TGStat Research

Use scripts/tgstat.py for public TGStat research. It uses only the Python standard library. Under the hood it fetches TGStat pages through the platform render service (headless Chromium), which bypasses the public site's bot protection, so each lookup can take several seconds. Resolve the script at the start of every Bash call because each call runs in a fresh shell:

TGSTAT="$SKILL_DIR/scripts/tgstat.py"; [ -f "$TGSTAT" ] || TGSTAT=$(find /tmp -maxdepth 8 -path '*/skills/*/scripts/tgstat.py' 2>/dev/null | head -1)
[ -f "$TGSTAT" ] || { echo "tgstat script not found (SKILL_DIR=$SKILL_DIR)" >&2; exit 1; }
python3 "$TGSTAT" profile

The connector injects $TGSTAT_USERNAME. It is not a login credential; it is only the default public channel/group target. Never print the full environment or treat the username as proof that the user owns the Telegram account.

Discover Sources by Topic

Run search first:

TGSTAT="$SKILL_DIR/scripts/tgstat.py"; [ -f "$TGSTAT" ] || TGSTAT=$(find /tmp -maxdepth 8 -path '*/skills/*/scripts/tgstat.py' 2>/dev/null | head -1)
[ -f "$TGSTAT" ] || { echo "tgstat script not found (SKILL_DIR=$SKILL_DIR)" >&2; exit 1; }
python3 "$TGSTAT" search "Claude API" --type all --language English --country US

In public mode the command returns web_queries. Call web_search once per query, then:

Keep only public tgstat.com regional-host and t.me results.
Extract public @username values and deduplicate case-insensitively.
Prefer results whose title/snippet directly matches the topic.
Verify each shortlist entry with info or stat before reporting it.
Include the source URL and say discovery may be incomplete because public search-engine indexes are not TGStat's full database.

TGStat's own keyword-search result endpoint requires sign-in. Do not try to bypass it, replay private AJAX endpoints, or claim public mode searches the full TGStat index.

--language and --country are search terms for the web index, not guaranteed TGStat database filters.

Browse Public Rankings

Use rankings when the user wants large or active public sources without a precise keyword:

TGSTAT="$SKILL_DIR/scripts/tgstat.py"; [ -f "$TGSTAT" ] || TGSTAT=$(find /tmp -maxdepth 8 -path '*/skills/*/scripts/tgstat.py' 2>/dev/null | head -1)
[ -f "$TGSTAT" ] || { echo "tgstat script not found (SKILL_DIR=$SKILL_DIR)" >&2; exit 1; }
python3 "$TGSTAT" rankings --type channel --limit 20
python3 "$TGSTAT" rankings --type chat --limit 20
python3 "$TGSTAT" rankings --type channel --query crypto --limit 10

Channel cards can expose subscribers, one-post reach, and citation index. Chat cards can expose participants, recent message count, and MAU. Metrics are a current public snapshot, not a historical series.

Public TGStat pages can intermittently return an authentication or rate-limit interstitial. When rankings returns status: unavailable, try the emitted web_fetch_url, then run its web_queries with web_search. Label those results as web-index discoveries, not as an authoritative TGStat rank.

Inspect a Known Channel or Group

Accept a public @username, bare username, t.me/<username> link, or a TGStat entity URL. Omit the target to inspect $TGSTAT_USERNAME from the connector:

TGSTAT="$SKILL_DIR/scripts/tgstat.py"; [ -f "$TGSTAT" ] || TGSTAT=$(find /tmp -maxdepth 8 -path '*/skills/*/scripts/tgstat.py' 2>/dev/null | head -1)
[ -f "$TGSTAT" ] || { echo "tgstat script not found (SKILL_DIR=$SKILL_DIR)" >&2; exit 1; }
python3 "$TGSTAT" info
python3 "$TGSTAT" info @durov
python3 "$TGSTAT" stat https://t.me/example_public_chat

In public mode, info/stat resolves whether the target is a channel or chat and returns its public identity (title, description) plus the visible subscriber / participant count. Deeper engagement metrics (average post reach, citation index, ER) are charted client-side on TGStat, so they are only available for entities that appear in the public top ratings — for those the command enriches the result from the ranking snapshot. Empty or missing metrics mean TGStat did not expose them on the public page; do not call that full statistics. Use rankings when you need reach / citation index for large public sources.

Individual channel/chat pages are more aggressively bot-protected than the ranking pages, so an info/stat lookup may occasionally return a render blocked / could not render error. It fails fast (well under the Bash timeout) — retry once, or fall back to rankings and search for discovery, which are far more reliable.

For ad selection, rank by relevant reach/activity rather than subscriber count alone. High subscribers with weak reach or chat MAU can indicate an inactive or inflated audience. Present metrics as evidence, not a guarantee of lead quality.

Check the Connected Profile

TGSTAT="$SKILL_DIR/scripts/tgstat.py"; [ -f "$TGSTAT" ] || TGSTAT=$(find /tmp -maxdepth 8 -path '*/skills/*/scripts/tgstat.py' 2>/dev/null | head -1)
[ -f "$TGSTAT" ] || { echo "tgstat script not found (SKILL_DIR=$SKILL_DIR)" >&2; exit 1; }
python3 "$TGSTAT" profile

profile reports the normalized public username used by target-less info and stat. It does not verify ownership or authenticate to Telegram/TGStat.

Outreach Research Workflow

For prospecting or partnership research:

Search several narrow problem/role keywords, not only broad AI terms.
Shortlist sources by relevance first, then audience/reach/activity.
Verify each public source and retain evidence URLs.
Label each source as channel, group/chat, or uncertain.
Produce a review queue with suggested angle and reason for fit.
Require human approval before any message is sent through another connector.

Safety and Limits

Read-only. This skill does not join channels/groups, import invite links, send messages, add members, or download member lists.
Reject private invite links (t.me/+..., joinchat/...) and message links.
Do not automate unsolicited bulk outreach or evade Telegram/TGStat controls.
Public pages and HTML can change; if parsing fails, use web_fetch for a single public page and report only values visible in that page.
Public web discovery is incomplete and regional TGStat pages may differ.
Treat $TGSTAT_USERNAME as public profile context, not authentication.