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TELEGRAM-DESKTOP(1) General Commands Manual TELEGRAM-DESKTOP(1)

NAME

telegram-desktop - fast and secure messaging application

SYNOPSIS

telegram-desktop [-autostart] [-startintray] [-debug] [-scale INT] [-workdir PATH] [-- URI]

DESCRIPTION

This manual page documents how to run Telegram Desktop, official Telegram client.

OPTIONS

Although the program is primarily a GUI application, it understands various command line arguments, some of them are described in the present document.
-autostart
Apply automatic start. It works if only auto-starting is allowed in settings and the app is not locked by a passcode. Telegram will start minimized in the system tray if the corresponding checkbox has been set.
-startintray
Do not show the main window, just start in the system tray. Useful for automatic unconditional launching.
-debug
Run in debug mode immediately. See full logs in working directory or in standard location at ~/.local/share/TelegramDesktop/DebugLogs.
-scale INT
Set initial interface scale factor. Possible values are measured in percents from 75 up to 300 inclusive.
-workdir PATH
Change current working directory to specified path before start. All Telegram data will be stored encrypted in this folder. You can pass this option to partition different app instances that run simultaneously.
URI
Specify Telegram URI. It is used for automatically opening chats by t.me site.

There are also some other hidden options not intended for direct use.

ENVIRONMENT

TDESKTOP_USE_PORTAL
Set this to something to make Telegram Desktop always use XDG Desktop portals to open file dialogs. By default, the portal is used if available on KDE.
DESKTOP_APP_I_KNOW_ABOUT_GTK_INCOMPATIBILITY
Allows the app to load any Qt styles and platform themes. Telegram will not clear global settings related to Qt. It is known this mode may cause a crash.
DESKTOP_APP_DISABLE_GTK_INTEGRATION
Do not initialize GTK by Telegram itself, leave that to a Qt platform plugin. You may try to set this variable if the crash mentioned above happens.
XDG_DATA_HOME
Used to automatically determine working directory unless set by hand.
HOME
User home directory where the app stores downloaded files and configuration.

There is plenty of other environment variables that affect Telegram Desktop behaviour and appearance.

SEE ALSO

Wiki on GitHub
2021-02-27