DIYgod/RSSHub · error · ConfigNotFoundError

TELEGRAM_SESSION is not configured

Error message

TELEGRAM_SESSION is not configured

What it means

getClient initializes the MTProto TelegramClient from a StringSession. It throws ConfigNotFoundError when neither the passed-in session argument nor config.telegram.session is set, because a StringSession cannot be constructed from nothing and no prior client exists to reuse.

Source

Thrown at lib/routes/telegram/tglib/client.ts:11

import { Api, TelegramClient } from 'teleproto';
import type { UserAuthParams } from 'teleproto/client/auth';
import { StringSession } from 'teleproto/sessions/index.js';

import { config } from '@/config';
import ConfigNotFoundError from '@/errors/types/config-not-found';

let client: TelegramClient | undefined;
export async function getClient(authParams?: UserAuthParams, session?: string) {
    if (!config.telegram.session && session === undefined) {
        throw new ConfigNotFoundError('TELEGRAM_SESSION is not configured');
    }
    if (client) {
        return client;
    }
    const apiId = Number(config.telegram.apiId ?? 4);
    const apiHash = config.telegram.apiHash ?? '014b35b6184100b085b0d0572f9b5103';

    const stringSession = new StringSession(session ?? config.telegram.session);
    client = new TelegramClient(stringSession, apiId, apiHash, {
        connectionRetries: Infinity,
        autoReconnect: true,
        retryDelay: 3000,
        maxConcurrentDownloads: Number(config.telegram.maxConcurrentDownloads ?? 10),
        proxy:
            config.telegram.proxy?.host && config.telegram.proxy.port && config.telegram.proxy.secret
                ? {
                      ip: config.telegram.proxy.host,
                      port: Number(config.telegram.proxy.port),

View on GitHub (pinned to bed535e087)

Solutions

1. Generate a StringSession using the teleproto/telethon session generator and set TELEGRAM_SESSION in the RSSHub environment, then restart.
2. Ensure TELEGRAM_API_ID and TELEGRAM_API_HASH are also set so the client can authenticate the session.
3. If the session was invalidated (logged out, password change), regenerate it.
4. Verify the env var is visible to the process (print config.telegram.session presence, not value) to rule out a missing export.

Example fix

// before
if (!config.telegram.session && session === undefined) {
    throw new ConfigNotFoundError('TELEGRAM_SESSION is not configured');
}

// after: also require api credentials and name the env vars
if (!config.telegram.session && session === undefined) {
    throw new ConfigNotFoundError('TELEGRAM_SESSION is not configured. Generate a StringSession and set TELEGRAM_SESSION (plus TELEGRAM_API_ID/TELEGRAM_API_HASH) in RSSHub config.');
}

import { config } from '@/config';
function mtprotoConfigured(): boolean {
    return Boolean(config.telegram?.session);
}
// only register/enable MTProto routes when mtprotoConfigured() is true

function hasTelegramSession(): boolean {
    return Boolean(config.telegram && (config.telegram as { session?: string }).session);
}

try {
    return await getClient();
} catch (e) {
    if (e instanceof ConfigNotFoundError && /TELEGRAM_SESSION/.test(e.message)) {
        // return a 503 with setup instructions instead of crashing
        return unavailable('Set TELEGRAM_SESSION to enable Telegram media routes.');
    }
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any Telegram MTProto route (channel-media, etc.) calls getClient() on an instance where TELEGRAM_SESSION was never configured and the caller did not supply a session string.

Common situations: Self-hosted RSSHub without TELEGRAM_SESSION; the session string expired/was revoked; the env var was set in a different shell/systemd unit than the one running RSSHub.

Related errors

• Telegram Sticker Pack RSS is disabled due to the lack of <a
• Cannot start TG: ${err}
• Authentication failed. Access denied.\n${requestPath}
• Login required
• Disqus RSS is disabled due to the lack of <a href="https://d

AI-assisted analysis of DIYgod/RSSHub@bed535e087 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c69837a064e52850. Report an issue: GitHub.