Add a channel
If a public MAX channel is missing from the datool.ru catalog, you can add it yourself — by link or @handle. The channel gets into the catalog and we start collecting its statistics. Any visitor can add a channel, even without signing in; verifying that the channel is yours requires signing in.
Where to find it: https://max.datool.ru/channels/add/ — the lilac “+ Add a channel” button in the second row of the header (on a phone — the “+” icon at the top right).
How to add a channel
- Copy the channel link in MAX (for example,
https://max.ru/news) or its public name (@news). - Paste it into the “Channel link or its @name” field.
- If the page shows an “I am not a robot” check, complete it (only visitors who are not signed in see it).
- Click “Add a channel”.
If you own the channel and want to verify it right away, first click “Sign in to verify rights right away” — after signing in you return to the form.
What happens next
A result card with the channel title opens.
- A new channel — the message “The channel has been added to the catalog: the first data will appear after collection” at the top, and the card says that subscribers, posts and analytics will appear after the first collection, usually within an hour. After that we collect the channel’s whole history from its first post.
- The channel was already in the catalog — the message “This channel is already in the catalog.” and its number of subscribers.
Below is the question “Is this your channel?”:
- “Yes, verify that the channel is mine” — opens the verification page with the datool bot in MAX (without signing in, the site asks you to sign in first). See Verify that a channel is yours.
- “No, open the channel page” — opens the channel page with analytics.
If the owner has already verified the channel, there is no question: you will see “Rights to this channel have already been verified by its owner.” and the “Open the channel page” and “Add another channel” buttons.
Private channels and invite links
A private channel has no public link — only an invite link like https://max.ru/join/…. The form does not accept such links: we can see a private channel only through the datool bot that the owner has made a channel administrator.
How to connect a private channel (only for its owner or administrator):
- Sign in and open “My MAX” → “My channels” (max.datool.ru/my/channels/).
- Add the datool bot as a channel administrator in MAX — read-only rights are enough — or paste the
max.ru/join/…invite link into the “Add your channel” block. - Complete verification: after it the private channel starts being collected, and only your organization sees its statistics.
See Verify that a channel is yours and My channels.
Errors and limits
| Message | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| This does not look like a MAX channel link or name | the field contains neither a max.ru link nor an @handle — check what you copied |
| Channel @… not found | MAX has no public channel with this name — check the spelling |
| This is a group chat, not a channel: chats are not added to the catalog. | the link leads to a chat; only channels go into the catalog |
| Invite link… | a private channel link, see the section above |
| MAX is temporarily unavailable | MAX did not respond — try again in a few minutes |
| New channels can be checked no more than … times per hour | the hourly limit of new channel checks is used up, see below |
Check limit. We check every new channel with a request to MAX, so the number per hour is limited:
- without signing in — 5 new channels per hour from one address;
- after signing in — 10 per hour per organization and 20 per hour per person across all their organizations (the limit is shared with adding channels to “My channels” and “Following”).
Channels already in the catalog open without limits — only new ones use up the limit.
See also
- Channel search and catalog — check whether the channel is already in the catalog
- Verify that a channel is yours
- My channels