to ask for help with python and/or executing this script, join discord: https://discord.gg/zpu7YUP3Um
There's not telegram API method for this, we need to call MTProto methods to retrieve messages from the "Recent Actions" (Admin Log) since deleted messages (and medias) gets moved there for 48 hours before the permanent deletion.
from telethon import TelegramClient, events, sync
from telethon.tl.types import InputChannel, PeerChannel
from telethon.tl.types import Channel
import time
# Get your own api_id and
# api_hash from https://my.telegram.org, under API Development.
# or from https://tjhorner.dev/webogram/#/login
api_id = API_ID
api_hash = API_HASH
client = TelegramClient('session_name', api_id, api_hash)
client.start()
group = client.get_entity(PeerChannel(GROUP_CHAT_ID))
#messages = client.get_admin_log(group)
file1 = open("dump.json","w")
c = 0
m = 0
for event in client.iter_admin_log(group):
if event.deleted_message:
print("Dumping message",c, "(", event.old.id, event.old.date,")")
file1.write(event.old.to_json() + ",")
c+=1
if event.old.media:
m+=1
#print(event.old.media.to_dict()['Document']['id'])
client.download_media(event.old.media, str(event.old.id))
print(" Dumped media", m)
time.sleep(0.1)
How do I run this?
Please check https://docs.python.org/3/faq/
Does one have a script for converting the dumped json file into a more chat-like looking text?
From my experience, the "recent actions" section showed only the latest portion of the deleted messages. However, the script, after downloading this portion, automatically proceeded to the other, previous portion, which was not observable in Android and PC client. The overall volume was some 6 Gb. The messages from some 25 days (preceding the latest portion and, correspondingly, finalizing the earliest portion) were not downloaded because the claimed 48h period for copying the deleted messages turned out to be only some 24h (maybe precisely 24h), which is a certain nuisance.