Quickstart

Sign in with the account you used to buy the plan. Pro connects your existing computers; Cloud includes a computer you can use from your phone or browser. You do not need GitHub, a microphone or notifications to try a first task. Follow the post-purchase steps to confirm your plan and continue setup.

Deska is free to download and runs on macOS, Windows and Linux. First launch walks you through setup, which includes signing in (a free plan is included), and the app checks for its own updates in the background.

Head to the download page. It detects your operating system and highlights the right build, and you can always pick another platform manually.

Selecting a download starts it in your browser and opens a short notice at the same time: it says the download is starting, then that Deska is in your downloads, with the steps for your system once the file finishes. If nothing started, the notice has a Download again link. Closing it does not cancel the download.

• macOS: a .dmg (drag Deska into Applications) for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Builds are notarized.
• Windows: a ZIP for Windows 10 and 11 (x64). Extract it and open Deska.exe inside the extracted folder.
• Linux: an AppImage (universal), a .deb package, or a .tar.gz archive. On immutable-root systems, prefer the tar.gz build.

Updates are covered in Updates, including how to switch to the Beta channel.

Selecting a Windows download starts the ZIP download and opens the download notice with these steps at the same time. Closing the notice does not cancel the download.

Extract the ZIP

1. Right-click the downloaded ZIP and select Extract All.
2. Open the extracted folder and run Deska.exe.

The ZIP contains Deska and the files it needs. Keep the extracted folder intact and always open the app from that folder. Extracting a ZIP does not guarantee that browser or Windows security warnings will disappear.

The following steps apply only to Deska downloaded from deska.dev.

In the browser

Microsoft Edge may say the file isn’t commonly downloaded and ask you to make sure you trust it before opening it. In that case:

1. Open Downloads, select the three dots (…) next to the Deska ZIP and choose Keep.
2. If prompted, select Show more and then Keep anyway.

When opening Deska

When you open Deska.exe, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen may show Windows protected your PC. Windows may not yet recognize this version of Deska.

1. Select More info in the SmartScreen window.
2. Choose Run anyway, if available, to open Deska.

If the warning is different or that option is unavailable, contact support for help with installation.

First launch opens a hands-on setup with four steps: your project, your coding agent, a first question for Dex, and account sign-in. Phone setup and personalization are optional.

1. Your project: choose Open a folder… or a recent project. Deska lays out starter panels to match the folder, usually its README beside a terminal. The rest of setup uses this folder.
2. Your agent: choose Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cursor, Antigravity, Pi, Hermes, Mistral Vibe, and Kimi Code. Deska checks readiness and offers installation or sign-in where needed. An install runs in the background on the row itself, Node.js first if the agent needs it; a sign-in finishes in a terminal, then you return to agent setup. If you choose Set up later, Dex needs a ready agent before it can answer. Below the agents, Also use it for summaries and titles is on by default: the same agent writes short panel summaries and thread titles in the background, using a little of its plan. Turn it off there, or later in Settings, under Dex.
3. Try Dex: send the suggested question or write your own. Your agent answers using your project. Read the reply and choose Continue. A failed or cancelled request does not count as a completed answer; retry or choose Try Dex later.
4. Your account: sign in through your browser. Account sign-in is required to finish setup. Connecting a phone is optional.

After sign-in, choose Start using Deska or expand Choose a look and voice. Appearance changes apply immediately. Voice choices play a bundled sample, with Play and Stop controls. The optional panel lesson shows how to double-click empty canvas, choose Terminal, and drag its title bar. Add a terminal for me offers a keyboard-friendly alternative.

Choose Sign in with your browser and finish authentication there. Deska updates when you return. While waiting, you can reopen the sign-in page or return to the sign-in card. If sign-in fails or takes too long, a recovery option lets you continue for now.

Once signed in, choose Continue or expand Connect your phone (optional). Scan the QR code with your phone camera, sign in, and select this computer. Phone setup includes retry controls and a manual sign-in link. A registered phone does not mean it is currently online, and registering one does not dismiss the setup card.

You can sign in or out later from Settings, Account. The free plan includes the complete app on one linked computer plus a monthly allowance of dictation minutes. See Plans & billing for what each tier unlocks. After signing up on the web, deska.dev/welcome walks the same two hookups (computer and phone) as a checklist.

The tour already asked for your first folder. From then on, a workspace with no project open shows a card titled New workspace. Its three sources sit under the heading Open a project, and below them, on this computer, a Recent projects list of what you have opened before.

Enlarge screenshot

• Reopen a project: Recent projects lists the last five projects this computer opened, each with its folder and current branch. One click and you are in it, and Show all projects lists the rest.
• Start from a source: Open a folder on this computer, Clone from GitHub for one of your repos, or Clone from a URL. The folder row opens your system file browser directly. Cmd/CtrlO opens the same browser but only points the workspace you are in at the folder, without starter panels, and dragging a folder onto the window opens it as its own workspace. On another computer the folder row browses that machine instead, since there is no file browser of yours to open over there.
• Start blank: take Start a blank canvas and add panels later from the Panel Library.
• Import a saved canvas: Import canvas restores a .workspace bundle you exported earlier.

The card belongs to the computer named in the crumb. Standing on another machine it offers that machine's repositories and folders, with no recent list, and the clone runs over there.

A canvas with nothing on it gets starter panels matched to the folder when you open it from the tour, from a recent project or the Open a folder row, or by dropping it onto Deska: a code project gets its README beside a terminal, a folder of text files opens its README or first file, a folder of photos or PDFs gets a preview beside a file explorer, any other folder of files gets the File Explorer with its places sidebar, and an empty folder gets a terminal. Folders opened any other way, such as with Cmd/CtrlO, along with cloned repositories and projects on another computer, start with an empty canvas: add panels from the Panel Library. Once a canvas has panels, nothing is added to it again.

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

• Cmd/CtrlK: the Command Palette, to search and run any command or open any file.
• Cmd/CtrlShiftE: the Panel Library, to browse every panel or type a few letters and add the one you need.
• Cmd/CtrlL: Dex, to chat about what is on your canvas.
• Cmd/CtrlShift1: Zoom to Fit, to frame everything at once.
• CtrlSpace: the Panel Switcher, to jump between open panels.

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