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Telegram Desktop avatar

Telegram Desktop

Official desktop client for the Telegram messaging service

  • Communication
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Featured by Willet

What it is

The source code of Telegram's official desktop app, built with Qt and speaking the MTProto protocol to Telegram's servers. It handles chats, groups, channels, file transfers, and voice and video calls on Windows, macOS, and Linux. People who use Telegram on a computer can install the prebuilt releases, while developers and packagers can build it themselves from the documented instructions.

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Facts

Stars
33.3k33,301

Forks
7,432
Commits
27,507
Contributors
232
Language
C++
License
GPL-3.0
Last commit
Oct 20, 2026
On GitHub since
May 2014
First release
March 2017
Platforms
macOS, Windows, Linux
Self-hostable
No
Alternative to
WhatsApp
Tags
  • file-sharing
  • messaging

Last synced from GitHub on Oct 20, 2026

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What people are saying

Updated Oct 20, 2026
  • Hacker NewsTo Telegram: Thank You for Not Writing in ElectronJan 5, 2022 · 20 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsTelegram desktop introduces code formattingNov 6, 2015 · 4 points · 1 comment (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsTelegram ignores option to disable the link preview for 6 yearsFeb 25, 2021 · 4 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Bluesky“i don't remember exactly, but i think telegram ( does remember its position in Gnome, you might want to take a look at their imlementation (it's a Qt program)”Jul 13, 2025 · 1 like · 1 reply (opens Bluesky in a new tab)
  • Bluesky“Please share You can also get Telegram Desktop for your computer - 100% free, faster, safer, secure, protected privacy and more convenient if you don't…”Jul 11, 2026 · 0 likes · 0 replies (opens Bluesky in a new tab)
  • Bluesky“telegramdesktop/tdesktop Telegram Desktop messaging app Telegram Desktop – Official Messenger This is the complete source code and the build instructions for…”Apr 5, 2026 · 0 likes · 0 replies (opens Bluesky in a new tab)
  • Bluesky“Telegram tip, apropos of nothing: the desktop Mac app in the App Store does not have an export function, but an older(?) version found here does…”Jun 8, 2025 · 0 likes · 0 replies (opens Bluesky in a new tab)
  • Bluesky“They made it STUPID easy to reverse engineer their app:”Apr 26, 2024 · 0 likes · 0 replies (opens Bluesky in a new tab)
  • Bluesky“Why is it that the "desktop" application nowadays are just repackaged web browsers?! @signalapp installer 115MB vs 368MB installed. Memory idling: 502MB…”Jan 13, 2021 · 0 likes · 0 replies (opens Bluesky in a new tab)