Download Delta Chat for PC

Delta Chat is a messenger that sends chats over ordinary mail infrastructure instead of a company account system. A profile is made on your device in seconds, with no phone number and no signup form, and it talks to a chatmail relay or to your own e-mail server. Messages are end-to-end encrypted, and in-chat apps like shopping lists and small games can be dropped into a conversation. On a computer, the route that behaves properly is the official Delta Chat Desktop build for Windows, macOS or Linux, run either on its own or paired with a phone.

Reasons to keep Delta Chat open on a laptop

A Delta Chat profile lives on the device that made it, not in an account tied to a phone number. The desktop build can create that profile by itself, which is unusual among messengers: the project has pointed out that someone with no phone or tablet at all can run the desktop client alone and still reach every contact. That is the strongest argument for the computer version, and it is not about screen size.

• Several profiles at once. Delta Chat supports multiple chat profiles, and the desktop app keeps them in a sidebar where you switch with a click and remove one with a right click. Work, family and a throwaway profile can sit next to each other.
• Keyboard work. Long replies, pasted text and file attachments are faster with a keyboard and a file manager. Recent desktop releases added keyboard shortcuts and inline replies straight from Windows and macOS notifications, so a chat can be answered without switching windows.
• Calls in a separate window. Delta Chat supports one-to-one audio and video calls on desktop. The call opens in its own window and the main Delta Chat window stays usable while it runs.
• In-chat apps with room to work. The webxdc apps that groups pass around, such as lists, planners and small games, run inside the desktop client too, with a mouse and a full window instead of a thumb.

Desktop build, browser tab, or Android package

The vendor ships a real desktop client, called Delta Chat Desktop, and it is the route that matters. On Windows it comes from the Microsoft Store listing, from winget install 9PJTXX7HN3PK, or as a Setup.exe on the project download page, which also offers an experimental portable build. On macOS it is on the Mac App Store as Delta Chat Desktop, as a Homebrew cask (brew install --cask deltachat), and as Universal or Apple Silicon disk images. Linux users get a Flathub package (chat.delta.desktop), an Arch package, a Nix package and community-maintained Snap and FreeBSD builds.

There is nothing to log into in a browser. The project has demonstrated its desktop interface running inside Firefox as part of the work to move the client off Electron, and the source repository carries a web-server build that the maintainers describe as highly experimental and meant for developers and automated testing. Neither is a hosted service you can open like a webmail page.

That leaves the Android package inside an emulator, which solves nothing here. It is the same messenger, packaged for phones, running inside a virtual phone that still has to be paired to your profile like any other device. The Android build belongs on phones and tablets; on Windows and macOS the native client is the one the developers test and update.

What shifts when the profile moves to a computer

Onboarding looks the same as on the phone. You either let Delta Chat register a profile on a chatmail relay, or choose to use another server and enter an existing e-mail address and password manually. Nothing about that step needs a mobile device.

Sharing one profile between phone and computer is a deliberate act, not an automatic login. The documented method: put both devices on the same Wi-Fi or network, open Settings then Add Second Device on the device that already holds the profile, wait for the QR code, and on the new install choose Add as Second Device and scan it. Both sides show transfer progress. If scanning is impossible, the fallback is Settings then Chats then Export Backup on the old device, moving the backup file across yourself, and picking I Already Have a Profile then Restore from Backup on the new one. After that, both installs send and receive under the same identity, and Saved Messages stay in step across them, which makes that chat a practical way to move a file from one machine to another.

Two things are weaker on a computer. Most desktops have no camera, so the QR codes Delta Chat uses for contacts, group invites and relay signup are awkward; the vendor's own instruction for that case is to copy the invite link and paste it into the scanner window. And push notification support is described for iOS and Android devices, delivered through chatmail relays. A desktop client notifies you while it is running, so it has to stay open or sit in the tray. Contact discovery does not change: there is no public directory, so a new contact still starts with a scanned code or an invite link either way.

What the download page asks of your machine

The published minimums are operating system versions only, with no RAM or disk figures attached. Windows: Windows 10 or newer. macOS: macOS 12.0 Monterey or newer, with separate Universal and Apple Silicon disk images. Linux, briefly: Ubuntu 18.04, Fedora 29, Debian 10 or a compatible system, with Flatpak as the distribution-independent route. The Windows Store package installs on up to ten Windows devices under one Microsoft account. The client is free software under GPL-3.0-or-later, and there is no paid tier to discover later.

Where Delta Chat setups stall on a PC

Add Second Device times out on Windows. The pairing uses a direct network connection between the two devices, and Windows Firewall can block it silently. Allow Delta Chat through Windows Firewall, and mark the network you are on as private. Confirm both devices really are on the same network, not one on Wi-Fi and one on a guest network or a VPN.

The computer cannot scan the phone's code. Run Add Second Device on the device that has the profile and scan from the other side if a camera exists there. Where no camera does, use the copy-the-link route, or fall back to Export Backup and Restore from Backup.

The second device connects but no messages arrive. Version mismatches between an old main install and a fresh one have caused exactly this. Update both installs, then remove the new profile and run the pairing again from the start.

No notifications when the window is closed. Quitting the desktop client stops delivery to that machine. Keep it running, allow system notifications for it in Windows or macOS settings, and check the per-profile notification options, since some settings apply to one profile only.

An existing e-mail address behaves oddly. Delta Chat works with standard IMAP and SMTP accounts, but the project now recommends a dedicated chat profile, noting that with classic providers notifications could not be made reliable and encrypted messages mix badly with normal mail. Keeping the old address as a second profile, and chatting on a chatmail one, avoids most of it.

FAQ

Do I need a phone to use Delta Chat on a PC?

No. The desktop client can create a profile on its own, and the project explicitly supports people who own no phone or tablet. A phone only matters if you want the same profile in both places.

Is there a Delta Chat web client I can log into?

No hosted one. The desktop interface has been shown running in Firefox as part of the move away from Electron, and the repository holds an experimental web-server build for developers and testing, but there is no web address where you sign in to your chats.

Will my existing chats appear on the computer?

They will if you pair the computer with Add Second Device, or restore an exported backup. A brand new profile on the computer is a separate identity with its own contacts and its own address.

Is running the Android version in an emulator worth it?

Not on Windows or macOS. A native build exists for both, and the emulated copy would still be a separate device needing the same pairing. Keep the Android package for phones and tablets.

Does Delta Chat notify me on the desktop when it is closed?

No. The push notification system the project describes covers iOS and Android devices; a desktop install notifies you only while it is running, so leave it open or minimised to the tray.