Telegram X — a slick experimental Telegram client based on TDLib.
This is the complete source code and the build instructions for the official alternative Android client for the Telegram messenger, based on the Telegram API and the MTProto secure protocol via TDLib.
Other sources
- Repository must be fetched via
git - JDK or Android Studio (with compatible bundled JDK)
- At least 8GB of RAM
- At least 7,32GB of free disk space when cloning with
--shallow-submodules --depth=1 - At least 2-5x times more disk space for files generated during build process.
- Homebrew
- git with LFS:
$ brew install git git-lfs && git lfs install - JDK:
$ brew install openjdk@25
- git with LFS:
# apt install git git-lfs - Run
$ git lfs installif you just installedgit-lfs - JDK:
# apt install openjdk-25-jdk - If multiple JDK versions are installed:
# update-java-alternatives --list# update-java-alternatives --set java-1.25.0-openjdk-amd64(or other compatible version)
- MSYS2 (UCRT64 environment)
- Update packages:
pacman -Syu - Run
pacman -S --needed git mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-git-lfs perl make diffutils - Run
git lfs install - Run
git config --global core.longpaths true - Clone the repository
- Set
msys2.dirinlocal.propertiesafter cloning - Note: you have to use
\\or/as path separator in properties files
$ git clone --recursive https://github.com/TGX-Android/Telegram-X tgx- In case you forgot the
--recursiveflag,cdintotgxdirectory and run:$ git submodule update --init --recursive - Open project via Android Studio or build manually from the command line:
./gradlew assembleLatestDebug - If build fails, follow the instructions provided in the error message.
- Obtain Telegram API credentials
- Create
local.propertiesfile in the root project folder using any text editor:# Location where you have Android SDK installed sdk.dir=YOUR_ANDROID_SDK_FOLDER # Telegram API credentials obtained at previous step telegram.api_id=YOUR_TELEGRAM_API_ID telegram.api_hash=YOUR_TELEGRAM_API_HASH
- Setup Firebase and replace
google-services.jsonwith the one that's suitable for yourapp.id
Reference of commands for building, testing and maintenance
-Pabi limits native libraries to given ABIs, separated by commas: arm64, arm32, x64 or x86. Without it, all ABIs are built. Latest in task names can be replaced with another flavor, see flavors.
Set up Android SDK, NDK and local.properties, on Windows in MSYS2:
scripts/setup.shCheck that submodules and Git LFS files are fetched:
./gradlew :app:validateGitSetupBuild and install debug build on connected device:
./gradlew :app:installLatestDebug -Pabi=arm64Build legacy flavor for Android 4.x, which requires older NDK:
./gradlew :app:assembleLegacyDebug -PuseLegacyNdk=true -Pabi=arm32Build libvpx and FFmpeg for all flavors and ABIs, add -PuseLegacyNdk=true for legacy flavor:
./gradlew :app:buildLibvpx
./gradlew :app:buildFfmpegRun unit tests:
./gradlew :app:testLatestDebugUnitTestRun integration tests and UI tests on emulator:
./gradlew :app:emulatorLatestDebugAndroidTest -Pabi=arm64
./gradlew :tests:ui:emulatorLatestNonMinifiedReleaseAndroidTest -Pabi=arm64Run one test on device, e.g. on connected one:
./gradlew :tests:ui:connectedLatestNonMinifiedReleaseAndroidTest -Pabi=arm64 -Pandroid.testInstrumentationRunnerArguments.class=tgx.test.UnauthorizedLaunchTestFind classes added after minSdk of each flavor in declarations and, for Android 4.x, in imports, and calls to them without version checks:
./gradlew checkMinSdk
./gradlew checkMinSdk -PuseLegacyNdk=true
./gradlew :app:lintLegacyDebug -PuseLegacyNdk=trueDescribe results of checks before and after a change for pull request, see tests:
./gradlew clearCheckResults
# Run checks without the change
./gradlew saveCheckResults
# Run checks with the change
./gradlew describeCheckResultsCheck test tools on connected test device after changing them, see tests:
scripts/check-test-tools.shRun benchmarks on connected device and compare results before and after a change:
./gradlew :tests:benchmark:connectedLatestBenchmarkReleaseAndroidTest -Pabi=arm64
./gradlew :tests:benchmark:saveBenchmarkResults
# Apply the change and run benchmarks again
./gradlew :tests:benchmark:compareBenchmarkResults -Pmetric=frameDurationCpuMsP90Run microbenchmarks of app code and show implementations side by side:
./gradlew :tests:microbenchmark:connectedLatestNonMinifiedReleaseAndroidTest -Pabi=arm64 -Pandroid.testInstrumentationRunnerArguments.class=tgx.test.TextBenchmarks
./gradlew :tests:microbenchmark:describeBenchmarkResultsOptimize Text: save results before a change, then run microbenchmarks after it and compare, see tests:
./gradlew -q :tests:microbenchmark:connectedLatestNonMinifiedReleaseAndroidTest :tests:microbenchmark:saveBenchmarkResults -Pabi=arm64 -Pandroid.testInstrumentationRunnerArguments.class=tgx.test.TextSuite
# Change Text and run them again
./gradlew -q :tests:microbenchmark:connectedLatestNonMinifiedReleaseAndroidTest :tests:microbenchmark:compareBenchmarkResults -Pabi=arm64 -Pandroid.testInstrumentationRunnerArguments.class=tgx.test.TextSuite -Pimplementation=Text -Pcontrol=BoringOrStaticLayoutList devices and variants for which baseline profiles will be generated, without generating them, as tasks named <device><Variant>AndroidTest:
./gradlew :app:generateBaselineProfile -Pabi=arm64 -m | grep AndroidTestGenerate baseline profiles for all variants on emulator and connected device, keeping computer awake and saving log. ABIs must suit both devices: on x86_64 computers emulator is x64, unlike phones:
# macOS with Apple silicon
caffeinate -i ./gradlew :app:generateBaselineProfile -Pabi=arm64 --continue 2>&1 | tee ~/baseline-profile.log
# Ubuntu
systemd-inhibit --what=idle:sleep ./gradlew :app:generateBaselineProfile -Pabi=arm64,x64 --continue 2>&1 | tee ~/baseline-profile.logIn order to verify that there is no additional source code injected inside official APKs, you must use one of the following versions of Ubuntu:
- 21.04: for builds published before 26th May 2023
- 22.04.2 LTS: for builds published before 27th September 2025
- 24.04 LTS: for builds published before 1st October 2026
- 26.04 LTS: for any newer releases
And update its configuration:
- Create user called
vkwith the home directory located at/home/vk - Clone
tgxrepository to/home/vk/tgx - Check out the specific commit you want to verify
- In rare cases of builds that include unmerged pull requests, you must follow actions performed by Publisher's
fetchPrandsquashPrtasks cdintotgxfolder and install dependencies:# apt install $(cat reproducible-builds/dependencies.txt)- Follow up the build instruction from the previous section
- Run
$ apkanalyzer apk compare --different-only <remote-apk> <reproduced-apk> - If only signature files and metadata differ, build reproduction is successful.
If you downloaded Telegram X APK from somewhere and would like to simply verify whether it's an original APK without any injected malicious source code, you need to get checksum (SHA-256, SHA-1 or MD5) of the downloaded APK file and find whether it corresponds to any known Telegram X version.
In order to obtain SHA-256 of the APK:
$ sha256sum <path-to-apk>on Ubuntu$ shasum -a 256 <path-to-apk>on macOS$ certutil -hashfile <path-to-apk> SHA256on Windows
Once obtained, there are three ways to find out the commit for the specific checksum:
- Sending checksum to
@tgx_bot - Searching for a checksum in
@tgx_log. You can do so without need in installing any Telegram client by using this URL format:https://t.me/s/tgx_log?q={checksum}(click to see in action). Note: unpublished builds cannot be verified this way.
Telegram X is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v3.0.
For more information, see LICENSE file.
License of components and third-party dependencies it relies on might differ, check LICENSE file in the corresponding folder.
List of third-party components used in Telegram X can be found here. Additionally you can check the specific commit of the third-party component used, for example, here and here.
Telegram X welcomes contributions. Check out pull request template, code style and guide for contributors to learn more about Telegram X internals before creating the first pull request.
If you are a regular user and experience a problem with Telegram X, the best place to look for solution is Telegram X chat — a community with over 4 thousand members. Please do not use this repository to ask questions: if you have general issue with Telegram, refer to FAQ or contact Telegram Support.
