MTProto: Chats & Channels

• Introduction
• Reading Chats
  • Chat & Member Info
  • Iterating Dialogs, History & Participants
• Creating Chats
• Managing Members
  • Banning & Restricting
  • Admins
  • Adding & Removing
• Chat Settings
• Invite Links
• Pinning Messages
• Forum Topics
• Communities
• Your Profile
• Boosts

Introduction

MTProto exposes the full account surface for managing groups, supergroups, and channels — far beyond what the Bot API allows. Every method here is called on the ClientRequest handed to your listeners and controllers, and each accepts peer values in the convenient forms ('@username', id, 'me', or a peer object). Replies route back to the originating session automatically.

Inside a listener closure:

use LaraGram\MTProto\Facades\Client;
use LaraGram\MTProto\Foundation\ClientRequest;

Client::onCommand('ban', function (ClientRequest $request) {
    $request->banChatMember(peer: $request->chatId(), user: $request->message->from_id->user_id);
});

Or a controller method — bind it with Client::onCommand('ban', [GroupController::class, 'ban']):

use LaraGram\MTProto\Foundation\ClientRequest;

class GroupController
{
    public function ban(ClientRequest $request)
    {
        $request->banChatMember(peer: $request->chatId(), user: $request->message->from_id->user_id);
    }
}

The examples below use $request — the object your handler or controller receives.

Reading Chats

Chat & Member Info

$full   = $request->getFullChat(peer: '@laragram');           // Full chat/channel info
$member = $request->getChatMember(peer: '@laragram', user: '@durov');

Iterating Dialogs, History & Participants

Large collections are exposed as memory-friendly generators that page through Telegram transparently, so you can foreach over an entire chat list, history, or member roster without managing offsets:

// Every dialog (chat) the account is in
foreach ($request->iterateDialogs() as $dialog) {
    // ...
}

// A chat's full message history
foreach ($request->iterateHistory(peer: '@laragram') as $message) {
    // ...
}

// A chat's participants
foreach ($request->iterateParticipants(peer: '@laragram') as $participant) {
    // ...
}

For a single page instead of a generator, use getParticipants(peer: ..., limit: ...). Basic groups support the recent and admins filters.

The same style covers the rest of a chat's collections:

$request->iterateJoinRequests(peer: '@group');                  // Pending join requests
$request->iterateForumTopics(peer: '@group');                   // Forum topics
$request->iterateAdminLog(peer: '@group', query: 'ban');        // Recent admin actions
$request->iterateCommonChats(user: '@alice');                   // Chats you share with a user
$request->iterateBlockedUsers();                                // This account's block list

Every iterator accepts limit: and pageSize:.

Creating Chats

$request->createGroup(title: 'Project Team', users: ['@alice', '@bob']);
$request->createSupergroup(title: 'Community', about: 'Say hi 👋');
$request->createChannel(title: 'Announcements', about: 'Official updates');

Managing Members

Banning & Restricting

$request->banChatMember(peer: '@group', user: '@spammer');
$request->banChatMember(peer: '@group', user: 123, until: time() + 3600); // 1-hour ban
$request->unbanChatMember(peer: '@group', user: 123);
$request->kickChatMember(peer: '@group', user: 123);   // Remove without a permanent ban

$request->restrictChatMember(
    peer: '@group',
    user: 123,
    restrictions: ['send_media' => true, 'send_polls' => true],
    until: time() + 86400,
);

Admins

$request->promoteChatMember(
    peer: '@group',
    user: '@moderator',
    rights: ['delete_messages' => true, 'ban_users' => true],
    rank: 'Moderator',
);

$request->demoteChatMember(peer: '@group', user: '@moderator');

Adding & Removing

$request->addChatMembers(peer: '@group', users: ['@alice', '@bob']);
$request->joinChat(peer: '@laragram');
$request->leaveChat(peer: '@laragram');
$request->deleteChat(peer: '@oldgroup');                       // Basic groups, supergroups and channels

$request->setChatMemberRank(peer: '@group', user: '@alice', rank: 'Mentor');
$request->deleteChatMemberMessages(peer: '@group', user: '@spammer');
$request->convertToSupergroup(peer: '@basicgroup');

Chat Settings

$request->setChatTitle(peer: '@group', title: 'New Title');
$request->setChatDescription(peer: '@group', about: 'A fresh description.');
$request->setChatPhoto(peer: '@group', path: '/path/to/photo.jpg');
$request->deleteChatPhoto(peer: '@group');
$request->blockUser(peer: '@spammer');
$request->unblockUser(peer: '@spammer');

// What members may NOT do by default (the same names as restrictChatMember)
$request->setChatPermissions(peer: '@group', restrictions: ['send_media', 'send_polls']);
$request->setSlowMode(peer: '@group', seconds: 30);       // 0 turns slow mode off
$request->setChatProtectedContent(peer: '@channel');     // no forwarding or saving

// Hand a group or channel you own to someone else (needs your 2FA password)
$request->transferChatOwnership(peer: '@channel', user: '@heir', password: 'my 2FA password');

Archive and mute chats, or get the public link of a supergroup or channel message:

$request->archiveChats(peers: ['@news', '@offtopic']);
$request->unarchiveChats(peers: '@news');

$request->muteChat(peer: '@noisy');                       // forever
$request->muteChat(peer: '@noisy', until: now()->addHours(8)->timestamp);
$request->unmuteChat(peer: '@noisy');

$link = $request->getMessageLink(peer: '@channel', msgId: 42); // https://t.me/channel/42

Invite Links

$link = $request->exportInviteLink(peer: '@group');                       // Primary link
$temp = $request->exportInviteLink(peer: '@group', params: ['usage_limit' => 10, 'expire_date' => time() + 3600]);

$links = $request->getInviteLinks(peer: '@group');
$request->editInviteLink(peer: '@group', link: $temp['link'], params: ['usage_limit' => 20]);
$request->revokeInviteLink(peer: '@group', link: $temp['link']);
$request->deleteInviteLink(peer: '@group', link: $temp['link']);

$preview = $request->checkInviteLink('https://t.me/+AbCdEf');   // Inspect a chat without joining

Handle requests to join a chat that requires approval:

foreach ($request->iterateJoinRequests(peer: '@group') as $joinRequest) {
    $request->approveJoinRequest(peer: '@group', user: $joinRequest['user_id']);
}

$request->declineJoinRequest(peer: '@group', user: '@spammer');
$request->approveAllJoinRequests(peer: '@group');
$request->declineAllJoinRequests(peer: '@group', link: $temp['link']);  // Only requests from this link

Pinning Messages

$request->pinMessage(peer: '@group', id: 500, silent: true);
$request->unpinMessage(peer: '@group', id: 500);
$request->unpinAllMessages(peer: '@group');

Forum Topics

Supergroups with topics enabled ("forums") are fully supported:

$request->toggleForum(peer: '@group', enabled: true);

$topic = $request->createForumTopic(peer: '@group', title: 'Feature Requests');
$request->editForumTopic(peer: '@group', topicId: $topic['id'], params: ['title' => 'Ideas']);
$request->closeForumTopic(peer: '@group', topicId: $topic['id']);
$request->hideForumTopic(peer: '@group', topicId: $topic['id']);
$request->pinForumTopic(peer: '@group', topicId: $topic['id']);
$request->deleteForumTopic(peer: '@group', topicId: $topic['id']);

$topics = $request->getForumTopics(peer: '@group');

Topics show as a list by default. Pass tabs: true or sidebar: true to toggleForum to use another layout; the two cannot be combined. Client::onEditedForumTopic() reports changes to a topic's title, icon, or closed and hidden state.

To post into a topic, use sendTopicMessage:

$request->sendTopicMessage(peer: '@group', topicId: $topic['id'], message: 'Posted in a topic');

Communities

Telegram Communities (grouped chats) are managed through their own methods:

$request->createCommunity(title: 'My Community', peer: '@main_channel');
$joined = $request->getJoinedCommunities();
$request->toggleCommunityCollapsed(/* ... */);
$request->approveCommunityPeerLink(/* ... */);

Your Profile

Manage the logged-in account's own profile:

$request->updateProfile(params: ['first_name' => 'John', 'about' => 'Built with LaraGram']);
$request->setUsername(username: 'john_laragram');
$request->setProfilePhoto(path: '/path/to/avatar.jpg');
$request->deleteProfilePhotos(photos: $photoIds);
$request->setEmojiStatus(emoji: 5368324170671202286);
$request->setOnline(online: true);

// Contacts
$request->getContacts();
$request->addContact(user: '@alice', firstName: 'Alice', phone: '+12025550123');
$request->deleteContacts(users: '@alice');
$request->importContact(phone: '+12025550123', firstName: 'Alice');

// Privacy
$rules = $request->getPrivacyRule('last_seen');
$request->setPrivacyRule('phone_number', 'contacts');

Privacy settings are last_seen, chat_invites, calls, p2p_calls, forwards, profile_photo, phone_number, added_by_phone, voice_messages, about, birthday, star_gifts_auto_save, no_paid_messages and saved_music. Rules are everyone, contacts, close_friends, nobody, or a list of InputPrivacyRule objects.

WARNING

Importing many phone numbers can get an account banned. Only add numbers the account owner actually knows.

Boosts

Channel boost status and the account's own boosts (a Telegram Premium feature) are available via:

$status  = $request->getBoostsStatus(peer: '@channel');
$mine    = $request->getMyBoosts();
$applied = $request->getUserBoosts(peer: '@channel', user: '@durov');

Next: uploading and downloading files in the Media reference.