Skip to main content
The desktop app is the easiest way to run your own copy of AppBlips. It installs like any other program: no account, no terminal, no configuration files. You bring an API key from an AI provider, and your projects are saved as folders on your computer.
On macOS there is no installer yet. Run AppBlips from source instead.

​
Install

Download AppBlips-Setup-<version>.exe from the Releases page and run it. The installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may warn you the first time: choose More info → Run anyway.

​
Set up your AI provider

The first time you open the app, Settings → AI asks for a provider, a model and your API key. Click Test connection, then Save. Your key is encrypted with your system keychain (Windows Data Protection, or GNOME Keyring/KWallet on Linux) and is only used by the app’s background process. The app’s own web page, your projects and the apps you build never see it.
On Linux without a keyring, the app warns that the key is stored with weak encryption. Install GNOME Keyring or KWallet to protect it properly.

​
Where your projects are saved

Each app you build is a folder in Documents/AppBlips/Projects/: The site/ folder is a convenience copy: open or share those files freely, but edits there are not read back into AppBlips. Renaming an app renames its folder, and deleting one moves the folder to your system trash. To use a different folder, open Settings → Data → Projects folder → Change…. You can move your existing projects there at the same time.

​
Move projects from the browser version

Projects in a browser copy of AppBlips live in that browser’s storage, which the desktop app cannot read. To bring them over:
  1. In the browser copy, open Settings → Data and click Export. This downloads one backup file.
  2. In the desktop app, open Settings → Data, click Import… and choose that file.
An app you already have is only replaced if the backup’s copy is newer. The same export works as a backup of the desktop app itself.

​
AI in the apps you build

  • In the preview and in Open in new tab, AI-enabled apps use your saved provider, as they do in the browser version.
  • Exported HTML files can’t reach the desktop app, so they include the bring-your-own-key dialog instead: whoever opens the file enters their own provider details.

​
Updates

AppBlips checks for new versions when it starts.
  • Windows and AppImage: a new version downloads in the background. When it’s ready, AppBlips offers Restart to update. If you choose Later, it installs the next time you close AppBlips.
  • .deb: AppBlips tells you a new version is out and links to the download. Install it the same way as the first time (sudo apt install ./AppBlips-*.deb); your projects and settings stay as they are.
To turn the check off, go to Settings → Workspace → Check for updates. The check asks GitHub, where releases are published, so GitHub sees your IP address.

​
Build the installers yourself

From a clone of the repository (see Run from Source for the prerequisites):
Electron downloads its runtime the first time it runs. Build each installer on its own OS: Windows installers on Windows and Linux packages on Linux. The repository’s Desktop GitHub Actions workflow builds both. If you launch the app from a terminal, the APPBLIPS_* variables from Configuration still apply. A provider saved in Settings → AI takes priority over them.