Kex documentation

Contents

Start

Download Kex as a portable ZIP, extract it to a folder you control and run Kex.exe. Kex stores portable data in the data folder next to the program. If an older AppData profile exists, first portable startup can copy accounts and settings into that folder. Desktop shortcuts can be recreated later from Kex settings if they are missing. Kex has no main window and no tray menu. It registers global hotkeys, speaks through Accessible Output 2 and opens focused dialogs only when input is needed. In settings, the screen reader can stay automatic or be forced to a specific active reader.

To add a Telegram account, press Alt+Win+Shift+N. Kex asks for the phone number with country code, the Telegram code and, when needed, the two-step verification password.

Saved Kex service notifications are available immediately after startup as a dedicated item at the newest edge of the main Telegram list. Its position follows your chat ordering setting.

Main Hotkeys

Messages And Files

Messages are spoken with sender, text, time and read state when that information is available. Outgoing messages are spoken as yours.

Replies are spoken with the sender, the user being replied to, the new message and the replied message in private chats, groups, channels and forum topics.

While writing or editing a message, type @ to open the mention list. Choose a visible user and press Enter to insert the username into the edit box.

Use Alt+Win+Shift+S to search messages in the current chat or topic. After entering the search text, choose a filter: all, sender, files, links, photos and videos, voice messages, music or polls. Results open as a temporary buffer, and interaction on a result jumps back to that message.

Use Win+Alt+S to schedule a message. Use Ctrl+Win+Alt+S to open scheduled messages for the current chat or topic. Interact on the first row to schedule a new message, or on a scheduled message to cancel it.

For received non-voice files, the first interaction downloads the file to your configured folder. Later interactions open the saved file with the default Windows app. If Windows has no default app for that file type, Kex opens the standard Open with dialog.

When a selected message contains a file that is already downloaded, Alt+Win+Shift+Enter opens File Explorer with that file selected.

Use Win+Alt+F or Ctrl+Win+Alt+F to show non-voice files from the current chat or topic. The file list opens as a Kex buffer, so move through it with the same up and down hotkeys used for messages. Each file says its name, size, sender and whether it has a Telegram description. Interact on a file to download it to the configured folder, or open it if it is already saved.

Use Win+Alt+M to open recent media. This buffer contains recently played Telegram voice messages and downloaded files. Voice messages play as Kex voice messages; other files open or download like normal file-list entries.

In a file list, Ctrl+Win+Alt+Space selects or unselects the current file. Ctrl+Win+Alt+D downloads selected files; if no files are selected, it downloads every file in the list. File downloads are queued and Kex speaks when a batch starts and when it finishes. While you stay in the same buffer, Kex also plays the file transfer progress sound. Use Ctrl+Win+Alt+T to inspect the transfer queue, or Ctrl+Win+Alt+X to cancel active transfers.

When sending files with Alt+Win+Shift+F, Kex asks for an optional Telegram file description before upload. Leave it empty to send the files without a description. While you stay in the same buffer, Kex plays the file transfer progress sound during upload.

Win+Alt+V opens the selected message in a read-only text box so you can select and copy text with standard Windows editing keys.

Win+Alt+; speaks the selected message sender's profile. Available details are spoken in this order: contact or account name, Telegram Premium status, activity, visible phone number, all mutual groups and bio. Details that Telegram does not provide are omitted.

Win+Alt+T asks Telegram to transcribe the selected voice message. Ctrl+Win+Alt+Shift+T queues the selected voice message for developer Whisper transcription. When the text is ready, Kex opens it in a read-only text box for review and copying.

Ctrl+Win+Alt+Shift+W opens the Whisper queue. It shows waiting, running, done, failed and canceled jobs. Interact on a done job to reopen the transcript, or on the cancel row to cancel queued and active jobs from the Kex side.

When confirmation is enabled, Kex asks before sending the selected voice audio to the developer Whisper server. Settings also include the number of developer Whisper jobs that can run at once.

Forum Topics

Forum groups stay as one item on the main chat list. Opening a forum group first shows its topics. Opening a topic then loads messages from that topic only.

Topic actions include creating a new topic with Alt+Win+Shift+T, marking the selected topic as read with Alt+Win+Shift+Enter, and muting the selected topic with Alt+Win+Shift+M.

Incoming messages are marked read when you land on them. Settings contain the default auto-read switch. Press Win+Alt+A on a selected or open chat to save auto reading on or off for that specific chat.

Telegram Folders

Turn on Use Telegram folders in Settings, Ordering. The main Telegram view then shows folders first. Interact with a folder to open its chats. The previous-buffer shortcut keeps its normal buffer navigation behavior; press Win+Alt+' on the folder chat list to return to the Telegram folder list.

Press Alt+Win+Shift+Y on a folder to open folder management. Kex can create, rename, reorder and delete your folders; include contacts, non-contacts, groups, channels or bots; exclude muted, read or archived chats; add or remove individual included and excluded chats; and pin chats inside a folder. Changes are synchronized with Telegram. Shared folders are displayed and synchronized but remain read-only in Kex.

Polls And Reactions

To create a poll, select a chat or an already-open topic and press Alt+Win+Shift+P. Kex opens a poll draft buffer with question, answers, multiple-choice toggle, anonymous toggle, quiz mode, correct answer, send and cancel.

If polls cannot be created in the selected place, Kex says that polls are not available there and saves the details to logs for troubleshooting.

For reactions, Kex shows the reactions available in the current chat. If reactions are disabled there, Kex says that reactions are not available.

Groups And Channels

Use Alt+Win+Shift+J to create or join a group, forum group or channel.

Use Alt+Win+Shift+Y on a selected user, group, channel or open buffer to show management actions available to your account in that place. If you do not have management rights there, Kex says that and does not open the management buffer.

Kex builds this list from your current Telegram admin rights, so unavailable admin actions are hidden. If you are the owner of a channel, supergroup or forum group, management also includes deleting that group or channel after confirmation.

On a user or contact, the same management buffer can open the chat, add the user to contacts, edit or delete an existing contact, copy username or phone when available, and block or unblock the user.

Voice Messages And Calls

Voice messages can be played with Win+Alt+Enter when a voice message is selected. Pressing the same hotkey again on that same voice message stops it. Navigation and Kex event sounds can play without pausing the voice message.

Kex saves downloaded Telegram voice messages as .oga files in the portable data\voice-messages folder using the sender name, message date and message id. New recordings are sent as Telegram voice messages.

Use Ctrl+Win+Alt+Shift+Up/Down for playback volume and Ctrl+Win+Alt+Shift+Left/Right to seek. Media volume and individual Kex sound volumes can be raised up to 200% in settings.

Calls are controlled with the call hotkeys listed above. Call notifications can be muted separately in settings.

Settings

Use Alt+Win+Shift+Left/Right to reach settings. Use Ctrl+Win+Alt+Left/Right to switch settings categories and Ctrl+Win+Alt+Up/Down to move inside the current category.

Reading and notifications include default auto-read, automatic message translation, message notifications, call notifications, list-position speech and speech verbosity. Translation can be enabled for incoming message text and set to the selected target language. Turning default auto-read off disables saved auto-read exceptions; Win+Alt+A can then enable auto-read again for a selected chat.

Message notifications affect automatic message announcements. Incoming message sounds, including mentions, replies to your messages and file-message sounds, are controlled by chat mute state and the sound-volume settings. A reply to your message uses its dedicated reply sound instead of another incoming-message sound. Call notifications work like do-not-disturb for call announcements and call sounds.

Quiet mode can be changed in Reading and notifications or with Ctrl+Win+Alt+Q. It suppresses automatic announcements and Kex event sounds without changing the saved message and call notification switches.

Voice devices include input and output selection, stereo input, a microphone monitor test and an output test that plays the call sound through the selected output device.

Behavior includes Enter-to-send for multi-line text fields and the quit confirmation switch. Other categories include ordering, hotkeys, files, logs, sounds, media playback and updates.

Accounts includes password-protected backup export and import. Import replaces current Kex settings and Telegram instances after confirmation and keeps a local copy of the previous vault before replacing it.

Sounds includes the active sound pack, per-event volume up to 200%, a sound preview buffer and a sound-theme creator. Custom sound packs are stored locally. If a custom pack does not contain a sound file for an event, Kex uses the matching file from the default pack.

Keymaps And Downloads

Kex ships a reference file at {install folder}\keymaps\default.kmp. To customize hotkeys, copy it to a new file such as my.kmp, edit the copy in Notepad and select that keymap in Settings, Hotkeys.

Each line uses action = modifier+modifier+key. Modifiers are ctrl, alt, shift and win. Keys include letters, digits, function keys, arrows, enter, space, home, end, delete, semicolon and apostrophe.

The Files settings category contains the download folder. Interact on it to open the standard Windows folder picker. Received files and chat exports use that folder.

Updates

Kex checks for updates after startup. If an update exists, Kex opens a focused dialog with a read-only change list and Download now or Later buttons.

After confirmation, Kex downloads only the changed update files, applies them, closes itself and starts the updated Kex again. Fresh downloads use the latest portable ZIP from the Releases page.

The Updates settings category shows the current Kex version, has Check for updates and Restart Kex. Restart asks for confirmation before closing the current client and starting it again.

The Desktop shortcuts settings category can recreate shortcuts for Kex, Kex feedback and Kex log sender on the current Windows user's desktop.

Feedback And Logs

Inside Kex, press Win+Alt+F1 to send a suggestion, bug report, question or redacted Kex logs to the developer from a normal Kex buffer. The message is optional when log upload is enabled. Kex explains what information is included before sending.

Kex writes logs to the portable data\logs folder. The Logs settings category can clear this folder. If Kex cannot start, use the Kex log sender executable from the portable folder. The feedback and log sender apps remain fallback tools for cases where the main Kex app cannot start after an update.

The website contact form at /contact/ can also send suggestions, bug reports, contact messages and attached files. The form uses a math captcha before sending.