Frequently asked questions
If something here is unclear or missing, the blog goes into more depth.
Is TelegramBuddy free?
Yes. It is free to download and use, and you can read its source. There is no account, no subscription and no paid tier.
Does my data go through your servers?
No. There is no TelegramBuddy server. The app runs on your computer, talks to Telegram directly, and writes files straight to your disk. Your login session is a file on your machine and is never uploaded anywhere.
Can it download from private groups and channels?
Yes, for private groups and channels you are a member of. You can also paste a t.me invite link or a private t.me/c/ message link to open a chat that is not in your list yet.
Can it download an entire channel at once?
Yes. Choose a chat and download every photo, video, document, music file or voice message in it, filtered by type, text search or a date range. You can also queue many chats in one go.
What happens if a download is interrupted?
Large files keep their partial data and continue from where they stopped, including after you close the app. Files that already finished are skipped, so re-running a channel only fetches what is new.
Where are my files saved?
In a folder per chat inside your downloads folder, which you can change. Files keep the name Telegram gave them, and can be split into Photos, Videos, Files, Music and Voice subfolders.
Can it save message text and not just files?
Yes. Select messages and save their text to a file in chat order, or export a whole chat as a readable HTML page or as JSON.
Why do I need an api_id and api_hash?
Telegram requires every app to register its own. It takes two minutes at my.telegram.org, you do it once, and it stays on your computer. It identifies the app rather than you, and having your own means nobody else's usage affects your rate limits.
Which systems does it run on?
macOS and Windows as a desktop app, and on Linux from source.
Which languages is it available in?
English, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian and Uzbek. It follows your system language on first run and you can change it in Settings.
Is this a bot?
No. It is a desktop app that signs in as you, so it can see the same chats you can. You do not forward anything to a bot, and nothing is copied to a third party.