Quickstart

Deska is free to download and runs on macOS, Windows and Linux. No account or credit card is needed to start, and the app keeps itself up to date automatically.

Head to the download page — it detects your operating system and highlights the right build. You can always pick another platform manually.

• macOS — a .dmg (drag Deska into Applications) for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Builds are notarized.
• Windows — an installer for Windows 10/11 (x64), plus a portable build.
• Linux — an AppImage (universal), a .deb package, or a .tar.gz archive. On immutable-root systems, prefer the tar.gz build.

The first time you open Deska, you are greeted by the First Flight — a short guided tour that plays out over a real, interactive canvas. There is no modal blocking the screen: the camera glides through five quick beats while a caption bar explains what you are looking at, and you can keep clicking and typing the whole time.

The five beats walk you from a single terminal out to the full workspace:

1. Arrival — a close-up on a seeded terminal.
2. Reveal — the camera pulls back to show an editor and a browser alongside it.
3. Camera — you take the controls and try zooming and panning.
4. Assistant — a quick proof that Deska can see what is on your canvas.
5. Handover — you are ready to build.

Press Enter to advance early, or Esc to skip the tour. You can replay it any time from Settings → Advanced → Show onboarding tour.

After the First Flight, first-run users are asked to sign in. Signing in connects your Deska account so the AI assistants and managed features can work. Choosing Sign in opens your browser to authenticate; once you finish, the desktop app picks up where you left off automatically.

You can sign in or out later from Settings → Account. A free account gives you the full app plus a small monthly allowance of the managed AI features — see Plans & credits for what each tier unlocks.

A workspace usually starts with a project folder. From the welcome screen you have three paths:

• Open a folder — click Open a folder…, press Cmd/CtrlO, or drag a folder onto the canvas. Deska also lists your recent projects for one-click re-entry.
• Start blank — skip the folder and begin with an empty canvas. Add panels later from the Panel Library.
• Import a saved canvas — restore a workspace layout you exported earlier.

When you open a folder for the first time, Deska seeds the canvas with a starter terminal, editor and browser so you are not staring at a blank page. You can turn that off in Settings → Canvas & Workspace.

These five shortcuts cover almost everything you need on day one:

• Cmd/CtrlK — the Command Palette: search and run any command or open any file.
• Cmd/CtrlShiftE — the Panel Library: browse and add any panel type.
• Cmd/CtrlT — Ask Deska: chat about what is on your canvas.
• Cmd/CtrlShift1 — Zoom to Fit: frame everything at once.
• CtrlSpace — the Panel Switcher: jump between open panels.

From here, learn the canvas in Workspaces & the canvas, or browse everything you can place in the Panels overview.