telegram.Private)

    if err := client.Connect(0); err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    defer client.Stop()

    fmt.Println("bot is running")
    client.Idle()
}

See examples/ for more: middleware, conversations, SQLite, MongoDB, keyboards, media, MTProxy, webapp, and more.

Authentication

Bot

client, _ := telegram.NewClient(apiID, apiHash, &telegram.Config{
    BotToken: "123456:ABC-DEF",
})

User (Phone Number)

client, _ := telegram.NewClient(apiID, apiHash, &telegram.Config{
    PhoneNumber: "+1234567890",
})
client.Connect(0)
// Terminal prompts for code/password automatically

QR Login

client, _ := telegram.NewClient(apiID, apiHash, &telegram.Config{})
client.QRLogin(context.Background())
// Displays QR code link for Telegram mobile scanning

Session Strings

Import existing sessions from other frameworks:

import "github.com/mtgo-labs/mtgo/session"

// From Telethon
client, _ := telegram.NewClient(apiID, apiHash, &telegram.Config{
    SessionString: session.MustTelethon("1BVusO..."),
})

// From Pyrogram
client, _ := telegram.NewClient(apiID, apiHash, &telegram.Config{
    SessionString: session.MustPyrogram("BAAJbwI..."),
})

Handlers and Filters

// Command handler
client.OnMessage(func(client *telegram.Client, msg *types.Message) {
    msg.Reply("Welcome!")
}, telegram.Command("start"))

// Regex filter
client.OnMessage(func(client *telegram.Client, msg *types.Message) {
    msg.Reply("Got a number!")
}, telegram.Regex(`\d+`))

// Combined filters
client.OnMessage(handlePrivate, telegram.Private.And(telegram.HasText))

// Callback queries
client.OnCallbackQuery(func(client *telegram.Client, cb *types.CallbackQuery) {
    cb.Answer("Pressed!", false)
})

Built-in filters: Private, Group, HasText, Command, Regex, Media, Photo, Video, Document, Audio, Voice, VideoNote, Sticker, Animation, Contact, Location, Venue, Poll, Game, Forwarded, Reply, Outgoing, and composable with .And(), .Or(), .Not().

Middleware

Two middleware levels for different concerns:

Level	Method	Intercepts	Use case
Invoker	UseInvokerMiddleware	Outgoing RPC calls	Rate limiting, flood wait, logging, metrics
Handler	UseMiddleware	Incoming update dispatch	Auth, i18n, conversation state

// Invoker middleware (wraps RPC calls)
mw := floodwait.New()
client.UseInvokerMiddleware(mw.Middleware())

// Handler middleware (wraps update dispatch)
client.UseMiddleware(authMiddleware, -10) // lower priority = outermost
client.UseMiddleware(loggingMiddleware, 0)

Writing a Custom Invoker Middleware

An invoker middleware wraps tg.Invoker to intercept, inspect, and modify RPC calls:

import (
    "context"
    "io"

    "github.com/mtgo-labs/mtgo/tg"
)

// SilentMiddleware forces all outgoing messages to be silent.
func SilentMiddleware() telegram.InvokerMiddleware {
    return func(next tg.Invoker) tg.Invoker {
        return tg.InvokerFunc(func(ctx context.Context, input tg.TLObject, decode func(io.Reader) (tg.TLObject, error)) (tg.TLObject, error) {
            // Type-assert and modify request parameters before the call
            if req, ok := input.(*tg.MessagesSendMessageRequest); ok {
                req.Silent = true
                req.SetFlags() // required after modifying flag-controlled fields
            }
            return next.RPCInvoke(ctx, input, decode)
        })
    }
}

// Register it (first = outermost)
client.UseInvokerMiddleware(SilentMiddleware())

Ready-made middlewares: floodwait, ratelimit.

Plugins

Plugins implement the Plugin interface to add lifecycle-aware, modular functionality:

import (
    "context"
    "log"

    "github.com/mtgo-labs/mtgo/telegram"
)

// MetricsPlugin tracks bot usage.
type MetricsPlugin struct {
    client      *telegram.Client
    messageCount int64
}

func (p *MetricsPlugin) Name() string { return "metrics" }

func (p *MetricsPlugin) Start(ctx context.Context, client *telegram.Client) error {
    p.client = client
    log.Printf("[%s] started", p.Name())
    return nil
}

func (p *MetricsPlugin) Stop(ctx context.Context) error {
    log.Printf("[%s] stopped — processed %d messages", p.Name(), p.messageCount)
    return nil
}

// Register plugins before connecting
client.Use(i18nPlugin)
client.Use(conversationsPlugin)
client.Use(&MetricsPlugin{})

// Plugins start/stop automatically with the client
client.Connect(0)

Available plugins: conversations, i18n.

Storage

SQLite

import (
    "github.com/mtgo-labs/storage"
    "github.com/mtgo-labs/storage/sqlite"
)

ext, _ := sqlite.Open("session.db")
defer ext.Close()

client, _ := telegram.NewClient(apiID, apiHash, &telegram.Config{
    BotToken:    botToken,
    SessionName: "my_bot",
    Storage:     storage.NewAdapter(ext),
})

PostgreSQL

import (
    "github.com/mtgo-labs/storage"
    "github.com/mtgo-labs/storage/postgres"
)

ext, _ := postgres.Open(postgres.Config{
    Host:     "localhost",
    Port:     5432,
    User:     "postgres",
    Password: os.Getenv("PG_PASSWORD"),
    Database: "mtgo_sessions",
    SSLMode:  "disable",
})
defer ext.Close()

client, _ := telegram.NewClient(apiID, apiHash, &telegram.Config{
    BotToken:    botToken,
    SessionName: "my_bot",
    Storage:     storage.NewAdapter(ext),
})

Backends: SQLite, PostgreSQL, MongoDB. See the storage repo for custom adapter docs.

Multi-Client — Manage Multiple Client Instances

Each telegram.NewClient() call creates a separate, independent mtgo client instance (a Telegram bot or user session). Run multiple bots, user accounts, or a mix of both in a single process and block until all stop:

// Create independent MTGO client instances
bot1, err := telegram.NewClient(apiID, apiHash, &telegram.Config{
    BotToken:    token1,
    SessionName: "bot1",
})
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

bot2, err := telegram.NewClient(apiID, apiHash, &telegram.Config{
    BotToken:    token2,
    SessionName: "bot2",
})
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

// Register handlers per client
bot1.OnMessage(func(ctx *telegram.Context) {
    ctx.Reply("Bot 1 here!")
}, telegram.Private)

bot2.OnMessage(func(ctx *telegram.Context) {
    ctx.Reply("Bot 2 here!")
}, telegram.Private)

// Connect both clients
bot1.Connect(0)
bot2.Connect(0)

// Compose starts all clients in goroutines and blocks until any stops.
// It returns an error if any client fails to start.
if err := telegram.Compose(bot1, bot2); err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

// Alternatively, call telegram.Idle() to block until ALL registered
// clients stop (every NewClient auto-registers).

Project Structure

cmd/            Code generators (TL schema, error types)
compiler/       TL compiler and templates
docs/           API reference
examples/       Working examples
internal/       MTProto internals (crypto, session, transport)
session/        Session string import/export
tg/             Generated TL types (do not edit directly)
tgerr/          Generated error types
telegram/       High-level client API, handlers, filters, middleware
mtproxy/        MTProxy obfuscated2/fake-TLS transport

Code Generation

# Regenerate TL types from schema
go run cmd/tlgen/main.go

# Regenerate error types
go run cmd/errgen/main.go

Do not edit generated files directly. Modify the schema in compiler/ or cmd/ instead.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup, code style, and PR process.

Security

See SECURITY.md for reporting vulnerabilities.

License

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0.

Ecosystem

Repository	Description
mtgo-cli	Fast MTProto CLI — invoke TL methods, test bots, manage groups from the terminal
storage	Persistent storage adapters (SQLite, PostgreSQL, MongoDB)
plugins	Official plugins (conversations, i18n)
middlewares	Invoker middleware (flood wait, rate limiting)
plugins-template	Template for new plugins
middlewares-template	Template for new middlewares