How to Install Telegram on Fedora 44

Fedora’s default repositories still do not carry Telegram Desktop, so installing Telegram on Fedora means choosing a maintained third-party package source. RPM Fusion supplies the telegram-desktop RPM for normal DNF-managed updates, while Flathub supplies the org.telegram.desktop Flatpak for Flatpak-first and Fedora Atomic desktops.

Install Telegram on Fedora

Choose a Telegram installation method

Pick the package source that matches how you normally maintain desktop applications on Fedora:

Telegram’s Linux download page offers a generic x64 tarball, but it does not provide a Fedora RPM repository. For routine Fedora desktop installs, RPM Fusion and Flathub are easier to update and remove than the tarball; for Fedora users looking for a Telegram RPM download, RPM Fusion is the package-managed RPM path.

Method	Package or App ID	Source	Updates	Best For
RPM Fusion	telegram-desktop	RPM Fusion Free repository	Through normal dnf upgrade runs	Most mutable Fedora Workstation installs that prefer native RPM packages
Flathub	org.telegram.desktop	Flathub Flatpak	Through flatpak update	Fedora Atomic desktops, Flathub-first setups, or systems avoiding extra RPM repositories

RPM Fusion is the cleaner default when you want Telegram handled like the rest of your DNF packages. The current Flathub build is convenient, but it requests broad desktop and device permissions, so treat it as a Flatpak packaging choice rather than a strict isolation upgrade.

If you type dnf install telegram, Fedora will not find the package. Use the RPM Fusion package name telegram-desktop instead.

Install Telegram Desktop from RPM Fusion

Telegram Desktop is packaged in RPM Fusion Free, so Fedora only needs the Free repository for this method. Do not enable RPM Fusion Nonfree only for Telegram.

Update Fedora before installing Telegram

Refresh Fedora first so DNF works with current repository metadata and package dependencies:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Commands that install, update, or remove packages use sudo. If your account does not have sudo access yet, follow the Fedora sudoers setup in how to add a user to sudoers on Fedora.

Enable RPM Fusion Free for Telegram

Install the RPM Fusion Free release package:

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

The $(rpm -E %fedora) expression expands to your installed Fedora release, so the URL follows the release on your system, including Fedora 44 and Fedora 43 while they are supported.

Confirm that the Free repositories are enabled before installing Telegram:

dnf repo list --enabled rpmfusion-free rpmfusion-free-updates

Expected output includes both enabled RPM Fusion Free entries:

repo id                repo name
rpmfusion-free         RPM Fusion for Fedora 44 - Free
rpmfusion-free-updates RPM Fusion for Fedora 44 - Free - Updates

Install the Telegram RPM package

Install Telegram Desktop from RPM Fusion:

sudo dnf install telegram-desktop

Confirm that the RPM package is installed:

rpm -q --qf '%{NAME}\n' telegram-desktop

Expected output:

telegram-desktop

The RPM Fusion package installs the terminal launcher as Telegram. If you try telegram-desktop at the terminal, nothing starts because that is the package name, not the executable name.

Install Telegram Desktop with Flatpak from Flathub

Fedora Workstation and Fedora Atomic desktops already include Flatpak. Fedora Server, minimal installs, and heavily customized systems may need the Flatpak package added first.

Install Flatpak on Fedora Server or minimal systems

If flatpak is not available on a mutable Fedora installation, add it first:

sudo dnf install flatpak

Enable Flathub on Fedora

Add Flathub as a system remote so Telegram is available to all users on the machine:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

The --if-not-exists flag prevents an error if Flathub is already configured. Verify the remotes before installing Telegram:

flatpak remotes --columns=name

Fedora Workstation should show the Fedora remote and Flathub once the remote is enabled:

fedora
flathub

Install the Telegram Flatpak

Install Telegram from Flathub:

sudo flatpak install flathub org.telegram.desktop

Review the runtime, download size, and permission prompt before accepting. The current Flathub package requests network, display, audio, and device access for normal desktop behavior.

Confirm that Telegram came from Flathub:

flatpak info --show-origin org.telegram.desktop

Expected output:

flathub

Launch Telegram Desktop on Fedora

After installation, open Telegram from Activities or launch it from the terminal with the command that matches your install method.

Launch Telegram from the terminal

The RPM Fusion package uses a capitalized binary name, while the Flatpak build runs through the Flatpak app ID:

# RPM Fusion package
Telegram

# Flatpak package
flatpak run org.telegram.desktop

Launch Telegram from the applications menu

Search for Telegram in Activities and open it from the results. Fedora shows the same application name for the RPM Fusion package and the Flatpak build, so you do not need a different menu path for each method.

Update Telegram on Fedora

Use the update command for the package source you installed.

Update Telegram from RPM Fusion

Telegram updates arrive through your regular Fedora package upgrades:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

To update only the Telegram RPM package, use DNF’s package-specific upgrade form:

sudo dnf upgrade telegram-desktop

Update Telegram from Flatpak

Update all system Flatpak applications with:

sudo flatpak update

To update only Telegram, specify the app ID directly:

sudo flatpak update org.telegram.desktop

Troubleshoot Telegram on Fedora

Most Telegram install problems on Fedora come from a missing RPM Fusion repository, a disabled Flathub remote, or a desktop portal issue during screen sharing.

Fix DNF no match errors when installing Telegram

If dnf install telegram or dnf install telegram-desktop fails, Fedora usually cannot see RPM Fusion Free yet.

No match for argument: telegram-desktop

Check the RPM Fusion Free repository state:

dnf repo list --enabled rpmfusion-free rpmfusion-free-updates

If those entries are missing, run the RPM Fusion setup command from the installation section, then install the correct package name: telegram-desktop.

Fix a disabled Flathub remote

Flatpak installations fail when Flathub exists but is disabled:

error: Unable to load summary from remote flathub: Can't fetch summary from disabled remote 'flathub'

Enable the remote again:

sudo flatpak remote-modify --enable flathub

Verify the remote list afterward:

flatpak remotes --columns=name

Fix Telegram screen sharing on Fedora Wayland

Current Fedora Workstation GNOME sessions use Wayland, PipeWire, WirePlumber, and desktop portals for screen sharing. Start by checking the user services from the affected desktop session:

systemctl --user status pipewire wireplumber xdg-desktop-portal

If capture still shows a blank window, restart the desktop media and portal services from the same user session, then try sharing again:

systemctl --user restart pipewire wireplumber xdg-desktop-portal

For the Flatpak build, confirm that Telegram still has network, display, audio, and device permissions:

flatpak info --show-permissions org.telegram.desktop

Relevant lines include:

[Context]
shared=network;ipc;
sockets=x11;wayland;pulseaudio;fallback-x11;
devices=all;

Remove Telegram from Fedora

Use the removal command that matches how you installed Telegram. Package removal does not delete your Telegram cloud account or server-side chat history, but deleting local Flatpak data removes the local app profile.

Remove Telegram installed from RPM Fusion

Remove the Telegram RPM package with DNF:

sudo dnf remove telegram-desktop

Remove RPM Fusion Free if you no longer need it

If Telegram was the only reason you enabled RPM Fusion Free, remove the release package after removing Telegram. Keep RPM Fusion installed if you use it for other packages, such as multimedia codecs or desktop applications.

sudo dnf remove rpmfusion-free-release

Verify that the RPM Fusion Free release package is gone:

rpm -q rpmfusion-free-release

Expected output:

package rpmfusion-free-release is not installed

For a full repository cleanup check, confirm that no RPM Fusion Free repositories or repo files remain visible:

dnf repo list --enabled rpmfusion-free rpmfusion-free-updates
find /etc/yum.repos.d -maxdepth 1 -name 'rpmfusion-free*.repo*' -print

Both commands should return no repository rows or file paths after the release package is removed.

Remove Telegram installed from Flathub

Remove Telegram and its local Flatpak application data with:

The --delete-data option removes Telegram’s local Flatpak profile on this Fedora system. Skip that option if you want to keep local app data for a later reinstall.

sudo flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.telegram.desktop

Afterward, remove any Flatpak runtimes that are no longer used by installed applications:

sudo flatpak uninstall --unused

Conclusion

Telegram is available on Fedora through the package source you chose: RPM Fusion for a DNF-managed RPM package or Flathub for the Flatpak app. If you keep several chat clients on the same workstation, Slack on Fedora and Discord on Fedora are useful next installs.