I want to work on a small app that will use Telegram from within Ubuntu but wanted to first know if there was already a work in progress for this since I noticed that, for example, pidgin has support for WhatsApp. With this in mind, is there a messenger app that has support (even basic support) for Telegram from within Ubuntu.
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There already seems to be two things - Telegram CLI, and Webogram - found those here...– WilfFeb 24, 2014 at 21:14
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1After testing, your comment should be put as an answer. They give me several options to work in ubuntu.– Luis AlvaradoFeb 28, 2014 at 4:09
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I found there is a complete guide of how to use telegram on ubuntu: uthweb.com/how-to/…– user3279640May 8, 2014 at 18:55
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I would advise to use sigram! I think it's the best solution for Ubuntu. With it you can enjoy unity's notifications, and small telegram logo on your system tray.– OromayAug 3, 2014 at 12:59
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I would not recommend sigram just yet. I have been testing it from a end user's point of view. It still has some issues like bad package quality, and some theme issues. It has all you have mentioned but if it shows any problems it will only create chaos on the users. When it feels like it is easy to install and the overall look/feel then I will post it in the answer as a recommended one.– Luis AlvaradoAug 4, 2014 at 16:51
10 Answers
You have several GUI options:
Telegram Software Center
If you are using Ubuntu 16.04 and up, you can go to Software Center and search for telegram. You should find the following:
Now click on the telegram-desktop package to install it.
You can also go to the terminal and type:
sudo snap install telegram-desktop
Telegram Desktop
Which you can do it 2 ways, either using the PPA way, which you would simply run the following lines:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/telegram
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install telegram
or you would go to the official site and download the tar package from there and untar/uncompress the file either on your HOME folder or in the /opt
folder (Whichever you want). Doing it this way you would then need to execute Telegram at least once from within the uncompressed folder.
Telegram SNAP Package
To install Telegram via snap, you can simply do the following:
sudo snap install telegram-desktop
To run, simply open Dash and type Telegram. You will see an option called "Telegram Desktop". If you encounter any issue like Telegram not opening the Desktop version, but instead the Web version, run the following:
snap run telegram-desktop
or
/snap/bin/telegram-desktop
This should make the Telegram Desktop version appear on the Ubuntu Dash.
Telegram Desktop 0.9.18 on Ubuntu 15.10
It works perfectly and integrates well with Ubuntu (Including Unity Launcher and Panel). You can Drag/Drop images, files, videos and more. You can copy/paste text and do everything easily. This PPA is based on the Official Telegram Desktop in https://desktop.telegram.org/
Telegram WebApps (Via PPA)
There is a PPA that can be used to work on Telegram and is based on the Webogram:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:costales/unity-webapps-telegram
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install unity-webapps-telegram
Here it what it looks running on 15.10:
Telegram (Chrome Store)
Another way of using Telegram on your Ubuntu PC is through the Chrome Store and search for Telegram, or click on the Google Store Telegram Link. the app should appear on the App list in the Google chrome as Webogram like such:
In both cases you will only get asked once for your telephone number and a message carrying a 5 digit code will arrive on your phone. You type this code to the Ubuntu app or Chrome app and you are done.
TELEGRAM VERSION DIFFERENCES
WebApps | Desktop PPA | Chrome PPA | Official
Unity Integration Yes Yes Yes Yes
Auto Updated Yes Yes Yes Yes
Can use Telegram Update Feature No Yes No Yes
Updated Frequently / Faster No Yes No Yes
Time between Updates Weeks Days Days Minutes
Uses Notification System Yes Yes Yes Yes
Notifies user in Tray Icon No Yes No Yes
Depends on a Browser Yes No Yes No
Easily execute from Launcher/Dash Yes Yes Yes Yes
Support Drag/Drop Yes Yes Yes Yes
Support Video/Img Yes Yes Yes Yes
Support URL Links / Opening Browser Yes Yes Yes Yes
Resource Usage Mid Low High Low
Support Download/Upload Files Yes Yes Yes Yes
Send Audio Recordings on the fly Yes Yes No Yes
Copy/Paste To/From Clipboard Yes Yes Yes Yes
Compatible with Latest Ubuntu No Yes Yes Yes
WebApps PPA -Telegram version using the ppa:costales/unity-webapps-telegram PPA which uses the Unity WebApp Browser (Webogram). Currently works perfectly and integrates with Unity.
Desktop PPA - This is the PPA created by ppa:atareao/telegram. It works perfectly with Ubuntu and even updates itself rather quickly with the latest version. It offers Top Panel tray icon support and notification.
Chrome PPA - It depends on the Chrome Browser since it is used as an Chrome App. It also integrates with Unity but you need to have Chrome opened in order to make it work.
Desktop Official - This is the terminal version which you download and decompress. Simply execute from terminal and you will have it working in no time. It offers a manual update system.
Other Versions
Telegram Web - https://web.telegram.org/
The user only needs to provide their phone number, receive the Telegram 5 digit code on their phone and type it in the website.
Telegram Desktop - https://desktop.telegram.org/
The user needs to download and decompress the file, then run it from the terminal.
How to upgrade Telegram via the Telegram Update option
In order for this to work, you can download the Official Desktop version which includes to files, the Telegram binary and the Updater. Run the updater to get the latest version or click on the Update option inside the Telegram app when an update is available.
Another way that helps affects the Telegram Desktop PPA and it works by executing the Updater binary mentioned above from the Official Desktop version while having the Telegram Desktop PPA installed already. After running the Updater once, any new versions that come out will also affect the Telegram Desktop PPA and you can keep on updating Telegram via the Update option.
How to use, get & contribute to Telegram
Telegram offers several ways to use and contribute to them:
- API - https://core.telegram.org/api
- Protocol - https://core.telegram.org/mtproto
- Telegram App Versions - https://telegram.org/apps
- Telegram Android Source Code - https://github.com/DrKLO/Telegram
- Telegram Web Source Code - https://github.com/zhukov/webogram
- Telegram Desktop Source Code - https://github.com/telegramdesktop/tdesktop
In all cases, you can participate, contribute, file bug reports and ideas. Additional here is what Telegram looks on Lubuntu:
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I used Telegram Desktop method in Lubuntu 15.10, but the problem is that notification icon is missing. Do you have any idea how to fix it?– SadeghFeb 21, 2016 at 14:12
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Hi @Woeistg I just finished installing Lubuntu 15.10 64-bit and installed Telegram. It is working correctly from my end. My only 2 suggestions are to either run the /opt/telegram/telegram to refresh or to file a bug report on the github source code for it (links at the bottom of the answer). Feb 21, 2016 at 14:43
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there were no telegram in
/opt/telegram/telegram
so I runtelegarm
and system answersThe program 'telegram' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing: sudo apt-get install orville-write
. So I runsudo apt-get install orville-write
and now when I run/opt/telegram/telegram
system asnwerstelegram: Panic - Unable to find your tty (pts/0) in /var/run/utmp
. I guess I did something wrong!– SadeghFeb 21, 2016 at 15:17 -
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1telegram-desktop is the official client package:
sudo snap install telegram-desktop
Feb 21, 2018 at 19:09
For Ubuntu 17.04 and above:
Telegram-desktop
package is available in Official Ubuntu Repositories.
So you can install this package with this command easily (without any need to PPA or any other ways):
sudo apt install telegram-desktop
Additional information :
As this package is available in universe
repositories of Ubuntu, so this repositories should be active on your machine (That's active by default) :
sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo apt update
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Thank you Ali, one quick question, will it receive weekly / monthly updates by the Telegram team? For example similar to how the desktop.telegram.org works Aug 19, 2017 at 2:09
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1@LuisAlvarado Thanks for your reply ; Yes it receives updates well. For example
telegram-desktop
package's version inzesty
is1.0.29
and its version inartful
is1.1.19
. Aug 19, 2017 at 8:14
There already seems to be two things available - Telegram CLI, and Webogram - found those here...
The first had to be compiled, based on these instructions:
First, install the dependencies:
sudo apt-get install libreadline-dev libconfig-dev libssl-dev lua5.2 liblua5.2-dev
Then:
wget https://github.com/vysheng/tg/archive/master.zip -O tg-master.zip
unzip tg-master.zip
cd tg-master
./configure
make
Then to run it:
./telegram
The second seems to be a web client. I have not tried either of these yet, as I don't use telegram.
Another client exists: Telegram Desktop.
Installation:
- Download the archive by clicking on the big button.
- Open the archive in File Roller.
- Extract the archive.
- Start the application by double-clicking on 'Telegram' in the 'Telegram' directory.
If you know how to use the terminal, you might prefer it this way:
wget https://tdesktop.com/linux32
on a 32-bit systemwget https://tdesktop.com/linux
on a 64-bit systemtar xvf linux*
./Telegram/Telegram
For quick access, pin the application in the Ubuntu Launcher by right-clicking on its icon.
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By pinning it on my launcher, it loses its icon, unless I keep the
Telegram
folder on my desktop (and not anywhere else). That's a pain to me, as I like to keep my desktop clean :-(– streppelDec 13, 2014 at 19:40 -
1Some solutions: 1) Hide the
Telegram
directory by renaming it to.Telegram
. Restart the app, and re-pin to launcher. 2) Move the Telegram directory to a different directory (e.g.~/Downloads
). Restart and repin. 3) A combination of both. Dec 13, 2014 at 20:02
I've just found this on launchpad https://launchpad.net/ubuntu-telegram-app
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1
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For future uses:
This development also intends to be available in an ubuntu desktop os version
Mar 2, 2014 at 18:03 -
Hi. I'm the owner of that launchpad project. It is currently abandoned since derived in the current development i'm doing, along with other people, of Ubuntu Touch telegram native version. Don't consider that project much more than a proof of concept Nov 6, 2014 at 10:05
What about this?
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install telegram-purple
then, go to pidgin and add your telegram account using your phone number (+99999xxx) as username
more info: https://github.com/majn/telegram-purple
source: (in Spanish) http://hipertextual.com/2014/11/telegram-desde-pidgin
There is a new native client called Sigram: http://labs.sialan.org/projects/sigram
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Yes but the Ubuntu version is not working correctly for many users. The user needs to download the Linux version and run it from the terminal. It is missing many needed features and it has problems on Ubuntu as mentioned in github.com/sialan-labs/sigram/issues/33 This was actually one that I wanted to add to the list but with so many problems for end user I would end up scaring them. In any case +1 because of mentioning it Jun 24, 2014 at 16:43
There is also a young project which makes it possible to use telegram in pidgin (and other libpurple based messangers): https://github.com/majn/telegram-purple
Still a devel version but as far I can tell the basic features are working well.
To install telegram on DEB based systems, run the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/telegram
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install telegram
Ubuntu 18.04 and later
Open the terminal and type:
sudo apt install telegram-desktop
Ubuntu 16.04
Telegram is a native snap package in all currently supported versions of Ubuntu. To install it open the terminal and type:
sudo apt install snapd
sudo snap install telegram-desktop
Telegram is a popular messaging protocol with encryption and security as its key focus. telegram-sergiusens is the latest version of Telegram, the same version as the Telegram file that is available at the official Telegram website. The telegram-sergiusens snap package will be updated automatically when updates are available.