What is Telegram Desktop used for?

Telegram Desktop is the official open-source desktop client for the Telegram messenger, available for Windows, macOS and Linux. It is a good fit for using Telegram chats from a desktop computer and reference for building a Telegram client.

Is Telegram Desktop open source?

Yes. Telegram Desktop is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at telegramdesktop/tdesktop and is written mainly in C++.

Is Telegram Desktop free?

Yes. Telegram Desktop is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.

What is Telegram Desktop an alternative to?

Telegram Desktop is an open-source alternative to WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber and LINE. Other open-source alternatives to WhatsApp include Telegram for Android, Signal Android and Signal Desktop.

Is Telegram Desktop actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Telegram Desktop was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v7.2.9, published on 17 September 2026. The project has 33k stars on GitHub.

Telegram Desktop: open-source alternative to WhatsApp

About Telegram Desktop

Telegram Desktop is the official desktop client for the Telegram messaging service. The repository holds the complete source code and build instructions for an app built on the Telegram API and the MTProto secure protocol. It is written in C++, and the license is GPLv3 with an OpenSSL exception.

Builds are published for 64-bit and 32-bit Windows 7 and above, including portable versions, for macOS 10.13 and above, and for Linux as a static 64-bit build, a Snap and a Flatpak. Older systems are served by version 4.9.9, the last release that supports macOS 10.12 and older Linux with glibc. The client connects to Telegram's hosted service rather than a server you run yourself, so using it means having a Telegram account.

Key features

Official Telegram desktop messenger
Built on the Telegram API and MTProto
Portable Windows builds
macOS and Linux static, Snap and Flatpak packages
Full source code and build instructions
GPLv3 with OpenSSL exception

Good fit for

→Using Telegram chats from a desktop computer
→Reference for building a Telegram client

Built with: C++
Tags: telegram; messenger; chat; desktop-app; cpp; mtproto; messaging; cross-platform

Telegram Desktop: questions and answers

What is Telegram Desktop used for?: Telegram Desktop is the official open-source desktop client for the Telegram messenger, available for Windows, macOS and Linux. It is a good fit for using Telegram chats from a desktop computer and reference for building a Telegram client.
Is Telegram Desktop open source?: Yes. Telegram Desktop is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at telegramdesktop/tdesktop and is written mainly in C++.
Is Telegram Desktop free?: Yes. Telegram Desktop is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
What is Telegram Desktop an alternative to?: Telegram Desktop is an open-source alternative to WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber and LINE. Other open-source alternatives to WhatsApp include Telegram for Android, Signal Android and Signal Desktop.
Is Telegram Desktop actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Telegram Desktop was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v7.2.9, published on 17 September 2026. The project has 33k stars on GitHub.