Install zvena on Windows, macOS and Linux
The zvena desktop app keeps your workspace in its own window, with system notifications, the unread count on its icon and links that open straight in the app. Download it from zvena.app/download.
Updated
Which file to download
The download page recognizes your computer and offers its file first. The others are listed below it:
| Your computer | The file |
|---|---|
| Windows 10 or 11 with an Intel or AMD processor | Windows x64 (.exe) |
| Windows 11 on ARM (Snapdragon and other ARM laptops) | Windows ARM64 (.exe) |
| A Mac, with Apple silicon or Intel | macOS (.dmg, or the same app as a .zip): one file for both |
| Linux, any distribution | AppImage, for x64 or arm64 |
| Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint and their relatives | .deb, for x64 or arm64 |
| Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, openSUSE | .rpm, for x64 or arm64 |
Not sure which processor you have? On Windows, open Settings → System → About: System type says x64-based or ARM-based. On Linux, run uname -m: x86_64 means x64, aarch64 means arm64.
Windows
Windows doesn't know the zvena installer yet, so your browser and Windows may each ask you to confirm it once.
If your browser says the file isn't commonly downloaded: in Edge, select … next to it, then Keep, then Show more → Keep anyway. In Chrome, select Keep.
Open the installer you downloaded (
zvena-…-win-x64.exeorzvena-…-win-arm64.exe).If a blue window says Windows protected your PC, select More info, then Run anyway. It shows the publisher as unknown because the installer isn't signed yet.
Follow the installer. zvena installs for your Windows account only, without administrator rights, then opens and stays in the Start menu.
Updates download inside the app and install when you quit it, without these questions.
Check the download (SHA-256)Allow only a file you downloaded from zvena.app. To be sure it's ours and complete, compare its checksum with the one on the download page.
macOS
zvena for Mac isn't notarized by Apple yet, so macOS asks you to allow it once, in System Settings.
Open the .dmg and drag zvena onto Applications. Downloaded the .zip? Double-click it to unpack zvena.app, then drag it into Applications.
Open zvena from Applications. macOS says Apple could not verify “zvena” is free of malware: select Done.
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll down to Security. Next to “zvena” was blocked to protect your Mac, select Open Anyway. The button is there for about an hour after you tried to open zvena.
Confirm with Touch ID or your password, then select Open. From now on zvena opens like any other app.
On macOS 14 Sonoma and earlier it's quicker: Control-click (or right-click) zvena in Applications, choose Open, then select Open again.
When a new version is out, zvena tells you and links here: download it, replace zvena in Applications and allow it once more the same way. Your work stays in your account.
If macOS says “zvena” is damaged
This doesn't happen with a file from zvena.app as it was published: something changed it on the way. Download it again from this page first. Only if the message stays and the file's checksum matches the one on this page, run this in Terminal and open zvena again:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/zvena.app
It removes macOS's download mark from zvena alone, which skips Apple's check for this one app. Use it only for zvena from zvena.app with a matching checksum, never for apps from elsewhere.
Check the download (SHA-256)Allow only a file you downloaded from zvena.app. To be sure it's ours and complete, compare its checksum with the one on the download page.
Linux
Nothing to get past on Linux: pick the package for your system.
AppImage, any distribution: make it executable and run it. In your file manager, open the file's Properties and turn on Executable as Program (on older systems Allow executing file as program), then double-click it. Or in a terminal:
chmod +x zvena-*.AppImage ./zvena-*.AppImage
If it doesn't start, install FUSE 2, which AppImages use:
libfuse2t64on Ubuntu 24.04 and later,libfuse2on earlier Ubuntu and Debian,fuse-libson Fedora..deb (Debian, Ubuntu, Mint) or .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE): install it with your package manager, then open zvena from your app menu.
sudo apt install ./zvena-*.deb # Debian, Ubuntu, Mint sudo dnf install ./zvena-*.rpm # Fedora, RHEL sudo zypper install ./zvena-*.rpm # openSUSE
The AppImage updates itself. With a .deb or .rpm, zvena tells you when a new version is out: install the new package the same way.
Check the download (SHA-256)Allow only a file you downloaded from zvena.app. To be sure it's ours and complete, compare its checksum with the one on the download page.
Check a download
The download page lists each file's size and SHA-256 checksum. Compute the checksum of the file you have and compare:
certutil -hashfile zvena-1.1.0-win-x64.exe SHA256 # Windows (use the file's real name) shasum -a 256 zvena-*.dmg # macOS sha256sum zvena-*.AppImage # Linux
Signing in
The app opens your usual browser at zvena.app. Sign in there the way you always do (Google, GitHub, an email link or code, single sign-on). If you are already signed in, the browser asks you to confirm that the app may sign in as you: click Continue. The browser hands the sign-in back to the app on your own computer, and you can close the tab. The app then appears in Settings → Account → Devices, where you can sign it out from anywhere.
Updates
- Windows and the AppImage: zvena checks for new versions by itself, downloads them in the background and installs them the next time you quit the app.
- macOS: once zvena for Mac is signed and notarized by Apple, it updates the same way. Until then, zvena tells you when a new version is out and links to the download page: download it, replace zvena in Applications and open it once more as above.
- .deb and .rpm: download the new package from the download page and install it the same way; it replaces the old version.
Your work is in your account, not in the app, so updating or reinstalling never touches it.
Opening links in the app
In a browser, a page of Docs has Open in desktop app in its ⋯ menu. To have links you click elsewhere (in mail or chat) open in the app, turn on Open links in desktop app in Docs → Settings → Apps. It is a choice of each browser, so turn it on in every browser you use.
Uninstalling
- Windows: Settings → Apps → Installed apps, then zvena → Uninstall.
- macOS: drag zvena from Applications to the Trash.
- Linux: delete the AppImage, or remove the zvena package with your package manager.
Uninstalling doesn't sign the computer out of your account. Sign out in the app first, or later in Settings → Account → Devices from any browser.