> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.genesiscomputing.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Genesis Desktop > Run Genesis on your own Mac or Windows computer, signed in with your Genesis account, with Genesis AI included. Genesis Desktop is an app you install. Nothing else is needed: no Docker, no Kubernetes and no cloud account. ## What it is Genesis Desktop runs Genesis on your own computer. You sign in with your Genesis account, and Genesis's agents, chats, connections and settings live on that computer. Genesis listens only on a local address (`127.0.0.1`), so other computers on your network cannot reach it. Your Genesis account includes **Genesis AI**, so there is no AI provider to set up. Your coding tools (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Claude Desktop and others) can use Genesis's agents and data from the same computer. ## Download Download Genesis Desktop from the **Try Me** site: [try.genesiscomputing.io](https://try.genesiscomputing.io). Sign in there, and the page offers the download for your computer. Direct links to the current public build: | Computer | Download | | - | - | | Mac with Apple silicon | [Genesis for Mac (.dmg)](https://try.genesiscomputing.io/api/desktop/download/mac) | | Windows (x64) | [Genesis for Windows (installer .exe)](https://try.genesiscomputing.io/api/desktop/download/windows) | These links always lead to the newest public build on the stable channel. Each download is about 600–800 MB. ## System requirements | | Mac | Windows | | - | - | - | | Processor | Apple silicon (M1 or later). Intel Macs are not supported. | 64-bit x64 processor. Windows on Arm is not supported. | | Operating system | macOS 12 Monterey or later | 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 | | Install rights | Your own user account; Genesis moves itself to **Applications** | Installs for your user account only; no administrator rights needed | | Internet | Needed to sign in, for Genesis AI and for updates | Same | On a Mac, Genesis does not need Apple's Command Line Tools. Features that work with Git repositories need Git installed; the `/usr/bin/git` placeholder that macOS ships without the Command Line Tools does not count. ## Install and first run 1. Open the downloaded `.dmg` file. 2. Double-click **Genesis** in the window that opens. If macOS asks whether to open an app downloaded from the internet, choose **Open**. Genesis is signed and notarized by Apple. 3. Choose **Install**. Genesis moves itself to **Applications** and opens from there. Dragging Genesis to **Applications** works too. 1. Run the downloaded `Genesis-windows-x86_64-setup.exe`. 2. If Windows shows **Windows protected your PC**, choose **More info**, then **Run anyway**. The installer does not have a Windows code signature yet. 3. Genesis installs for your user account and opens. The first launch takes longer while Genesis sets itself up. ### Sign in 1. Choose **Sign in** (or **Create an account**). Genesis opens the sign-in page in your web browser and shows a **Sign in to Genesis** window while it waits. That window has **Copy link** (paste the link into another browser), **Open in browser** (open the page again) and **Cancel**. 2. Sign in with your Genesis account in the browser. 3. When the browser page says you are signed in, it tries to switch you back to Genesis Desktop on its own. If it does not, choose **Return to Genesis Desktop** on that page; your browser may ask permission to open the app. Or just switch back to the Genesis window. 4. The waiting window notices the sign-in on its own, shows **Signed in as** your email, and closes. If the sign-in fails or expires, it says why and lets you try again. After you sign in, Genesis opens a chat with **Eve**, its main agent, and offers a card to connect your coding tools. You can skip the card and do this later. Closing the window keeps Genesis running, so it reopens instantly. On a Mac, Genesis stays in the menu bar; use **Quit Genesis** there, or ⌘Q, to stop it completely. ## Genesis AI Genesis Desktop uses **Genesis AI** for every AI request. It is included with your Genesis account as a **monthly allowance**: * The app shows how much of this month's allowance is left as a percentage, with the date it resets, for example **63% left · resets Nov 9**. * The allowance resets every month. * If you use it all before the reset, Genesis tells you when it resets and how to keep going, for example by asking the Genesis team for more. * The allowance belongs to your account, so it is shared by every computer you sign in on and by your hosted Try Me instance. ### Other AI providers Genesis Desktop does not use other AI providers. Using your own provider, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Amazon Bedrock, Azure OpenAI or Snowflake Cortex, is available in Genesis Enterprise, which you deploy in your own environment with one of the other deployment options (for example [Snowflake Native App](/docs/deployments/Snowflake-Native-App/Installation-And-Configuration), [Databricks](/docs/deployments/Databricks/Genesis-On-Databricks) or [Kubernetes on AWS](/docs/deployments/AWS/Genesis-On-AWS)). Contact Genesis for more information. ## Automatic updates and version names Genesis Desktop updates itself from the stable channel: * Updates download in the background. When one is ready, a **Software Update** window offers **Install and Relaunch**, **Install on Quit** or **Skip This Version**. * With **Automatically download and install updates in the future** ticked, Genesis installs a downloaded update on its own when you are not using it: no agent is working, nothing is being sent, and nobody has used the app for a couple of minutes. A 10-second notice with **Cancel** comes first. Clear the box to be asked before anything downloads. * On a Mac, **Check for Updates…** in the **Genesis** menu opens the same window at any time. * If an update is required, Genesis shows an **Update required** screen that downloads and installs it from inside the app. Genesis Desktop is named after the Genesis release it is built on. The first build on Genesis 1.19.98 is **1.19.98**. Later Desktop builds on the same release are **1.19.98d1**, **1.19.98d2** and so on, until the next release (**1.19.99**). The hosted Try Me version of the same build has the same name. ## Use Genesis from your coding tools Genesis Desktop can add itself to the coding tools on your computer as an MCP server named `genesis-desktop`. Your coding agent can then ask Genesis's agents to do work, search your data context and run queries through Genesis. Use the card after the first sign-in, or the **MCP** button at the top of the window, then **Use Genesis from your coding tools**. Genesis lists the tools it finds on this computer. Check the ones you want and choose **Connect**. Genesis adds itself to each tool and checks that the connection works. Before it edits a tool's settings file, it makes a backup and keeps every other setting. | Coding tool | How Genesis connects | | - | - | | Claude Code | Runs `claude mcp add` with user scope, so Genesis is available in every project. The Claude Code extension for VS Code reads the same user settings, so it sees Genesis too. | | Codex | Runs `codex mcp add` and pre-approves Genesis's tools in `~/.codex/config.toml`. The ChatGPT desktop app reads the same file. | | Cursor | Adds Genesis to Cursor's MCP settings file. | | Claude Desktop | Adds Genesis to Claude Desktop's configuration, using a small bridge that ships with Genesis (no Node.js needed). | | Gemini CLI | Runs `gemini mcp add`. | | Snowflake Cortex Code | Adds Genesis to Cortex Code's MCP settings file. | After you connect, start a new session in the coding tool (or restart the app) so it loads Genesis. For Claude Code and Codex, Genesis needs the `claude` or `codex` command on this computer. Genesis Desktop 1.19.98d1 and later also connect Codex through the ChatGPT desktop app alone. Finding Claude Code when only the VS Code extension is installed, without the `claude` command, comes in a later update. ## Command mode Command mode lets agents run commands on your computer. It is **off** by default, and it is available on Mac. To turn it on: 1. Open **Settings → Advanced Settings**. 2. Type `local_cli_enabled` in **Filter settings…**. 3. Turn on `desktop.local_cli_enabled` and apply the change. It takes effect on the agent's next turn, with no restart. How it works: * Commands run with `bash` inside a sandbox (Anthropic's `sandbox-runtime`, which ships with Genesis Desktop). The sandbox can read your files anywhere on the computer, including Documents and project folders. Credential stores stay unreadable while `desktop.file_access_block_credentials` is on, except the settings and sign-in of an `aws`, `gh`, `az` or `git` command it runs. An administrator can change that setting; see [Genesis Desktop file access](/docs/Setup/Advanced-Settings#genesis-desktop-file-access). Commands can write only in their working folder after approval. For direct file access without a shell command, see [`local_files`](/docs/Genbot-Toolkit/Context-Tools#local_files). * A single plain read, such as `ls`, `cat`, `grep`, `git status` or a read-only `aws … list-…` command, runs at once. * Every other command, including anything with a pipe, `&&`, `;` or a redirect, waits for your approval. An approval card in the chat shows the exact command, and flags destructive ones. Nothing runs until you approve it. * Sign-in commands are handed to you to run yourself. For the full rules, see [Genesis Desktop command mode](/docs/Setup/Advanced-Settings#genesis-desktop-command-mode) and [run\_local\_command](/docs/Genbot-Toolkit/Context-Tools#run_local_command). ## Your data and diagnostics What stays on your computer: * Your chats, agents, connections, saved credentials and settings are stored on your computer: on a Mac in `~/Library/Application Support/Genesis`, on Windows in `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Genesis`. * Genesis connects to your databases and other data sources directly from your computer. What leaves your computer: * **AI requests.** What an agent sends to the model, including your messages and any data it has read for the answer, goes to Genesis AI. * **Check-ins.** Every few minutes Genesis Desktop checks in with Genesis: your Genesis account ID, the app version and operating system, which features, tools and agents you used (by name), which coding tools you connected, the types of your connections and AI models, query counts and outcomes, and error codes. * **Diagnostics.** Genesis Desktop sends Genesis diagnostic logs to help fix problems: log lines around an error when it happens, and recent logs regularly (at most once an hour). Logs can include the names of your files, tables and connections, the text of queries, and what Genesis was working on. Passwords, keys, access tokens, sign-in headers, credentials inside connection strings and email addresses are removed on your computer before anything is sent. Diagnostics are kept for 30 days. * **Startup failures.** If Genesis Desktop cannot start, it sends a short failure report with the app version, the operating system, why it stopped and the last lines of that start's log, with secrets removed. If the report cannot be sent, for example because the computer is offline, it is kept on the computer and sent at a later start. **Help → Send diagnostics** shows you a preview of the logs and sends them right away. **Settings → Advanced Settings** has a **Diagnostics** section that describes what is sent. For the technical details, see [Genesis Desktop diagnostics](/docs/Genesis-API/API-Reference#genesis-desktop-diagnostics). ## Can't install apps? Use Genesis online If you cannot install apps on your computer, use Genesis online instead. Sign in on [try.genesiscomputing.io](https://try.genesiscomputing.io) and choose **Start hosted Genesis**. Hosted Try Me runs the same Genesis build in Genesis's network, with nothing to install, and uses the same Genesis AI allowance. Because it runs in Genesis's network rather than on your computer, it is less able to reach data on your internal network. ## Related * [Connect coding agents over MCP](/docs/Getting-Started/Connect-Coding-Agents-MCP) * [Advanced Settings](/docs/Setup/Advanced-Settings#genesis-desktop-sign-in-targets) * [Genesis on Docker](/docs/deployments/Docker/Genesis-Container-Distribution)