RooTelegram

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[ENGLISH] RooTelegram — A lightweight and responsive Telegram client for SailfishOS

Prerequisite: SFOS 5.0/5.1
Telegram Group: https://t.me/+E7V-a7x4JbY1Njhk

RooTelegram is tested on:
- Sony Xperia 10 III (SFOS 5.0)
- Jolla C2 (SFOS 5.1.0.10)

    
This application was developed using artificial intelligence technologies, specifically Warp Terminal and Claude Code Opus, but Warp Terminal has been gradually phased out in favor of Claude Code. Therefore, if the use of an application generated via a large-scale language model (LLM) is not comfortable for the user, it is recommended to avoid its installation and use. It is specified that any negative comment regarding this circumstance will not only be ignored but will result in the immediate blocking of the user.  

I hereby disclaim any and all responsibility for the application, its functionality, and any consequences arising from its use. By choosing to use this application, the user acknowledges and accepts that they do so entirely at their own risk, and agrees that the developer shall not be held liable for any damages, losses, or adverse effects—whether direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential—resulting from the use or misuse of the application.

 

Main features

  1. Simple, fast interface optimized for SailfishOS
  2. Full support for message formatting (bold, italic, monospace, etc.)
  3. Reliable notifications via a dedicated daemon
  4. Custom Emoji support
  5. Message PIN management
  6. Stickers support
  7. Group join request management (for admins)
  8. Modern UI + daemon architecture, for instant app startup
  9. Calls and Videocalls

Project origins

RooTelegram was born as an evolution and modernization of the original Telegram client for SailfishOS:

Fernschreiber by Sebastian J. Wolf and his collaborators: https://github.com/Wunderfitz/harbour-fernschreiber#contributions

and draws inspiration from some technical solutions of:

Yottagram by Michal Szczepaniak: https://github.com/Michal-Szczepaniak/Yottagram

Both projects served as a valuable starting point, but RooTelegram introduces a fully redesigned architecture, conceived to be faster, more stable, and better suited to modern devices.

Project goal

The goal of RooTelegram is to offer a Telegram client that is:

  • responsive → instant startup thanks to the always-on daemon
  • lightweight → minimal UI, no heavy effects
  • reliable → notifications always working
  • consistent with SailfishOS → native integration, respect for Silica guidelines

The design is intentionally bare and basic, because the priority is speed, not aesthetics.

Roadmap

Current development status (ROADMAP):

  1. Message editing (text formatting) — ✔️ DONE
  2. Working notifications — ✔️ DONE
  3. Notifications daemon — ✔️ DONE
  4. Folder creation and management — ✔️ DONE
  5. Custom emoji — ✔️ DONE
  6. Message PIN — ✔️ DONE
  7. Partial text selection + copy — ✔️ DONE
  8. Group join request management (admin) — ✔️ DONE
  9. Statuses / Stories — ✔️ DONE
  10. Formatting bugfixes — ✔️ DONE
  11. Message translation — ✔️ DONE
  12. Add "Send to RooTelegram" in the SailfishOS Share menu — ✔️ DONE
  13. Add "Call" for Telegram voice/video calls — ✔️ DONE
  14. Improve image previews (portrait and landscape), improve message formatting (word wrap and mono) and link previews — ✔️ DONE
  15. User bio and tabs (Media, Audio, Documents, Links, Groups) — ✔️ DONE
  16. Settings for Groups and Channels — ✔️ DONE
  17. Multilanguage version — English, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, French, Slovak.
  18. Telegram Proxy — ✔️ DONE

Your support helps keep my projects alive! https://ko-fi.com/rootgpt
Telegram Group.  
GitHub: https://github.com/RootGPT-YouTube/RooTelegram-SailfishOS

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[ITALIANO] RooTelegram — Un client Telegram leggero e reattivo per SailfishOS

Requisiti: SFOS 5.0/5.1
Gruppo Telegram: https://t.me/+E7V-a7x4JbY1Njhk

RooTelegram è testato:
- Sony Xperia 10 III (SFOS 5.0)
- Jolla C2 (SFOS 5.1.0.8)

Questa applicazione è stata sviluppata utilizzando tecnologie di intelligenza artificiale, in particolare Warp Terminal e Claude Code Opus, ma Warp Terminal è stato abbandonato in favore di Claude Code. Pertanto, se l'uso di un'applicazione generata tramite un modello linguistico su larga scala (LLM) non fosse per l'utente confortevole, si raccomanda di evitarne l'installazione e l'uso. Si specifica che qualsiasi commento negativo riguardante questa circostanza non verrà solo ignorato, ma comporterà il blocco immediato dell'utente.  

Con la presente declino ogni responsabilità relativa all’applicazione, al suo funzionamento e a qualsiasi conseguenza derivante dal suo utilizzo. L’utente, scegliendo di utilizzare l’applicazione, riconosce e accetta di farlo a proprio ed esclusivo rischio, e concorda che lo sviluppatore non potrà essere ritenuto responsabile per eventuali danni, perdite o effetti negativi — diretti, indiretti, incidentali o consequenziali — derivanti dall’uso o dall’uso improprio dell’applicazione.

 

Caratteristiche principali

  1. Interfaccia semplice, veloce e ottimizzata per SailfishOS
  2. Supporto completo alla formattazione dei messaggi (grassetto, corsivo, monospazio, ecc.)
  3. Notifiche affidabili tramite daemon dedicato
  4. Supporto alle Custom Emoji
  5. Gestione dei PIN dei messaggi
  6. Supporto agli stickers
  7. Gestione delle richieste di accesso ai gruppi (per admin)
  8. Architettura moderna basata su UI + daemon, per apertura istantanea dell’app
  9. Chiamate vocali e chiamate video.

Origini del progetto

RooTelegram nasce come evoluzione e modernizzazione del primordiale client Telegram per SailfishOS:

Fernschreiber di Sebastian J. Wolf e compagni d'opera: https://github.com/Wunderfitz/harbour-fernschreiber#contributions

e trae ispirazione da alcune soluzioni tecniche di:

Yottagram di Michal Szczepaniak: https://github.com/Michal-Szczepaniak/Yottagram

Entrambi i progetti hanno rappresentato un punto di partenza prezioso, ma RooTelegram introduce un’architettura completamente rinnovata, pensata per essere più veloce, più stabile e più adatta ai dispositivi moderni.

Obiettivo del progetto

L’obiettivo di RooTelegram è offrire un client Telegram:

  • reattivo → apertura istantanea grazie al daemon sempre attivo
  • leggero → UI minimale, nessun effetto pesante
  • affidabile → notifiche sempre funzionanti
  • coerente con SailfishOS → integrazione nativa, rispetto delle linee guida Silica

Il design è volutamente scarno e basilare, perché la priorità è la velocità, non l’estetica.

Roadmap

Stato attuale dello sviluppo (ROADMAP):

  1. Modifiche dei messaggi (formattazione testo) — ✔️ FATTO
  2. Notifiche funzionanti — ✔️ FATTO
  3. Demone per le notifiche — ✔️ FATTO
  4. Creazione e gestione delle cartelle — ✔️ FATTO
  5. Emoji custom — ✔️ FATTO
  6. PIN dei messaggi — ✔️ FATTO
  7. Selezione parziale del testo + copia — ✔️ FATTO
  8. Gestione richieste accesso ai gruppi (admin) — ✔️ FATTO
  9. Stati / Stories — ✔️ FATTO
  10. Bugfix formattazione — ✔️ FATTO
  11. Traduzione dei messaggi — ✔️ FATTO
  12. Aggiungere “Invia a RooTelegram” nel menù Condividi di SailfishOS — ✔️ FATTO
  13. Aggiungere "Chiama" per le telefonate/videochaimate via Telegram — ✔️ FATTO
  14. Migliorare preview immagini (portrait e landscape), migliorare formattazione messaggi (wordwrap e mono) e preview link — ✔️ FATTO
  15. Bio utente e tabulazione (Media, Audio, Documenti, Link, Gruppi) — ✔️ FATTO
  16. Impostazioni per Gruppi e Canali — ✔️ FATTO
  17. Versione multilingua — Inglese, Tedesco, Italiano, Polacco, Russo, Francese, Slovacco.
  18. Telegram Proxy — ✔️ FATTO

Aiutami a mantenere attivi i miei progetti! https://ko-fi.com/rootgpt
Telegram Group.  
GitHub: https://github.com/RootGPT-YouTube/RooTelegram-SailfishOS

Screenshots: 
Application versions: 
AttachmentSizeDate
File harbour-rootelegram-2.7.1-1.aarch64.rpm30.19 MB13/06/2026 - 21:18
File harbour-rootelegram-2.7.1-1.armv7hl.rpm25.82 MB13/06/2026 - 21:18
File harbour-rootelegram-2.7.1-1.i486.rpm17.94 MB13/06/2026 - 21:18
Changelog: 

Changelog <2.7

- Introduced voice calls (The uploaded image in "Screenshot" section of this page, was modified with AI so it doesn’t show the real person or their real name, but the appearance of the call is the same);
- Added new settings to control who can call you;
- Introduced videocalls (The uploaded image in "Screenshot" section of this page, was modified with AI so it doesn’t show the real person or their real name, but the appearance of the videocall is the same);
- Compatibility fix for for SFOS 5.1;
- Complete restylish (Neon Theme);
- Added audio trascription (Telegram premium members only);
- Telegram Proxy (tgpro);
- Added Draft for message;
- Added Theme Selector;
- Send GIFs as animations, and play them back in full (no more cut-off endings).
- Download and share photos and videos straight from the preview — now in private chats, groups and channels.
- Send and receive contacts, with the option to save them to the Sailfish address book.
- "Typing…" indicator in chats (both when receiving and when sending).
- Choose "Delete for everyone" or "Delete for me" when removing messages (where Telegram allows it).
- Group invite links (t.me/+…, tg://) now open directly in RooTelegram from the Sailfish browser.
- Incoming calls and video calls now turn the screen on when the phone is locked.
- One-time "What's New" popup after each update.
- Memory usage reduced by roughly 40%.
- Unread badge now always clears when you open a chat, including chats opened from a notification.
- Photo and video captions are now translated too.
- More service messages handled (join requests, group video chats, theme/wallpaper changes).
- On a locked device the screen wakes and rings; if you have set a security code, it is still required to answer (this can't be bypassed by a non-system app).
- Archived chats: new section under Settings → Storage. Open a chat with a tap;
   long-press to Archive/Unarchive it.
- Story notifications now open Stories: tapping a story notification takes you
   straight to the Stories page instead of just bringing the app to the foreground.
- Unseen-stories indicator: a green dot appears next to "Stories" in the menu
   when one or more stories haven't been viewed yet.
- Message info: long-press a message → "Message info" to see full metadata
   (sent/edited/scheduled time, sender, author signature, via bot, forwarded from +
   original date, views, forwards, reactions, message ID, album ID).
- Open profiles from Story interactions: tap a viewer/reactor in your story's
   viewers list to open their profile.
- Many bugfix and more stability.
- Full translations added: Polish, Russian, French (supported languages: IT, EN, DE, PL, RU, FR);
- Tap‑to‑copy for mono text: tapping a mono block copies it to the clipboard;
- Ghost draft fix (hope!): background ChatPages no longer save drafts on app close/swipe;
- Access via QR code: in addition to the number + SMS, you can now access by scanning a QR code from a device already connected to Telegram (Settings → Devices → Connect device). Especially useful on a second phone.
- New "App Permissions" page in Settings → Privacy: enable or disable access to Location, Camera, Microphone, Contacts, Images, Videos, and Files individually. This is an internal app control, divided by risk level.
- New option "Stay in chat when closing the app" in Settings → Behavior: reopening the app will find the chat open instead of returning to the home screen.
- Complete translation into Slovak (Slovenčina), thanks to okruhliak. Languages now supported: IT, EN, DE, PL, RU, FR, SK.
- RAM usage: memory freed by closing chats and putting the app in the background is now returned to the system instead of remaining occupied.
- Silica theme: the R∞Telegram text on the home screen is now smaller.
- Fix: the Location attachment now immediately shows "getting location…" while searching for GPS (previously, indoors, it gave no feedback).
- Fix: layout of the poll creation page (the button no longer overlaps the question).
- Fix: group permissions "Edit info" and "Pin messages" now show a clear message when Telegram does not allow them for all members.

Changelog 2.7

1. RAM usage (FINALLY!) — fixed the continuous background memory growth; when idle, the app now recycles the connection and returns RAM to the system (it could exceed 1 GB after a full day).
2. Real‑time Location (Live Location): share your location and let it update automatically for 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 8 hours. While the GPS locks in, the warning “getting location…” appears. You can also send your current location as a one‑time update.
3. Chat loading: fixed an issue where a chat opened showing only 3–4 messages; the full history now loads correctly.
4. “Additional options” menu (long‑press on a message in a group): ban author / delete all their messages / report spam / delete message now work properly.
5. Silica theme: home screen menu background is now opaque and adapts to light/dark mode.
6. Translations: corrected the “New Channel” / “New Group” labels and Slovak strings (thanks to okruhliak).
7. “Copy message to clipboard” shortened to “Copy message”.

Comments

RootGPT's picture

Thx, very much and thaks for your support!

emchella's picture

When deleting messages, the option is missing: delete only for me, delete for everyone

RootGPT's picture

Done it!

RootGPT's picture

Thx. Come here in debug group: https://t.me/+E7V-a7x4JbY1Njhk

amol's picture

It was a great app, but the restyle made it unusable for me becsuse it became white text on a light background.

Also not sure that a style that gives the feeling of comic sans and wordart is what fits best on sailfish

amol's picture

The new Selica theme has solved the text color issue for me. It finally reads on my light background

RootGPT's picture

Good to known!

RootGPT's picture

In the next update (2.2) I will add theme selector in settings.

Vieno's picture

Thanks for your effort to come up with an improved telegram app. I'm happy with it.

RootGPT's picture

Thx for support!

windes's picture

Good day. Waiting for proxies ability in RooTelegram. In some countries it's impossible to log in RooTelegram without proxy.

RootGPT's picture

Done it

emchella's picture

Ho problemi ha fare il forward dei messaggi multimediali

RootGPT's picture

It works on my Xperia 10 III. I can forward multimedia message. There's a specified multimedia create the problem for you? Which is your device and SFOS version installed?

emchella's picture

I have solved thank you.

emchella's picture

Definitivamente la.miglior app per telegram in sailfishos testata. Grazie the best telegram app in sailfishos tested by me. Thank you

SprainBrains's picture

didn't work on my Xperia 10. 
Infinity loading after sent the phone number

RootGPT's picture

Which Xperia 10? RooTelegram request SFOS 5.0. Verify if you have SFOS 4.5 installed.

SprainBrains's picture

Xperia 10 Mark 1. SFOS 5.0.
 

RootGPT's picture

Come here in debug group: https://t.me/+E7V-a7x4JbY1Njhk

monkeyisland's picture

Thanks a lot. German Translation possible in the near future?
:)

RootGPT's picture

Added German Traslation. Enjoy!

RootGPT's picture

It seems so, but first of all I need a stable version.

explit's picture

If i486 also will be supported, i could use it on Jolla Tablet too.

RootGPT's picture

It's coming...

RootGPT's picture

ASAP. But first of all, I want a good stable version.

explit's picture

Thanks a lot!

explit's picture

I use the client version 1.5. Its completly in English. And of course there is RPM. Atl least for aarch64

RootGPT's picture

Now it's armv7hl too.

Kuba's picture

Hey, I tested your 1.7 app! Interface is little bit diffrent, but not bad. Translation works partially, despite, you did not make any other translations than English version, what is interesting. My suggestion is to add some features in the future like commenting some posts, but i mentioned that before and i know it might be tough to implement. Especially both yotta and fern don't have that. The other thing i would like to mention is a synchronization with contacts. It does not work partially, same as in fern. I mean, when i try to find my friends, some of them are visible and some of them are not, despite i can see all of them on android telegram app. And what is interesting, when i can see them i don't see any profile picture. However, great app especially i know this is one of the first realease, so it is normal, not everything will work perfectly like in original android app. Keep going! I believe you can do it!

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