How to Set Up an MTProto Proxy for Telegram (Complete Guide)

8 min read
IntermediateTelegramProxyMTProto

Prerequisites

  • A VPS with a public IP ($3-5/month)
  • Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, or any major Linux distro
  • Root access
  • 256 MB RAM minimum

Telegram is blocked or throttled in several countries. An MTProto proxy lets you access Telegram by routing traffic through your own server — no VPN needed, no app changes, just a proxy link that users tap to connect.

This guide shows you how to set up a full-featured MTProto proxy using MTProxyMax, the most complete proxy management tool available.

What is an MTProto Proxy?

An MTProto proxy is a special proxy type designed specifically for Telegram. Unlike a VPN or SOCKS proxy:

  • Only routes Telegram traffic — your other apps are not affected
  • No app installation — users just tap a link
  • FakeTLS support — traffic looks like normal HTTPS
  • Built into Telegram — native support on all platforms

One-Command Install

sudo bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SamNet-dev/MTProxyMax/main/install.sh)"

The interactive wizard walks you through port, FakeTLS domain, first user, and Telegram bot setup. After installation, you get a tg://proxy?... link to share.

Managing Users

mtproxymax secret add alice
mtproxymax secret add-batch alice bob charlie david
mtproxymax secret list
mtproxymax secret link alice
mtproxymax secret qr alice
mtproxymax secret disable alice
mtproxymax secret enable alice
mtproxymax secret rotate alice
mtproxymax secret remove alice

Per-User Access Control

mtproxymax secret setlimits alice 15 5 10G 2026-12-31

Device Limiting

SettingDevices
conns 5~1 device
conns 15~5 devices
conns 30~10 devices
conns 0Unlimited

Bandwidth Quotas

mtproxymax secret setlimit alice quota 10G
mtproxymax secret setlimit bob quota 500M

Expiry Dates

mtproxymax secret setlimit guest expires 2026-06-01

FakeTLS Obfuscation

FakeTLS V2 makes your proxy traffic indistinguishable from regular HTTPS. The TLS handshake SNI points to a cover domain, real cipher suites, and non-Telegram probes get forwarded to the actual cover site.

Telegram Bot (Remote Management)

mtproxymax telegram setup
CommandWhat It Does
/mp_statusProxy health/uptime
/mp_secretsList users
/mp_add aliceAdd user
/mp_remove bobDelete user
/mp_rotate aliceRotate key
/mp_trafficBandwidth usage
/mp_linkProxy link + QR
/mp_healthDiagnostics
/mp_restartRestart proxy

Proxy Chaining

mtproxymax upstream add warp socks5 127.0.0.1:40000 - - 20
mtproxymax upstream add backup socks5 203.0.113.50:1080 user pass 80

Traffic Monitoring

mtproxymax traffic
mtproxymax metrics live
mtproxymax status

Geo-Blocking

mtproxymax geoblock add ir
mtproxymax geoblock add cn
mtproxymax geoblock list

Replication (Multi-Server)

mtproxymax replication setup    # Master or Slave
mtproxymax replication promote  # Promote slave

Ad-Tag Monetization

  1. Message @MTProxyBot to get an ad-tag
  2. Set it: mtproxymax adtag set <your-hex-tag>
  3. Users see a pinned channel

MTProxyMax vs Alternatives

FeatureMTProxyMaxmtgOfficial
FakeTLSYesYesNo
Multi-userUnlimited1 secretMulti
Per-user limitsYesNoNo
Telegram bot17 cmdsNoNo
ReplicationYesNoNo
Proxy chainingYesSOCKS5No
Traffic statsPrometheusNoNo
ActiveYesYesAbandoned

Quick Start Summary

sudo bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SamNet-dev/MTProxyMax/main/install.sh)"
mtproxymax secret add alice
mtproxymax secret setlimits alice 15 5 10G 2026-12-31
mtproxymax secret link alice

Full docs: MTProxyMax GitHub.

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