Telegram Desktop: the official Telegram messenger client
/tdesktop
Telegram Desktop is the official client for Windows, macOS, and Linux, built from the same C++/Qt codebase Telegram publishes on GitHub. It's worth installing once you're already living in Telegram on your phone and want a real desktop window instead of a browser tab — the app handles large chat lists, file transfers, and multiple windows better than Telegram Web ever will.
What is Telegram Desktop?
Telegram Desktop is the open-source desktop client for the Telegram messenger, built on the MTProto protocol that also powers Telegram's mobile apps. Unlike the mobile version, it's a compiled application for Windows, macOS, and Linux instead of something you carry in your pocket, shipped as an installer, a portable build, or a Snap/Flatpak package depending on platform.
Core features of Telegram Desktop
- ✓Installers for Windows 7 and later (64-bit and 32-bit, with portable versions), macOS 10.13 and later, and a static Linux build, plus Snap and Flatpak packages.
- ✓Runs on MTProto, the same protocol behind Telegram's mobile and web clients, keeping chats, media, and settings synced the moment you switch devices.
- ✓Built with Qt 6 (Qt 5.15 on older OS branches), giving the C++ codebase one UI toolkit across Windows, macOS, and Linux instead of three separate front ends.
- ✓Calls run on a bundled WebRTC stack with the Opus codec compiled directly into the app, not loaded through a browser plugin.
- ✓Ships with Hunspell for inline spell-checking and a built-in QR-code generator/reader used for the desktop login flow.
- ✓Legacy builds exist for old systems — version 4.9.9 for macOS 10.12 and older Linux glibc, 2.4.4 for OS X 10.10/10.11, and 1.8.15 for Windows XP/Vista and OS X 10.6-10.9 — so machines that can't run the current build aren't left with nothing.
Installing Telegram Desktop
Installing Telegram Desktop depends on the OS: Windows 7 and later gets a 64-bit or 32-bit installer, each with a portable version that skips installation entirely; macOS 10.13 and later gets a dedicated build; Linux gets a static 64-bit build, or you install through Snap or Flatpak. Older machines fall back to legacy releases — 4.9.9, 2.4.4, or 1.8.15 depending on the OS version. Compiling it yourself means following the separate Windows, macOS, and Docker-based GNU/Linux instructions in the docs/ folder; the source ships under GPLv3 with the OpenSSL exception, so the build process is fully documented rather than hidden.
Why choose Telegram Desktop over a browser or mobile
- ✓A real installed app instead of a browser tab, so it survives browser restarts, doesn't compete for browser RAM, and gets its own dock/taskbar icon plus system notifications like any other program.
- ✓The same Qt-based UI on Windows, macOS, and Linux means the same keyboard shortcuts and layout everywhere — muscle memory from one OS carries over to the other two.
- ✓A portable Windows build and Flatpak/Snap packages let you run it without a full installer, useful on locked-down or shared machines.
- ✓Legacy builds going back to version 1.8.15 for Windows XP/Vista mean genuinely old hardware isn't automatically cut off.
- ✓Source is public under GPLv3 with the OpenSSL exception, so you — or anyone — can read exactly what the client does and compile it yourself instead of trusting a binary.
Known limitations and privacy considerations
- △The README doesn't document day-to-day usage — no walkthrough of the interface, settings, or keyboard shortcuts, just build and install instructions.
- △Regular cloud chats are encrypted client-to-server, not end-to-end; only opt-in secret chats change that, and this client can't override Telegram's own protocol design.
- △The repo's license field isn't machine-readable even though the README spells it out as GPLv3 with the OpenSSL exception — check the LICENSE file directly if that matters for your use case.
- △Building from source pulls in a long list of bundled third-party libraries (Qt, OpenSSL, WebRTC, FFmpeg, and more), so a from-scratch compile is not a quick job — expect to set up a real build environment.
Telegram Desktop alternatives worth considering
Who Telegram Desktop is best suited for
Telegram Desktop suits anyone already using Telegram on mobile who wants a proper desktop window — a bigger canvas, keyboard shortcuts, drag-and-drop files instead of a browser upload dialog, and native OS notifications. It doesn't suit someone whose top priority is default end-to-end encryption on every chat: for that, either turn on Telegram's secret chats manually or pick a messenger where encryption is the default, like element or simplex-chat.
Frequently asked questions
Telegram Desktop's regular cloud chats are not end-to-end encrypted by default — they use client-to-server encryption instead, so message content is decryptable on Telegram's servers. End-to-end encryption only applies to secret chats, which you have to start manually per conversation.
Telegram Desktop does support group video calls, built on a bundled WebRTC stack with the Opus audio codec compiled directly into the client rather than loaded as a browser plugin.
A Telegram account still needs a phone number to register, but Telegram Desktop itself doesn't require you to type that number in — you can log in by scanning a QR code from an already-registered phone instead.
Telegram Desktop supports Windows 7 and later (64-bit and 32-bit, with portable builds), macOS 10.13 and later, and Linux through a static 64-bit build, Snap, or Flatpak. Older systems get separate legacy builds.
Telegram Desktop is a compiled application built with Qt and C++, installed on your OS like any other program, while Telegram Web runs inside a browser tab with no install step. The desktop client gets its own window, taskbar icon, and system notifications.
The tdesktop repository on GitHub contains Telegram Desktop's complete source code under GPLv3 with the OpenSSL exception, plus separate build instructions for Windows, macOS, and GNU/Linux using Docker.
The problem it solves
Telegram's mobile app is built for a phone screen: one chat at a time, a small text box, no easy way to juggle files across windows. Telegram Desktop exists so the same MTProto-backed account can run as a proper program with a resizable window, several chats visible at once, and file transfers that don't route through a phone's tiny share sheet — while staying source-available so anyone can verify what the client actually does with your messages. Nothing here is hidden.
Best use cases
- •Running Telegram as a persistent desktop app during the workday instead of keeping a browser tab pinned open.
- •Managing large channels or group chats where a bigger screen and keyboard shortcuts make scrolling history and searching media faster than on a phone.
- •Sending and receiving large files between a desktop workstation and a phone without emailing them to yourself.
- •Building or auditing the client yourself from source, using the Windows, macOS, and Docker-based Linux build instructions in the repo.
- •Running the portable Windows build or a Flatpak/Snap package on machines where a full system-level install isn't possible.
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