# Install on macOS

> Install NeuroSquad on a Mac with Apple silicon or Intel — from Terminal in one line or from a .dmg — and what macOS asks on the first launch.

Source: https://docs.neurosquad.ai/en/getting-started/macos

NeuroSquad runs on **macOS 12 Monterey or newer**, with separate builds for **Apple silicon**
(M1, M2, M3, M4 and newer) and **Intel** Macs. Not sure which one you have? Open the Apple menu →
**About This Mac**: "Chip: Apple M…" means Apple silicon, "Processor: Intel" means Intel.

[Go to the download page](https://neurosquad.ai/en/download/#macos)

## From Terminal (recommended)

One line picks the right build for your Mac, checks it against its published SHA-256 checksum,
puts **NeuroSquad.app** into **Applications** and opens it:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://neurosquad.ai/install.sh | bash
```

If your macOS account can't write to `/Applications`, the script installs into `~/Applications`
instead — no administrator password either way. A copy installed this way opens straight away,
without even the first-launch question described below. Running the line again updates an existing install.

## With Homebrew

If you use [Homebrew](https://brew.sh), install NeuroSquad from our own tap:

```bash
brew install --cask glmn-ai/neurosquad/neurosquad
```

It installs the build for your chip, checked against its SHA-256 checksum, and removes the download
mark so the app opens without the first-launch question. NeuroSquad then updates itself, so
`brew upgrade` leaves it alone (`brew upgrade --greedy` updates it too). `brew uninstall --cask
neurosquad` removes the app; add `--zap` to delete your NeuroSquad data as well.

## From a .dmg

**1. Download the .dmg for your Mac**

On the [download page](https://neurosquad.ai/en/download/#macos) press **Download .dmg** under
**Apple silicon** or **Intel** (the page highlights the one your browser reports). Direct links:
[Apple silicon](https://neurosquad.ai/downloads/NeuroSquad-arm64.dmg),
[Intel](https://neurosquad.ai/downloads/NeuroSquad-x64.dmg); checksums —
[SHA256SUMS-mac.txt](https://neurosquad.ai/downloads/SHA256SUMS-mac.txt).

**2. Drag NeuroSquad into Applications**

Open the .dmg and drag **NeuroSquad** onto the **Applications** folder next to it.

**3. First launch: press Open**

NeuroSquad is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple. The first time you open
a copy downloaded in a browser, macOS asks the question it asks for every app from the internet:
**“NeuroSquad” is an app downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?** — and
adds that Apple checked it for malicious software and none was detected. Press **Open**. macOS
doesn't ask again.

> The question is about how the file was downloaded, not about the app: a browser marks every
> download as "from the internet". The Terminal install, Homebrew and NeuroSquad's own updates
> download without that mark, so they skip even this question.

### If macOS still refuses to open it

Versions before 0.1.218 were not notarized. If macOS says **“NeuroSquad” Not Opened**, that Apple
could not verify it, or that it is damaged, you most likely have such an older copy: move it to the
Trash and download the .dmg again from the [download page](https://neurosquad.ai/en/download/#macos),
or install with the Terminal line or Homebrew above. Your data stays where it is.

## Permissions for dictation

Voice dictation asks macOS for two things. **Settings → Dictation** shows what is still missing,
with an **Allow** button and a shortcut to the right page of System Settings:

- **Microphone** — to record your voice. macOS asks the first time you dictate.
- **Accessibility** — for the global dictation hotkey, which works in any app. Turn **NeuroSquad**
on in **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility**; the hotkey starts working as soon
as it's allowed.

These permissions stay granted after updates. One exception: if you installed version 0.1.214, the
first Mac build, macOS asks for Microphone and Accessibility once more after the update to 0.1.218,
because that is when the app's signature changed to the Apple Developer ID.

## Sign in and the setup wizard

The rest is the same as on Windows — see [Sign in](https://docs.neurosquad.ai/en/getting-started/installation#sign-in) and
[The setup wizard](https://docs.neurosquad.ai/en/getting-started/installation#the-setup-wizard). On a Mac the wizard installs
agent CLIs with npm and, when there is no npm, Node.js LTS into `~/.neurosquad/node` (no shell profile is
edited); Git it can't install unattended, so it points you to its download page (with Homebrew:
`brew install git`). Terminal cards use your login shell (`$SHELL`, zsh by
default), and NeuroSquad finds CLIs installed with Homebrew, npm, bun, cargo and the like even
though apps started from the Dock get a minimal `PATH`.

## Updating

NeuroSquad updates itself, as on Windows: a newer version downloads in the background, is checked
against its SHA-256 checksum, and installs when you restart — the app is replaced in its folder
and opens again. **NeuroSquad → Check for Updates…** in the menu bar checks right away.

If NeuroSquad can't write to its own folder (for example, it's in `/Applications` and your account
isn't an administrator), it unpacks the update into **Downloads** and shows it in Finder instead:
quit NeuroSquad and drag the new copy into Applications, replacing the old one.

## Closing and quitting

The red close button hides the window; NeuroSquad and its agents keep running, and clicking its Dock
icon brings the window back. Quit with **Cmd+Q** (or **NeuroSquad → Quit NeuroSquad**) — that stops
the agents' terminals.

## Uninstalling

Quit NeuroSquad and move **NeuroSquad.app** from Applications to the Trash. Your data — workspaces,
agents, settings, dictation models — stays in `~/Library/Application Support/NeuroSquad`; delete that
folder too if you want everything gone. Your project folders are never touched. See
[Where your data lives](https://docs.neurosquad.ai/en/help/data).
