tai/research/tui-framework-design/tdesktop-lang-strings.md

Telegram Desktop language strings (lang.strings)

Metadata

Field	Value
Institute	Molodetz Institute — Research & Retrieval Division
Subject	tui-framework-design
Document type	Source Dossier
Tier	1
Source title	lang.strings (Telegram Desktop UI string table)
Source URL	https://raw.githubusercontent.com/telegramdesktop/tdesktop/dev/Telegram/Resources/langs/lang.strings
Source publisher / author	Telegram Desktop contributors (tdesktop project)
Source type	repository
Source date (published)	Unknown — not stated
Date researched	2026-10-11
Researched by	tai (agent), model: Muse Spark, on behalf of retoor
Research method	direct page fetch
Confidence	High
Status	Active

Summary

The literal UI copy Telegram Desktop ships: the full last-seen scale, the unread-bar phrasing, the composer placeholder and its broadcast variants, attach-menu and bot-keyboard labels, and reply/edit affordance strings. The canonical wording reference for every Telegram-look label tai adopts.

Key findings

• Status line vocabulary: online, typing..., and the last-seen scale last seen just now / today / yesterday at {time} / recently / within a week / within a month / a long time ago.
• Unread bar copy: {count} Unread Message(s) and Unread messages.
• Composer placeholder: Write a message..., with Broadcast, Silent-broadcast, and Schedule variants.
• Attach entry labeled Add attachment (photo/video, file, camera, ...); emoji/sticker/gif picker and Send beside the field.
• Bot affordances: a command/keyboard toggle with Show/Hide bot keyboard, and a bot menu button labeled Menu.
• Reply preview bar carries a Reply header with a quoted snippet and a close control; the edit field placeholder is New message...; quote-selected-text is supported.

Pros / strengths

• Literal shipped copy: no paraphrase risk, every label verifiable character-for-character.
• Covers the whole header/composer/status surface in one file, so wording stays mutually consistent.

Cons / limitations / caveats

• Strings without layout context: order, truncation, and placement need the client code.
• Desktop wording; mobile clients may phrase some labels differently (not verified).
• Chat-list time/date formatting rules and snippet truncation behavior were not captured (open gap).

Relevance to tai

The copy sheet for tai's Telegram-look surfaces: header status strings, unread bar, composer placeholder, and bot affordance labels should use this wording verbatim rather than tai-invented paraphrases.

Changelog

Date	Change
2026-10-11	Initial dossier created.