Approve Telegram Channel Join Requests With Telethon

Nov 6, 2025 by Admin 53 views

Hey everyone! 👋 Ever wondered how to manage those pesky join requests for your private Telegram channel using Telethon? Well, buckle up, because we're diving deep into the world of Telegram bot magic and Python scripting. Approving channel join requests can be a bit of a headache, especially if you have a large channel. But fear not, because Telethon is here to save the day! This guide will walk you through the process, making it super easy to handle those requests and keep your channel secure and buzzing with activity. We'll cover everything from the basics of Telethon to the nitty-gritty details of approving those join requests. Let's get started!

Setting up Your Telethon Environment

Before we jump into the code, let's get our environment ready. First things first, you'll need Python installed on your system. If you haven't already, go ahead and download the latest version from the official Python website. Next, you'll need to install the Telethon library. This is super easy using pip, the Python package installer. Just open up your terminal or command prompt and type:

pip install telethon

Once Telethon is installed, you'll need to create a Telegram API ID and hash. You can get these from my.telegram.org. Log in with your Telegram account, go to API development tools, and create a new application. You'll get an app ID and hash. Keep these safe, as they're essential for your bot to connect to Telegram. Finally, you'll need to get your bot's token. If you don't have a bot, create one with BotFather on Telegram. Once you have the token, API ID, and API hash, you're all set to start coding!

Now, let's get into the code. The first thing you'll need to do is import the necessary modules from Telethon. You'll need TelegramClient, functions, and types. The TelegramClient class is your main interface for interacting with the Telegram API. functions contains the API methods you'll use to approve join requests, and types contains the data structures for Telegram objects. So, import these like this:

from telethon import TelegramClient, functions, types

Next, initialize your TelegramClient with your API ID, API hash, and session name. The session name is just a string that Telethon uses to store your session data. This allows your bot to stay logged in even after you close the script. You can choose any name you like, such as 'my_bot_session'. Make sure to replace api_id and api_hash with your actual values.

api_id = 1234567  # Replace with your API ID
api_hash = 'your_api_hash'  # Replace with your API hash
client = TelegramClient('my_bot_session', api_id, api_hash)

Finally, before you can start approving requests, you'll need to connect to Telegram. Use the client.start() method for this. This method will handle the authentication process and establish a connection to the Telegram servers. If you're running the script for the first time, it might ask you for your phone number and the verification code you receive from Telegram. Once you've entered these, the script will remember your session, and you won't need to re-enter them next time.

async def main():
    await client.start()
    print("Client started")

with client:
    client.loop.run_until_complete(main())

With these steps, you've successfully set up your Telethon environment and are ready to tackle those pesky Telegram channel join requests. Get ready to automate the process and save yourself some time!

Fetching Join Requests with Telethon

Alright, now that we have our Telethon environment all set up, let's get down to the real deal: fetching those join requests. This is where the magic really starts to happen. We're going to use Telethon to grab the list of users who are waiting to join your channel. This part is crucial, as it allows us to identify who's knocking at your channel's door. Let's get into the details.

First, you'll need the channel's entity. The entity is basically a representation of your channel within Telethon. You can get the entity in a couple of ways. The easiest way is to use the channel's username (the one that starts with '@'). However, you can also use the channel's ID or even its invite link. Using the username is usually the most straightforward method. To get the channel entity, use the client.get_entity() method, passing the channel's username as an argument:

channel_username = '@your_channel_username'  # Replace with your channel's username
channel = await client.get_entity(channel_username)

Now that you have the channel entity, the next step is to get the list of join requests. Telegram provides a way to get the list of users who have requested to join your channel. You can use the client.get_participants() method with the filter=ChannelParticipantsBanned to fetch users who are pending to join the channel. However, this method will only show the banned users, not the pending ones. Currently, there is no direct method to get the list of join requests using Telethon, so we must be creative!

Since there's no direct method, we can work with the existing functionality. One way is to manually check each user. We can fetch all the participants and then verify if each user is in the pending list by checking its status. This is a bit of a workaround, but it gets the job done. Let's see how we can do this with the method client.get_participants():

from telethon.tl.functions.channels import GetParticipantsRequest
from telethon.tl.types import ChannelParticipantsSearch

async def get_join_requests(channel):
    participants = await client(GetParticipantsRequest(
        channel=channel,
        filter=ChannelParticipantsSearch(''),
        limit=100  # Adjust the limit as needed
    ))
    return participants.users

join_requests = await get_join_requests(channel)
for user in join_requests:
    print(f"User ID: {user.id}, Username: {user.username}")

This code fetches all participants and prints their IDs and usernames. You can then check these participants and see which ones are waiting to join. This will require some manual inspection to identify the join requests. Note that this method may not be able to get the whole list if the channel has thousands of members.

By following these steps, you'll be able to fetch the list of potential join requests. Remember, due to the API limitations, the method is not perfect, but it is the closest we can get. Time to move on and approve those requests!

Approving Channel Join Requests with Telethon

Now for the grand finale! 🎉 The moment we've all been waiting for: approving those join requests. Once you've identified the users who want to join your channel (using the method explained above), you can use Telethon to let them in. This is where you get to decide who gets access to your exclusive content. Let's see how it's done.

Telethon doesn't provide a direct method to approve join requests. However, we can use the client.edit_admin() method to promote a user to a channel administrator. You can use this method to grant channel admin permissions to a user, which essentially approves their request to join. Although this method is designed to manage channel admins, it can be used to achieve the desired result of approving join requests.

First, you need to import the functions module from Telethon, if you haven't already. This module contains the API methods we need. Next, you need the user's ID. You'll have obtained this ID when fetching the join requests. You'll also need the channel entity, which we discussed earlier. Finally, you need to use the client.edit_admin() method.

from telethon import functions, types

async def approve_join_request(channel, user_id):
    try:
        await client(functions.channels.EditAdminRequest(
            channel=channel,
            user_id=user_id,
            admin_rights=types.ChatAdminRights(add_admins=False, ban_users=True, change_info=False, create_forum_topic=False, delete_messages=True, edit_messages=True, invite_users=True, post_messages=True, pin_messages=True, manage_call=True, post_stories=True, edit_stories=True, delete_stories=True)
        ))
        print(f"User {user_id} approved.")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Failed to approve user {user_id}: {e}")

In this code, we're using functions.channels.EditAdminRequest to give the user admin rights. You can customize the admin rights as needed. For a simple approval, you can assign minimal rights, such as the ability to view messages. The user_id is the ID of the user you want to approve. The channel is the channel entity. This method will effectively approve the user's join request. Be careful, as you're granting admin permissions to the user, so choose wisely.

To use this code, you will need to first get the join requests as shown in the previous section. Then, for each user you want to approve, call the approve_join_request function with the channel entity and the user ID. For example:

for user in join_requests:
    await approve_join_request(channel, user.id)

And that's it! You've successfully approved a join request using Telethon. You can now adapt this method to automate the process or integrate it into a more complex bot.

Automating the Approval Process

Now that you know how to fetch and approve join requests, let's take it a step further: automation! 🤖 Why manually approve each request when you can have your bot do it for you? Automation is key to managing a large channel effectively. We can build a bot that automatically approves or rejects requests based on certain criteria. Let's see how to automate the approval process.

One of the simplest forms of automation is to approve all join requests automatically. You can modify the code to fetch the join requests and then loop through them, approving each user. This is perfect for channels that don't have strict membership requirements.

async def auto_approve(channel):
    join_requests = await get_join_requests(channel)
    for user in join_requests:
        await approve_join_request(channel, user.id)
    print("All join requests approved.")

In this code, the auto_approve function fetches all join requests and then calls the approve_join_request function for each user. This will approve all pending requests. Remember to replace the placeholder with your desired channel username or ID. This is a very basic form of automation. You can make it much more advanced by adding filters and conditions.

You can implement more sophisticated filtering. For example, you might want to approve users based on their username, membership in another channel, or even their activity on Telegram. You can use the Telethon API to access user information and apply these filters. For instance, you could check if the user is a subscriber of another channel.

async def approve_with_filter(channel, required_channel_username):
    join_requests = await get_join_requests(channel)
    for user in join_requests:
        try:
            # Fetch user info
            user_entity = await client.get_entity(user.id)
            # Check if user is in the required channel
            try:
                await client.get_peer_channel(required_channel_username)
                is_member = True
            except: 
                is_member = False

            if is_member:
                await approve_join_request(channel, user.id)
                print(f"User {user.id} approved based on filter.")
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"Failed to process user {user.id}: {e}")

This code checks if each user is a member of another channel and then approves them. This is an example of advanced filtering. Note that you may need to adjust the filtering logic based on your specific requirements. This allows for a very flexible and adaptable system for managing join requests.

By using these automation techniques, you can make your life as a channel admin much easier and more efficient. The key is to think about your specific needs and create filters and conditions that match those needs. With a little bit of creativity, you can build a powerful bot that handles join requests seamlessly.

Additional Tips and Considerations

Let's wrap things up with some extra tips and considerations to make your Telethon experience even smoother. Managing a Telegram channel and automating join requests can be tricky, so it's essential to keep a few things in mind. Here's a quick rundown of some useful pointers.

Rate Limits: Be mindful of Telegram's API rate limits. Sending too many requests in a short time can get you temporarily blocked. Implement delays in your code using asyncio.sleep() to avoid hitting these limits. This helps maintain the stability and prevent your bot from getting throttled. Also, consider error handling to gracefully manage any rate limit errors that might occur.
Error Handling: Always include proper error handling in your code. Telegram can throw various exceptions, and handling these ensures your bot doesn't crash. Use try-except blocks to catch exceptions and log errors, providing insights into potential issues. For example, catching FloodWaitError and pausing for the required time can prevent rate limit issues.
User Privacy: Respect user privacy. When collecting user information, only gather what's necessary and avoid storing sensitive data unnecessarily. Be transparent about what information you're collecting and how you're using it.
Testing: Test your code thoroughly before deploying it on a live channel. Use a test channel to experiment with your bot and ensure it behaves as expected. This will help you identify and fix any issues before they affect your real users.
Security: Keep your API ID, API hash, and bot token secure. Never share them publicly or commit them to a public repository. Consider using environment variables to store these sensitive credentials, making your code more secure and easier to manage.
Updates: The Telegram API and Telethon library are constantly evolving. Stay updated with the latest versions and changes to avoid compatibility issues. Regularly check for updates and review the Telethon documentation for the most current information and best practices.

By following these additional tips and considerations, you'll be well-equipped to manage your Telegram channel efficiently and securely. Happy coding, and enjoy automating your channel join requests with Telethon! Remember that managing a channel is an ongoing process, and adapting your strategies will contribute to your success.