FoxCoderGit/AstraGram

Project overview

AstraGram is an independent Android messaging client built on the Telegram for Android source code. It keeps the familiar Telegram interface and adds optional tools around media handling, interface customization, plugins and app updates. The project is aimed at Android users who want Telegram with extra features such as video-link downloading and background media tasks, and at developers who want to build the client from source. The package name org.ghostgram.messenger is deliberately retained so updates can replace earlier installed builds without wiping local app data.

Notable features

• Media tools: optional yt-dlp integration with FFmpeg conversion for queuing and sending supported public video links, plus background download and upload tasks that survive chat navigation.
• Interface changes: drag-and-drop attachment menu layout, an optional drawing mode for silent voice-message animations, and reaction notifications in Android notifications.
• Optional services: Yandex Music search, favourites and audio sending using each user's own account or token; the project does not ship a shared account.
• Update and distribution tooling: signed in-app update checks with versionCode comparison, release notes, retry/resume, and APK SHA-256/signature validation before installation.
• Badges: AstraGram creator/supporter badges verified by a server, and optional exteraGram supporter badges from a public profile service.

Quick start

To use the client, download the APK from the official GitHub Releases page and install it on an Android device. Verify the download against the published SHA-256 checksum before installing.

To build from source, you need the Android Studio JDK, Android SDK 36 and Build Tools 36.0.0, Android NDK 27.2.12479018, CMake 3.22.1 and Python 3.11 or newer. Copy astra.local.properties.example to astra.local.properties and fill in your own client values:

astraApiId=YOUR_TELEGRAM_API_ID
astraApiHash=YOUR_TELEGRAM_API_HASH
astraMapsApiKey=YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY

Then run the debug build from the repository root:

.\gradlew.bat :TMessagesProj_Ghost:assembleDebug -PghostOnly=true -Pandroid.injected.testOnly=false --max-workers=2 --console=plain

The APK is written to TMessagesProj_Ghost/build/outputs/apk/debug/. For a signed local distribution build, the project provides Tools/build-private-apk.ps1, which validates the APK before installation or copying to a connected device.

Constraints

• Client API values, signing keys, administrator credentials, server private keys and user tokens are not in the public repository; you must supply your own API values in the ignored astra.local.properties file for a local build.
• The build command above is written for PowerShell on Windows; other platforms would need equivalent Gradle invocations.
• Optional integrations such as yt-dlp, FFmpeg and Yandex Music send requests to external services, so their terms and account requirements apply.
• The project is based on Telegram for Android and is licensed under GPL-2.0; upstream notices remain in the repository.

HotRepo's take

HotRepo recorded the repository at 115 stars and no forks on 2026-11-10, with 10 stars gained in a one-hour window on the Java new-project list. That is a very short observation period, so it supports only the fact that the project appeared on the new list that day — not a trend. The repository is a full Android client fork with a real build path, private configuration handling and signed-update validation, rather than a thin wrapper or ad page.