QR Code Login screens — no personal data shown. Once connected, the sidebar fills with your contacts sorted by recency.

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Features

	Feature	Details
🎨	ICQ 5 dark teal skin	CSS variables, rem-based sizing, A−/A+ font controls
💬	WhatsApp	QR login · persistent session · images · videos · GIFs · stickers · read receipts
✈️	Telegram	QR or phone number login · 2FA · photos · videos · GIFs · animated stickers
🪟	Separate chat windows	Each contact gets its own floating window — true ICQ 5 style
🗂️	Collapsible groups	Groups folded away at top · per-service group sound toggle
🖼️	Profile pictures	Background-loaded for contacts + your own profile in the header
🔔	Classic ICQ sound	Global 🔔/🔕 toggle + separate group sound control per service
✓✓	Read receipts	WhatsApp ack states: pending · sent · delivered · read (blue ✓✓)
⌨️	Typing indicator	Animated tippt… shown live in the chat header
🔍	Media lightbox	Click any image or video to view fullscreen
🔄	Live contact list	Unread badges · last message preview · auto-sort by recency
📦	Portable build	Single .exe — no installation required
🛫	File Transfer	Drag and Drop and File Dialog Window included
🎮	Games	Slide a Lama and Pool included for free

First-run warnings

Windows — SmartScreen: Click "More info" → "Run anyway"

macOS: no warning — the app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

Quick Start

Requirements

• Node.js 18+ (LTS)
• npm 9+
• Windows, macOS, or Linux

No browser is bundled any more - WhatsApp speaks its protocol directly, so it needs no extra Linux runtime deps.

Install & run

git clone https://github.com/felix-helleckes/ICQ.git
cd ICQ
npm install
npm start

npm start launches the React dev server and Electron simultaneously.

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Login

WhatsApp

1. Switch to the WhatsApp tab
2. Wait a moment — the WhatsApp connection is established
3. Scan the QR code with your phone → WhatsApp → Linked Devices → Link a Device
4. Done — session is saved and survives restarts

Telegram

1. Switch to the Telegram tab
2. Choose QR code (scan with Telegram mobile) or enter your phone number
3. Enter the code sent to your phone (+ 2FA password if enabled)
4. Done — session stored in data/telegram.session

No API keys or developer accounts needed for either service.

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Build

npm run build

# Windows — NSIS installer + Portable
npx electron-builder --win nsis portable

# macOS — DMG (unsigned)
npx electron-builder --mac dmg

# Linux — AppImage + .deb
npx electron-builder --linux AppImage deb

Output goes to the dist/ folder.

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Project Structure

├── electron/
│   ├── main.js              # Main process · IPC handlers · multi-window management
│   ├── preload.js           # contextBridge — exposes window.api to React
│   ├── whatsapp-bridge.js   # WhatsApp via Baileys (protocol, no browser)
│   └── telegram-bridge.js   # Telegram MTProto via GramJS
├── src/
│   ├── App.js               # Sidebar / contact list window
│   ├── ChatApp.js           # Per-contact chat window
│   ├── index.css            # Global ICQ 5 styles + CSS variables
│   └── components/
│       ├── TitleBar.js      # Frameless title bar (minimize / maximize / close)
│       ├── Sidebar.js       # Service tabs · contact list · groups · sound controls
│       ├── ChatWindow.js    # Messages · emoji picker · media · lightbox · read receipts
│       └── LoginPanel.js    # QR + phone login for both services
├── public/
│   ├── icq-logo.png         # ICQ logo (app icon source)
│   ├── whatsapp-logo.svg    # WhatsApp logo (service tab)
│   ├── telegram-logo.svg    # Telegram logo (service tab)
│   ├── icon.ico             # Generated Windows app icon
│   └── sounds/
│       └── icq-message.mp3  # Classic ICQ notification sound
└── package.json

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Architecture Notes

• Multi-window — each chat is a separate BrowserWindow, tracked in a Map and reused on re-open
• Broadcast pattern — BrowserWindow.getAllWindows().forEach(w => w.webContents.send(...)) keeps sidebar + chat windows in sync instantly
• Avatar cache — avatars cached in main process (Map), pushed via wa:avatar / tg:avatar events, no re-fetching
• Non-blocking contact list — getChats() / getDialogs() return immediately; avatars load in background loops
• IPC cleanup — every listener returns a removal function used in useEffect — no memory leaks
• Font scaling — html { font-size } set at runtime, all UI sizes in rem
• BigInt peer IDs — Telegram IDs converted to BigInt before every GramJS API call to prevent silent lookup failures

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Support

ICQ Retrogram is free and stays free. If you want to chip in, there is a concrete thing the money goes to first:

A code-signing certificate — around €220 a year (OV; EV runs about €280).

Right now every Windows download triggers a SmartScreen warning, because the Windows builds are unsigned (macOS is already signed and notarized). That warning is the single biggest reason people close the page instead of trying the app.

Being precise about what it buys: signing makes the publisher verifiable, which is the prerequisite for SmartScreen to build reputation at all. It is no longer an instant switch — since 2026 even an EV certificate earns trust through download volume rather than flipping the warning off on day one.

Nothing is gated behind it. There is no paid version, no pro tier, and no plan to add one — see docs/premium-konzept.md for why.