# caamer20/Telegram-Drive: a Tauri desktop client that turns Saved Messages into a file workspace > Telegram Drive is an open-source Tauri, Rust and React app that presents your own Telegram account as a desktop-style drive on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and Google TV. It is a real workspace with real Telegram limits, and the README is candid about both. **caamer20/Telegram-Drive** — Turn your Telegram account into an unlimited, secure cloud storage drive. an Open-source desktop app built with Tauri, Rust, and React. - Repository: https://github.com/caamer20/Telegram-Drive - Website: https://www.cameronamer.com - Stars: 5,287 · Forks: 824 - Language: TypeScript - License: NOASSERTION - Published: 2026-09-23 · Updated: 2026-09-23 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/caamer20-telegram-drive ## The problem Telegram Drive actually solves Telegram already stores files. Saved Messages accepts uploads, channels can hold archives, and the official clients render images and play video. What they do not give you is a file manager: no tree view over a channel, no drag-and-drop queue with retries, no folder sync, no WebDAV mount, no way to treat a channel as a directory. Telegram Drive is built for people who already use Telegram as bulk storage and want the desktop affordances back. The README describes it as "a local-first file workspace powered by your own Telegram account" and lists the target platforms as Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and Google TV. The audience is narrow and specific. If you have never uploaded a file to Saved Messages, this app has nothing to organize. If you have, and you have been scrolling through chat history to find a PDF, the premise is immediately legible. The README also names the boundary up front: the project is independent and not affiliated with Telegram FZ-LLC, and it "should not be treated as literally unlimited storage or as the only backup of important data." That warning sits in the same block as the feature pitch, which is a better sign than a marketing page that hides it. ## How the Tauri shell, Rust core and React UI divide the work The repository is a Tauri application: a Rust backend with a React and TypeScript frontend, which is consistent with the topics listed on the repository (tauri, rust, react, typescript) and with TypeScript being the primary language. The data flow described in the README is direct: "The app connects directly to Telegram with credentials you provide; it does not run a separate file-storage or relay service." There is no intermediate server holding your files. The app talks to Telegram, and local state lives on your machine: "Local configuration and caches, opt-in crash reporting, loopback-only local servers, and no separate file relay." The desktop integrations follow from that architecture. Folder Sync, a local REST API, WebDAV and local share links are all served from the local process, and the README says those servers bind to loopback only. Storage is mapped conceptually rather than physically: Saved Messages is the home location, and Telegram channels "can be presented as folders." Transfers are queued durably and run in the background with retry controls, which matters because uploads to Telegram fail for ordinary network reasons and a queue that survives a restart is the difference between a usable tool and a toy. Media handling is split by type: image preview, PDF viewing, audio playback, video streaming and thumbnails. Streaming is the interesting one, because it implies range requests against Telegram rather than a full download before playback. The README does not document the streaming internals, so treat that as an implementation detail to verify by reading the source. ## Installing Telegram Drive on Windows, macOS or Linux There is no package manager install for the desktop app. The README points at the GitHub Releases page and provides direct asset links for each platform, with a note that Windows ships "the required Microsoft Visual C++ runtime setup" inside the installer. Linux users choose between AppImage, Debian, RPM and Arch packages, and the README states that "Arch updates remain managed by pacman," so the Arch build is not self-updating. Download from the repository's Releases page only, as the README instructs. The README gives the AppImage asset name Telegram.Drive_3.9.0_amd64.AppImage, and the Linux packaging guide covers AppImage safe mode: ```bash chmod +x Telegram.Drive_3.9.0_amd64.AppImage ./Telegram.Drive_3.9.0_amd64.AppImage ``` The app opens on a credentials screen, not a login screen, because Telegram requires third-party clients to register their own application. The README is explicit: "Telegram Drive does not provide shared credentials." You sign in at my.telegram.org, open API development tools, create an application, and copy its api_id and api_hash into the app locally. After that you authenticate with your phone number and login code, or with QR login, and complete Telegram's cloud-password step if it is enabled. Then open Saved Messages or pick a channel to use as a folder. The README warns that the API hash, Telegram login codes, session data and encryption credentials should be treated as secrets. Nothing in the repository suggests those values leave your machine, but the warning is the right posture: they are the keys to the account. ## Folder Sync, WebDAV and the local REST API The desktop integrations are the part that separates this from a Telegram skin. Folder Sync maps a local directory to Telegram storage, and the README lists "sync previews" among the workspace features, which suggests you can inspect what a sync will do before it runs. That is the correct design for a sync tool, because silent destructive sync is the failure mode users fear most. WebDAV and a local REST API let other programs read and write through the app, and the repository carries dedicated guides for both: WEBDAV_GUIDE.md and REST_API_Documentation.md, alongside SYNC_GUIDE.md. Those files are the place to look for exact endpoints and config keys, because the README does not enumerate them. Two constraints are visible from the structure. First, the servers are loopback-only by design, so you cannot reach them from another machine without adding your own tunnel; that is a deliberate safety choice, not an oversight, but it rules out the obvious use case of mounting your Telegram storage on a second computer over the network. Second, everything routes through your Telegram account, so throughput is bound by Telegram's upload and download behaviour rather than by local disk speed. For a few gigabytes of documents this is fine. For a media library you stream daily, the queue and retry behaviour is what you will actually feel. ## Encryption is alpha, and the README says so Client-side encryption is marked in the README's own table of contents as "Optional client-side encryption (alpha)." That label is the honest part of the feature list, and it should shape how you use the app. Alpha means the format may change, which is a problem for encrypted files specifically: if the encryption scheme is revised, files written by an older build may need migration, and the README does not document a migration path or a rollback procedure for encrypted content. The README also lists encryption credentials among the values to treat as secrets in its warning block. The practical reading: use encryption for new files you can re-upload if something goes wrong, not for the only copy of an archive you cannot reproduce. Separately, the licence file is reported by GitHub as NOASSERTION, meaning the platform could not classify it automatically. The repository also carries SUPPORTER_LICENSE_INVARIANTS.md and SUPPORTER_TERMS.md, and the README describes an optional one-time $5 supporter license that removes sponsor placements for life on up to three supported devices. All features are stated to be free without payment. What the supporter license does and does not grant is a question for those two documents, not for this article, and nothing here is legal advice. ## Android, Google TV and what the preview label means The Android build is a signed universal APK supporting Android 7.0 or newer across ARM64, ARMv7, x86 and x86_64, and the same package includes the TV launcher and remote navigation. The README instructs you to install the signed APK over your existing app "to preserve its data and activation," which is a concrete constraint: uninstalling first will cost you the app's local state. The release is labelled a preview (Android & Android TV v4.1.0), and the README ties it to specific fixes, including the folder sidebar reported in issue #212 and "the latest native media and offline improvements." If you are comparing this with the official Telegram app on a phone, the difference is organizational rather than functional: the official client is a messenger that happens to store files, while this is a file workspace that happens to use a messenger as its backend. On a TV, the remote-navigation launcher is the reason to care at all. On a phone, the case is weaker unless you specifically want the folder-as-channel model and the offline features. There is no iOS build listed anywhere in the README or the release table, and the related searches include "telegram drive ios," which the README does not answer. ## Alternatives and where Telegram Drive is the wrong tool The most direct alternative is the official Telegram client itself. It is maintained by Telegram, it needs no API credentials of your own, and it will never break because a third-party client fell behind an API change. What it does not give you is a sync engine, a WebDAV endpoint, a REST API, or a file tree over channels. If your need is "find a file I sent myself," the official client's search is sufficient and Telegram Drive is extra software holding your session credentials. The second alternative is a conventional cloud drive, which differs in the opposite direction: you get a documented storage contract and a support path, and you give up the Telegram account you already have. The third is rclone, which speaks to many backends including Telegram and is a command-line sync tool; the difference is that rclone is scriptable and headless, while Telegram Drive is a GUI application with media preview and streaming. Pick by interface, not by storage backend, because both end up in the same place. Telegram Drive is the wrong tool when you need a storage guarantee. The README states that files remain subject to Telegram's account, service and per-file limits, and it warns against treating the app as the only backup of important data. It is also the wrong tool if you are unwilling to register an application at my.telegram.org and manage an API hash, because there is no shared-credential path. ## Maintenance, upgrade cost and what to check before adopting The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-09-19, four days before this writing. Releases are frequent: v3.9.0 and the Android 4.1.0 preview both landed on 2026-09-12, and v3.8.5 on 2026-08-31. That cadence has a cost. Desktop release assets include "updater/signature sidecars where applicable," so the app can update itself on some platforms, but the README points Linux users at Docs/LINUX_PACKAGING.md for "Arch installation, updater ownership, diagnostics, and AppImage safe mode." Updater ownership is the phrase to read carefully: if pacman owns the Arch package, the in-app updater and the system package manager can disagree about which version is installed. AppImage safe mode exists precisely because rendering problems happen on Linux, so budget time for that if you run an unusual GPU or compositor setup. The documentation set is unusually complete for a project of this size: PRIVACY.md, SECURITY.md, SYNC_GUIDE.md, WEBDAV_GUIDE.md, REST_API_Documentation.md, SUPPORTER_SERVICE.md and SUPPORTER_BACKUP_RECOVERY.md all sit at the repository root. Read PRIVACY.md and SECURITY.md before entering credentials, and check whether crash reporting is on, since the README describes it as opt-in. The upgrade decision itself is easy: nothing in the README suggests a paid tier gates features, so upgrading is a download away. The hard part is the credential and encryption surface, and that is where your attention belongs. ## Conclusion Adopt it if you already keep files in Saved Messages or private channels and want a desktop workspace with Folder Sync, a local REST API, WebDAV and streaming on top of them, and if you are willing to register your own Telegram application at my.telegram.org. Do not adopt it as the only copy of anything important, and do not expect literal unlimited storage: the README states files remain subject to Telegram's account, service and per-file limits. Before trusting it, verify three things in the repository: the licence terms in the root LICENSE file, since GitHub reports NOASSERTION; the exact updater and package-ownership behaviour your Linux format uses, documented in Docs/LINUX_PACKAGING.md; and the opt-in state of crash reporting after first launch. The project's own warning is the right frame for the decision: Telegram Drive should not be treated as the only backup of important data. ## FAQ ### Can I use Telegram as a Drive with Telegram Drive? Yes, that is the premise. The app presents Saved Messages as the home location and lets you use Telegram channels as folders, then adds a desktop workspace with sync, preview, streaming and sharing on top. The README cautions that files remain subject to Telegram's account, service and per-file limits, so it is not literally unlimited storage. ### How do I install Telegram Drive on Windows or Linux? Download the installer for your platform from the repository's GitHub Releases page. Windows ships an x64 setup that includes the Microsoft Visual C++ runtime, and Linux offers AppImage, Debian, RPM and Arch packages, with the README noting that Arch updates remain managed by pacman. ### How do I set up Telegram Drive after installing it? Sign in at my.telegram.org, open API development tools, create an application, and copy its api_id and api_hash into the app locally. The README states that Telegram Drive does not provide shared credentials, so you must register your own. Then authenticate with your phone number and login code, or QR login, and complete the cloud-password step if it is enabled. ### Is Telegram Drive safe to use? The README describes local configuration and caches, opt-in crash reporting, loopback-only local servers, and no separate file relay, and it warns that the API hash, login codes, session data and encryption credentials should be treated as secrets. Client-side encryption is labelled alpha. The project is independent and not affiliated with Telegram FZ-LLC. ### What is Telegram Drive? It is an open-source desktop and Android app built with Tauri, Rust and React that turns your own Telegram account into a file workspace. It organizes, transfers, previews, streams, syncs and shares files kept in Saved Messages and Telegram channels, and adds Folder Sync, a local REST API, WebDAV and local share links on desktop. ## Sources - [caamer20/Telegram-Drive on GitHub](https://github.com/caamer20/Telegram-Drive) - [Issues](https://github.com/caamer20/Telegram-Drive/issues) - [Project website](https://www.cameronamer.com) - [README](https://github.com/caamer20/Telegram-Drive/blob/main/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/caamer20/Telegram-Drive/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/caamer20-telegram-drive