How to Build an Android Telegram Client Without Touching C++ (A Kotlin-First Approach)

K. C. V. Abeysinghe — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:06:38 +0000

Setting up TDLib for Android usually means spending hours configuring CMake, the NDK, and complex JNI bindings.

To solve this, I built EasyTDLib. It is a ready-to-use Android Studio boilerplate that completely bypasses the C++ setup using pre-compiled binaries.

It handles the complex engine configuration so you can start building your app's UI immediately.

What is included:

Zero C++ Setup: No NDK or CMake required.
Complete Login Flow: Automatically handles Phone -> OTP Code -> 2FA Password -> Ready states.
Modern Stack: The UI is built with Jetpack Compose (Material 3).
Clean Architecture: Uses Kotlin Coroutines and StateFlow to manage the TDLib engine.
Chat List: Includes a basic chat list with avatar image downloading (via Coil).

How to use it in 3 steps:

1. Clone the repository:

git clone [https://github.com/kcvabeysinghe/EasyTDLib.git](https://github.com/kcvabeysinghe/EasyTDLib.git)

2. Add your API Keys: Get your api_id and api_hash from my.telegram.org and replace the placeholders in TelegramManager.kt.

3. Run the app: Sync Gradle and press Run in Android Studio. That's it.

Get the code

You can view the full source code and documentation here:
👉 EasyTDLib on GitHub

If this template saves you a few hours of setup time, please consider leaving a ⭐ on the repository! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

DEV Community: K. C. V. Abeysinghe

How to Build an Android Telegram Client Without Touching C++ (A Kotlin-First Approach)

What is included:

How to use it in 3 steps:

Get the code