The desktop app
A real application for Mac, Windows and Linux — and what it adds over the browser.
Noots has a desktop app. Download it from the Downloads page on the website; that page always reads the current release, so the version and file size you see there are the ones you get.
| Platform | You get |
|---|---|
| macOS | A universal disk image — Apple silicon and Intel. |
| Windows | A 64-bit installer. |
| Linux | A portable AppImage, or a .deb or .rpm package. |
Signing in
The sign-in and create-account screen is part of the application — it is on disk before there is any network, drawn by the app rather than loaded from a web page. Everything after you sign in is the same Noots you use in a browser.
Continue with Google and Continue with Microsoft open your real browser rather than a window inside the app, because those providers refuse to authenticate inside an embedded browser. You approve it there and the app picks it up. The handover is bound to that installation, is single-use, and expires in two minutes — so a sign-in link that reaches somebody else's machine is worth nothing to them.
What the app adds
- Native notifications, which stay quiet while you're on Do Not Disturb or outside your hours.
- A menu-bar / tray icon with your unread count, and a close button that tucks the app away instead of quitting it.
- A global shortcut — Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + N — to summon it from anywhere. If another app already owns that combination, Noots yields rather than fighting for it.
- Deep links, so a
noots://link from an email or a chat opens the right place in the app. - A real offline screen instead of a browser error page.
- Staying signed in, remembering your window position, and optionally launching at login.
The app checks for updates against noots.ai and verifies a cryptographic signature before installing anything. If an update can't be verified, the app is told it is up to date rather than being handed something it would download and then refuse.
macOS and Windows will warn you the first time you open one, because Noots has not yet bought and applied platform code-signing certificates. That is a separate thing from the update signing above, which is live. The Downloads page says the same, and the notice will disappear when it stops being true.
The app applies the appearance saved on your account, palette and all — so if it opens light and you expected dark, check Settings → Appearance. It is following what you chose rather than overriding it.