Installation

SlideCraft is a desktop app for Windows / macOS / Linux. Normally, you obtain the distribution installer for your OS from Releases. You can also run it from source for development, but this is not needed for general use.

This page covers the following:

• Getting the distribution installer (by OS)
• First launch on macOS (notes on ad-hoc signing)
• Running from source for development

After installing, see Markdown authoring, Diagrams, and Templates for how to use it, and FAQ if something goes wrong.

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Getting the distribution installer (by OS)

Each version on Releases includes installers for each OS.

OS	Format	How to get / install
Windows	.msi (recommended) / .exe	Download and run
macOS	Homebrew cask (recommended) / .dmg	Command below. Official builds are Apple Silicon (arm64) only (_aarch64.dmg). Intel Macs build from source
Linux	.AppImage (recommended) / .deb / .rpm	Make the AppImage executable and run it, or install the deb / rpm

Windows

The simplest path is to download and run the .msi. The same release may also include a .exe (NSIS) installer. Either way, once installed you can launch it from the Start menu.

SmartScreen warning

If the app is unsigned, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen may show a warning on first launch. Click "More info" → "Run anyway" to launch it.

Linux

There are three distribution formats. Choose the one that matches your distribution.

AppImage (works on any distribution; recommended)

chmod +x SlideCraft_0.2.0_amd64.AppImage
./SlideCraft_0.2.0_amd64.AppImage

Debian / Ubuntu family (.deb)

sudo apt install ./SlideCraft_0.2.0_amd64.deb

Fedora / RHEL family (.rpm)

sudo dnf install ./SlideCraft-0.2.0-1.x86_64.rpm

If the AppImage does not launch

Older distributions require FUSE. Install libfuse2, or run it extracted with --appimage-extract-and-run.

sudo apt install libfuse2          # Debian/Ubuntu
./SlideCraft_0.2.0_amd64.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run

macOS

The macOS build is distributed with ad-hoc signing (codesign -s -) and is not notarized by Apple (because that would require the Apple Developer Program at $99/year). Given this policy, going through the Homebrew cask is the cleanest option.

Using an Intel Mac

The official installer (cask / .dmg) is Apple Silicon (arm64) only (the Intel build was retired due to CI runner constraints). On an Intel Mac, build from source instead — see Running from source for development.

# Via tap (one shot)
brew install --cask zyuuryuu/slidecraft/slidecraft

# Or add the tap first
brew tap zyuuryuu/slidecraft
brew install --cask slidecraft

brew install --cask strips the com.apple.quarantine attribute during installation. In most environments this lets you open the app without a first-launch warning, but on newer macOS (Sequoia 15 and later), because the app is not notarized, you may see a warning like "'SlideCraft' may damage your Mac…" on first launch (this does not mean the app is broken). In that case, you can open it as follows:

System Settings → Privacy & Security → (toward the bottom) "'SlideCraft' was blocked…" → "Open Anyway" → then "Open" in the confirmation dialog. Once you allow it, it will launch normally from then on.

Tip for macOS 15 and later

On macOS 15 (Sequoia) and later, the old "right-click → 'Open'" alone no longer works, so the System Settings → "Open Anyway" path above is the reliable method. This is the general behavior for non-notarized apps; the root-cause fix is Developer-ID signing + notarization ($99; see "Future" below).

Using it from an AI agent (no build required)

When you install via Homebrew, the MCP server that lets upstream AI (Claude Code / Cursor / Claude Desktop) drive SlideCraft is also bundled and registered on PATH (v0.2.0 and later). No source clone or system Node is needed; register it with claude mcp add slidecraft -- slidecraft-mcp. See the MCP guide for details.

First-launch note when opening the .dmg directly on macOS

If you download the .dmg directly instead of using Homebrew, the quarantine attribute remains, so Gatekeeper shows "'SlideCraft' is damaged and can't be opened" or "cannot verify the developer" and blocks it as-is. This stems from ad-hoc signing (not notarized) and does not mean the app is broken. Resolve it with either of the following.

Method A — Open via right-click (GUI) Control-click (or right-click) SlideCraft.app in /Applications → "Open" → click "Open" again in the dialog. Once you allow it, it will launch normally from then on.

Method B — Strip the quarantine attribute (Terminal)

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SlideCraft.app

Because Apple Silicon (M series) cannot run any unsigned binary, ad-hoc signing is mandatory; the bundled node / llamafile (for the built-in offline AI) are also ad-hoc signed individually. Once you strip the quarantine from the app itself with either method above, these will launch without issue.

Future: the notarization path

The path that would let you open the .dmg directly without stripping quarantine (i.e., listing on the official homebrew-cask or Developer-ID signing + notarization) requires the $99 Apple Developer Program, so it is currently deferred. For now, please use the cask above, or the right-click / xattr approach.

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Running from source for development

These are the steps to build and run from source code instead of the distributed version. Not needed for normal use; it is intended for development, customization, or trying the latest unreleased features.

Prerequisites

Requirement	Version	Purpose
Node.js	20 or later	Frontend (Vite / React / TypeScript)
Rust	1.70 or later	Building the Tauri desktop shell

On Linux, additional system libraries are required.

# Debian / Ubuntu family
sudo apt install libgtk-3-dev libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev librsvg2-dev libssl-dev patchelf

Clone and set up

git clone git@github.com:zyuuryuu/slidecraft.git
cd slidecraft
npm install

Starting the dev server

npm run dev          # Vite dev server (browser: http://localhost:5173)
npm run tauri dev    # Launch Tauri + Vite together (desktop window)

npm run dev is for the browser-based demo / development, while npm run tauri dev launches it as the desktop app. Desktop-specific features such as persistent template storage and the built-in offline AI run on the tauri dev side.

Building the installer

To generate an installer (.msi / .dmg / .AppImage / .deb / .rpm) for your own environment.

npm run build        # Build the frontend (tsc + vite)
npm run tauri build  # Generate an installer for the running OS

Verifying it works

If you want to use AI features after launching, see AI setup; if you want to drive SlideCraft from an AI agent (Claude Desktop / Claude Code, etc.), see MCP.

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Next steps

• Create your first slide → Markdown authoring
• Import a company template → Templates
• Draw a diagram → Diagrams
• Trouble with launching or installing → FAQ