DocsAgenC Desktop

Install and update

Install AgenC Desktop on macOS, Windows or Linux, how each platform gets new versions, and how to remove it.

AgenC Desktop is one app for macOS, Windows and Linux. It carries its own copy of AgenC Core and the runtime Core needs, so there is nothing else to install first, except Git for Windows on Windows. The quickest install is one command pasted in a terminal. You can also download the installer file yourself.

Requirements

  • macOS: 13.5 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.
  • Windows: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, desktop editions. Sessions need Git for Windows; see Windows needs Git for Windows.
  • Linux: 64-bit Intel or AMD, with glibc 2.38 or newer: Ubuntu 24.04 or newer, or Debian 13. There is no ARM build.

The first run downloads a speech model of about 141 MB, so it needs an internet connection. See First run and startup.

macOS

Paste this in Terminal, as your normal user:

curl -fsSL https://get.agenc.ag/desktop.sh | sh

The script installs AgenC.app in the Applications folder of your home folder and prints where it went. Open AgenC from there in Finder. The script:

  • picks the Apple silicon or Intel build for your Mac;
  • checks the download against a pinned checksum and the app's signature;
  • refuses to run with sudo, and refuses macOS older than 13.5;
  • never removes a security attribute and never opens the app for you;
  • refuses to replace a copy that is already installed: quit AgenC and move the old app to the Trash first. --destination followed by an absolute folder installs somewhere else.

With the disk image instead

Download AgenC-<version>-arm64.dmg (Apple silicon) or AgenC-<version>-x64.dmg (Intel) from the releases page, open it and drag AgenC into Applications. The app is not notarized by Apple yet, so the first launch is blocked once:

  1. Double-click AgenC. If "AgenC.app Not Opened" offers only Move to Trash and Done, choose Done.
  2. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll to Security and click Open Anyway beside AgenC.
  3. Authenticate if asked, then click Open. Later launches work normally.

Windows

Paste this in a normal PowerShell window, not one opened as administrator:

irm https://get.agenc.ag/desktop.ps1 | iex

The script installs AgenC for your user only, in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\AgenC, and adds it to the Start menu. It:

  • checks the download against a pinned checksum before it runs it;
  • refuses an administrator window, 32-bit PowerShell, Windows server editions and anything older than Windows 10;
  • refuses to install over an existing copy, or while AgenC is running: uninstall the old copy in Settings > Apps first;
  • does not open the app. Open AgenC from the Start menu.

The installer carries no publisher certificate yet, so Smart App Control or your organization's rules may still block it.

With the installer file instead

Download AgenC-<version>-win-x64.exe from the releases page and run it. Windows warns about an unknown publisher on the download and again on the first run: choose Keep, then More info and Run anyway. The installer lets you choose the folder and adds a desktop shortcut.

Windows needs Git for Windows

On Windows, Core runs commands with Git Bash. Install Git for Windows in its default location before you start a session. Without it, starting a session fails with "AgenC needs Git Bash to run sessions on Windows, and it is not installed." If Git is installed somewhere else, set the AGENC_SHELL environment variable to the full path of its bash.exe and restart AgenC.

Two more differences on Windows: the only permission mode is Bypass permissions, and the agent cannot drive the app's browser and terminal. See Permissions and approvals.

Linux

On Ubuntu, Debian and their derivatives, paste this in a terminal:

curl -fsSL https://get.agenc.ag/desktop-linux.sh | sh

Stock Ubuntu and Debian desktops come without curl. Use wget there:

wget -qO- https://get.agenc.ag/desktop-linux.sh | sh

The script installs the .deb package with apt, which asks for your password through sudo. Then press the Super key, search for AgenC and open it. The script:

  • checks for a 64-bit Intel or AMD system with apt and glibc 2.38 or newer, and stops without changing anything otherwise;
  • checks the download against a pinned checksum;
  • does nothing if the same or a newer version is already installed, and upgrades an older one in place;
  • adds no package repository and does not open the app.

With the package file instead

Download AgenC-<version>-linux-amd64.deb from the releases page and install it with apt from the folder you saved it in:

sudo apt install ./AgenC-<version>-linux-amd64.deb

The package declares the shared libraries its programs load, so apt installs them even on a minimal system. It does not declare the glibc it needs, so on Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12 apt installs it anyway and the app fails to start. Check with ldd --version first.

The AppImage

AgenC-<version>-linux-x86_64.AppImage is a portable build that runs without installing. Make it executable (chmod +x) and run it. It needs FUSE 2 (the libfuse2 package). On Ubuntu 24.04 and later it quits at launch, because the system blocks the sandbox it needs; use the .deb there. The AppImage is the only Linux build that updates itself.

How updates arrive

Every copy from 0.1.5 on checks for new versions, except the Linux .deb. What happens next depends on the platform:

  • Windows: Download update fetches the update, and Restart and install installs it and restarts the app.
  • Linux AppImage: the same, when you started the AppImage file itself. The app replaces the file and restarts.
  • macOS: the app tells you a new version is out, and Download from agenc.ag opens the download page. Quit AgenC, move the old app to the Trash, and install the new version as above.
  • Linux .deb: the app cannot update a package, so it does not check. Run the install command again, or install the new .deb. Settings shows "In-app updates need the AppImage."

Versions 0.1.4 and earlier never check. Update them by hand once. Your sessions, settings and keys stay, because they live outside the app.

The Updates card

Settings > General opens with the Updates card: "AgenC Desktop", your version, and Check for updates. Its status line says what is happening:

  • "You're up to date".
  • "Update available", with the version, a Download update button (Download from agenc.ag on macOS) and the release notes under "What's new".
  • "Downloading update", with a progress bar.
  • "Ready to install", with Restart and install.
  • "Restarting to update".
  • "Update needs attention", with the reason.
  • "Updates unavailable", with the reason, for builds that cannot update.

Check for updates automatically is on by default. The app then checks shortly after it starts and every six hours. With it off, the button still works.

While an update waits, a small indicator appears next to your name at the bottom of the sidebar, with the download progress. Click it to open the Updates card. The app also sends a system notification once per version, "AgenC (version) is available" and later "AgenC (version) is ready to install". Clicking one opens Settings. Neither the indicator nor the notification downloads or restarts anything.

What waits before an install

Restart and install waits until nothing is running. The app says what to do first:

  • "Finish or stop active tasks before restarting to install the update."
  • "Close terminal tabs before restarting so their processes are not interrupted."
  • "Reconnect Core before installing so active work can be checked."

Quitting the app never installs a downloaded update. If the restart fails, the app brings Core back and says "Could not safely restart AgenC. Check active work and try again."

How an update is checked

The address of the update feed and the key that signs it are built into the app; nothing on the network can change them. Each release publishes a small file, signed with AgenC's release key, that lists the version and the fingerprint of each installer. The app checks that signature before it offers anything, offers only a version newer than the one running and never one older than a version it has already seen, and discards a download whose fingerprint does not match. The steps are written to updates.log in the app's data folder.

Remove AgenC Desktop

  • macOS: quit AgenC and move AgenC.app to the Trash.
  • Windows: uninstall AgenC in Settings > Apps.
  • Linux: sudo apt remove agenc-desktop, or delete the AppImage.

Removing the app keeps your data folder: sessions, settings, keys and the speech model. A reinstall picks them up again and skips the first-run setup. To remove everything, delete the data folder too; see Data and privacy.

AgenC Core without the app

AgenC Core, the runtime inside the app, also installs on its own as a command line tool. The app does not need it, and the two keep separate data. See the AgenC Core guide.