.. _getting-started:


===============
Getting Started
===============


Simple Installation
*******************

.. code-block:: sh

    pip3 install telethon

**More details**: :ref:`installation`


Creating a client
*****************

.. code-block:: python

    import asyncio
    loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()

    from telethon import TelegramClient

    # These example values won't work. You must get your own api_id and
    # api_hash from https://my.telegram.org, under API Development.
    api_id = 12345
    api_hash = '0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef'

    client = TelegramClient('session_name', api_id, api_hash)
    loop.run_until_complete(client.start())

**More details**: :ref:`creating-a-client`


Basic Usage
***********

.. code-block:: python

    async def main():
        # Getting information about yourself
        me = await client.get_me()
        print(me.stringify())

        # Sending a message (you can use 'me' or 'self' to message yourself)
        await client.send_message('username', 'Hello World from Telethon!')

        # Sending a file
        await client.send_file('username', '/home/myself/Pictures/holidays.jpg')

        # Retrieving messages from a chat
        from telethon import utils
        async for message in client.iter_messages('username', limit=10):
            print(utils.get_display_name(message.sender), message.message)

        # Listing all the dialogs (conversations you have open)
        async for dialog in client.get_dialogs(limit=10):
            print(dialog.name, dialog.draft.text)

        # Downloading profile photos (default path is the working directory)
        await client.download_profile_photo('username')

        # Once you have a message with .media (if message.media)
        # you can download it using client.download_media(),
        # or even using message.download_media():
        messages = await client.get_messages('username')
        await messages[0].download_media()

    loop.run_until_complete(main())

**More details**: :ref:`telegram-client`

See :ref:`telethon-client` for all available friendly methods.


Handling Updates
****************

.. code-block:: python

    from telethon import events

    @client.on(events.NewMessage(incoming=True, pattern='(?i)hi'))
    async def handler(event):
        await event.reply('Hello!')

    client.run_until_disconnected()

**More details**: :ref:`working-with-updates`


----------

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