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Install and first launch

Applies to Howse 0.10.x (beta)

Install

macOS

Open Howse-<version>-mac-arm64.dmg (Apple silicon) or Howse-<version>-mac-x64.dmg (Intel). Not sure which Mac you have? Open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. "Chip: Apple M…" means Apple silicon.
Drag Howse.app onto the Applications folder in the same window.

Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)

Run Howse-<version>-win-x64-setup.exe.
Howse installs for your user account only (no administrator rights needed), adds a Start menu shortcut, and opens. To uninstall, go to Settings → Apps.

Signing and notarization

Public macOS installers, starting with 0.6.0, are signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

The Windows version is a beta and isn't code-signed yet. When you run the installer, SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC." Click More info, then Run anyway. If Smart App Control is on (Windows 11) or your organization blocks unsigned apps, Windows may block the installer outright. In that case, you can't install Howse on that PC until a signed build is available.

Only download installers from the official links on the Howse website or GitHub Releases.

What you'll see first

Howse doesn't open a browser. Everything happens in the app window.
You don't need to install Node.js; it's bundled with the app.
On first launch, you'll find a sample project (demo-project), a general channel, a welcome thread, and two agents: a Builder on Codex and a Reviewer on Claude Code.
If an agent's CLI is missing or broken, the app and its settings still open and show which agents can run.
Without Git, the app and its context store are still set up; the sample project is a plain folder instead of a repository.

Updates

Each build updates only from releases for its own platform. For example, an Intel Mac build never installs an Apple silicon update, and vice versa.

Patch updates within the same minor version (say, 0.10.0 to 0.10.1) install automatically, without restarting the app or interrupting running sessions. Minor and major updates need your OK: click Update in the app, then restart. If work is running, the restart waits until it finishes.

On macOS, if you're still on an older unsigned beta, download the current DMG and replace the app manually.