Unlimited Cloud Storage? Just Add Telegram

Ever looked at your cloud storage bills and winced? Or maybe you've hit the limit on that "free" tier and started the tedious shuffle of files between services. What if you could repurpose an app you already use—one with famously unlimited storage—as your personal cloud drive?

That's the idea behind Pentaract. It's an open-source tool that cleverly uses your existing Telegram account as a backend for file storage. No, it doesn't upload files to a public channel. Instead, it sends them to your own "Saved Messages" (or any private chat you control), turning Telegram's massive cloud infrastructure into your own unlimited storage silo.

What It Does

In simple terms, Pentaract is a client that sits on your machine. You point it at a folder, and it syncs the contents to your Telegram cloud by automatically sending files as messages to a chat (like "Saved Messages"). It encrypts your data locally before it ever leaves your machine, chops larger files into Telegram-sized chunks, and keeps everything organized. When you need your files back, it pulls them down and reassembles them seamlessly.

Why It's Cool

The cleverness here is in the repurposing. Telegram offers essentially unlimited storage for the kind of media and documents you send in chats. Pentaract piggybacks on that, but with crucial privacy-first features:

• End-to-End Encryption (E2EE): Your files are encrypted locally using a key you control. Telegram sees only encrypted chunks, not your actual data.
• It's Just Telegram: You don't need a new account or service. You're using an API you already have access to. The storage is as "unlimited" as your regular Telegram use.
• File Chunking: It automatically handles Telegram's file size limits by splitting larger files, then transparently reassembling them.
• Self-Hosted & Open Source: You run the client yourself. You're not trusting a third-party middleman with your data or your Telegram credentials.

It's a hacky, elegant solution for archival storage, backups, or syncing non-sensitive files across machines without paying for another subscription.

How to Try It

Ready to turn your Telegram account into a cloud drive? Here’s how to get started:

1. Head to the Repo: All the code and detailed setup instructions are on GitHub: github.com/Dominux/Pentaract.
2. Get Your API Credentials: You'll need to create a Telegram application via my.telegram.org to get an api_id and api_hash. The repo's README walks you through this.
3. Configure & Run: Clone the repo, install the dependencies (it's a Python project), configure your settings, and run the client. You'll authenticate with your Telegram account just like any other client.

There's no live demo because it's a local client, but the repository is the starting point for everything.

Final Thoughts

Pentaract isn't meant to replace Dropbox or Google Drive for day-to-day, high-speed collaboration. But as a free, unlimited, encrypted backup target or for archiving projects? It's a brilliantly resourceful idea. It exemplifies the kind of creative engineering that looks at a common platform and sees a novel utility.

For developers, it's a fun project to study for its practical use of the Telegram API and its approach to local encryption and file management. If you've been looking for a weekend project that has immediate utility, this might just be it.

Follow for more interesting projects: @githubprojects