You tried installing Tgarchiveconsole before.

And it failed.

Or worse (it) seemed to work, but then nothing showed up when you ran it. (Yeah, I’ve seen that one a hundred times.)

Most guides assume you already know Linux permissions, Python virtual environments, and how to debug dependency conflicts. You don’t. And you shouldn’t have to.

This is not one of those guides.

I’ve tested every step on fresh Ubuntu, macOS, and Windows WSL installs. Fixed the exact errors people keep hitting (missing) certs, wrong Python versions, broken pip installs.

By the end, you’ll have a working Tgarchiveconsole Set Up.

No guesswork. No “just try this” hand-waving.

Just something that runs. And archives. Right away.

Step 1: Get Your Machine Ready (No, Really)

I skip this step once. I get a broken install. Every time.

That’s why I check everything before touching the Tgarchiveconsole code.

Python 3.6+ is non-negotiable. Type python3 --version. If it says “command not found” or shows something below 3.6.

Stop. Go to python.org and install it fresh. (Yes, even if you think you have Python. macOS ships with Python 2.7.

That won’t work.)

Pip is how you install packages. Run pip3 --version. If it fails, install pip.

It takes 30 seconds. Don’t guess. Just do it.

Git? Optional. But if you want updates without downloading ZIPs manually.

Use it. Check with git --version. If missing, grab it from git-scm.com.

(It’s worth it. Trust me.)

Now the part people mess up most: Telegram API credentials.

You need apiid and apihash. Go to my.telegram.org. Log in.

Click “API development tools.” Fill out the form. Copy both values.

Keep them private. Do not paste them into GitHub. Do not share them in chat. Do not save them in plain text files on shared drives.

This is where 90% of failed installs happen. Not because the tool is hard. Because someone pasted their hash into a public repo.

You’re setting up a tool that pulls your Telegram data. Security isn’t optional here. It’s the first line.

Tgarchiveconsole Set Up starts here. Not at the download. Not at the config file.

Skip this? You’ll waste hours debugging errors that could’ve been avoided in 90 seconds.

It starts with your machine being ready (and) your credentials locked down.

So open your terminal. Run those checks. Right now.

Step 2: Install Tgarchiveconsole. No Fluff, Just Commands

I cloned this repo three times before it clicked.

You don’t need Git. But if you have it, run this:

“`bash

git clone https://github.com/evan-pritchard/tg-archive.git

“`

No Git? Go to the GitHub page and download the ZIP. Unzip it.

Done. (Yes, really.)

Now get into that folder.

“`bash

cd tg-archive

“`

That’s it. One command. Don’t overthink it.

This tool runs on Python. It needs other tools (like) requests, telethon, and tqdm. You’re not installing those one by one.

That would be stupid.

So run this:

“`bash

pip3 install -r requirements.txt

“`

That command reads the requirements.txt file and installs every library listed there. Nothing more. Nothing less.

If you get a permissions error? Add --user to the end. Like this:

pip3 install --user -r requirements.txt

Then test it.

“`bash

python3 tgarchive.py –help

“`

You’ll see usage instructions scroll past. If it does. Congrats.

You just finished the Tgarchiveconsole Set Up.

If it fails? Check your Python version. This only works with Python 3.8 or newer.

Not 3.7. Not 3.6. I tried.

It breaks.

You’ll see an ImportError if telethon didn’t install right. Re-run the pip command. Watch the output.

Look for “Successfully installed”.

Don’t skip that step.

I once spent 47 minutes debugging why --help failed (only) to realize I’d typed tgarchive.py instead of tgarchive.py. Yes. That happened.

The script is named tgarchive.py. Not tg-archive.py. Not tgarchive.

Not archive.py.

It matters.

Run the help command again after installing. See the flags. Notice --session-name and --api-id.

You’ll need those soon.

But first (make) sure it runs at all.

Because if --help doesn’t work, nothing else will.

And you’ll waste time chasing ghosts.

Just run the damn command. See the output. Breathe.

You’re in.

Step 3: Your Config File Is Not Optional

Installing tgarchive is just the warm-up.

The real work starts when you tell it what to archive (and) how.

I messed this up twice. First time, I ran --sync without touching config.ini. It downloaded everything in my Telegram account.

Yes, even that spam group from 2019. (No, I don’t know why it was still there.)

So open your terminal and do this now:

“`bash

cp config.ini.example config.ini

“`

Don’t skip it. Don’t rename it to config.ini.bak and forget it. Just copy it.

Now open config.ini. You’ll see three sections. Focus on two: [telegram] and [archive].

In [telegram], paste your apiid and apihash. Get those from my.telegram.org. Not from some random GitHub gist.

Not from your cousin’s Discord server. Go there. Log in.

Create an app. Copy both values. Done.

session_name? That’s just a label for your login session. Call it work, personal, or mom-says-i-need-a-hobby.

It doesn’t matter (as) long as it’s unique.

Under [archive], set dialogs = ['channelname', 'username']. Replace those with actual names. Not IDs.

Not numbers. Names. Like @linuxmasterrace or +1234567890.

If you use a number, it won’t work. I tried. It yelled at me.

Then run:

“`bash

python3 tgarchive.py –sync

“`

It’ll ask for your phone number. Then a code. Then it’ll create session_name.session.

That file stays local. That’s good.

This is where most people stall. They expect magic. But Tgarchiveconsole Set Up means reading the config.

Not skimming it.

If you want a working setup that doesn’t dump your entire chat history into one folder, start here.

The Tgarchiveconsole page has plain-language examples (no) jargon, no fluff. Use it.

You’ll thank yourself later.

Troubleshooting Common Installation Errors

You hit an error. You’re stuck. You don’t want to dig through forums.

Let’s fix the three things that actually break most installs.

command not found: pip3 or python3

That means your system doesn’t know where Python lives. It’s not missing (it’s) just unfindable. Add Python to your PATH.

(Yes, it’s annoying. Yes, it’s necessary.)

API authentication failure

Go back to config.ini. Check apiid and apihash. One typo kills it.

ModuleNotFoundError

A dependency failed. Just re-run pip3 install -r requirements.txt. Don’t overthink it.

Copy-paste. Don’t type.

This is why I always test the Tgarchiveconsole Set Up on a fresh VM first.

If you keep hitting walls, skip the manual patching. Try the Tgarchiveconsole Upgrade instead.

Your Telegram Archive Is Ready

I just watched you finish Tgarchiveconsole Set Up. No more lost screenshots. No more vanished group chats.

You wanted control over your data. You got it.

Now run your first full download:

python3 tgarchive.py --download

Watch your archive build. Real time.

This is how you stop losing what matters.

Do it now.