ModulawAI for Desktop is the same workspace you use in the browser, plus three things a web page cannot do: work offline, use your own browser sessions, and act on your machine when you allow it. This guide covers getting it installed.
Requirements: macOS 12 (Monterey) or later, and a ModulawAI workspace account. The app is included in your plan — there is nothing extra to buy.
Choose the right download
There are two builds. Picking the wrong one means the app will not open, so it is worth thirty seconds to check.
Open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. Look at the Chip or Processor line:
| What it says | Download |
|---|---|
| Apple M1, M2, M3, M4 or later | Apple Silicon build |
| Intel Core i5, i7, i9, Xeon | Intel build |
Both are the same application with the same features. Macs sold from late 2020 onwards are mostly Apple Silicon.
Install it
- Open the downloaded
.dmgfile. A window appears showing the ModulawAI for Desktop icon. - Drag the icon into your Applications folder. This step matters — see the warning below.
- Eject the disk image, then open ModulawAI for Desktop from Applications or Spotlight.
- Sign in with your usual ModulawAI credentials, or with Google if that is how you normally sign in.
Do not run the app from the disk image. It will appear to work, but the disk image is read-only and macOS treats an app there as a different, temporary application. Permissions you grant will not stick, and updates cannot install. Always copy it to Applications first.
What you should not see
The app is signed with an Apple Developer ID and has been submitted to Apple for notarisation, which means macOS has checked it for malware and attached a confirmation ticket. On a supported Mac it should open with an ordinary “downloaded from the internet” confirmation and nothing more.
If you see “cannot be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software”, the download was probably incomplete or corrupted. Delete it and download again rather than overriding the warning.
Replacing an earlier copy
If you tried a pre-release build, remove it from Applications before installing this one. Two copies of the app on the same Mac confuse macOS’s permission system: the permissions you grant get attributed to whichever copy macOS picks, and the app you are actually running behaves as though you granted nothing. Symptoms include permission switches that stay off no matter how many times you turn them on.
Drag the old copy to the Trash, then install fresh.
Updates
The app checks for new versions on its own and installs them. Each update’s signature is verified before it is applied — if verification fails the update is refused rather than installed, so a tampered or partial download cannot replace your copy.
Next steps
The local capabilities — using your browser, reading a matter folder, operating applications — are all switched off until you turn them on. Two guides cover that:
- Granting macOS permissions — Screen Recording and Accessibility, and what to do when a switch stays off
- Turning on local capabilities — what each one allows, how long it stays on, and how to stop it