Make yourself
at home.

Download the app

Current published release: v0.9.0-beta.1 · Public beta. Choose the installer that matches your computer. There is nothing else to install first.

The GitHub release includes the release notes and a SHA256SUMS.txt file for verifying downloads.

Installation notes

Asyncat is open source and its macOS and Windows builds are not signed, so your operating system shows a warning the first time. Download only from the official Asyncat releases.

macOS

Choose Apple Silicon or Intel to match your Mac, open the DMG and move Asyncat into Applications. If macOS says it can't check Asyncat for malicious software, use one of these:

• Right-click (or Control-click) Asyncat.app, choose Open, then press Open in the dialog.
• Or open System Settings → Privacy & Security and press Open Anyway.
• Or run xattr -cr /Applications/Asyncat.app in Terminal.

Windows

Run the x64 installer. If SmartScreen says “Windows protected your PC”, press More info, then Run anyway. It only asks once.

Linux

Install the .deb package on a Debian-based distribution, or make the AppImage executable and run it:

chmod +x Asyncat-*.AppImage
./Asyncat-*.AppImage

Desktop automation may need accessibility or screen recording permission, depending on your operating system.

First-run setup

The first time Asyncat opens, a short setup walks you through the basics:

1. Welcome. Tell Asyncat what to call you, if you like.
2. How Asyncat thinks. Use an online model with your own API key, or run a model on this computer. For a local model, Asyncat names your memory and graphics card, says how well each model fits, and shows its download size. You can carry on with the setup while it downloads.
3. Bring your chats. Import a ChatGPT or Claude data export, so you can pick up where you left off.
4. How careful Asyncat is. Choose where new chats start (Plan, Action, or the mode you used last), whether the agent's commands run in the sandbox, and what network they get: Open, Package registries only or Off.

Skip setup leaves it at any point. Settings → General → Run setup again brings it back. To add or change a model later, go to Customize → Models → Language. See AI providers and Privacy & safety.

Your first chat

Start a New chat and type. Under the message box you choose who answers, the model for this chat, an agent, a project, and the mode. Use Plan to explore an approach with read-only tools. Switch to Action when you are ready for the agent to change files and run commands; it asks before risky steps.

Try: “Help me plan a small project using the files in this folder.” Read Chats for everything under the message box, Projects & agents to give chats shared context, and Plan, Action and Yolo for how the modes differ.

Keeping up with the cat

Installed builds check GitHub Releases after launch and every six hours. When a newer version exists, the profile menu in the sidebar shows Update available. It opens an update screen with the release notes. You can also press Check for updates in Settings → About.

1. Asyncat downloads the file for your operating system and CPU.
2. It checks the file against the release's SHA256SUMS.txt. An update that can't be checked is refused.
3. An AppImage replaces itself and restarts, and Windows runs the installer silently and reopens Asyncat.
4. On macOS and with the .deb package, the file is saved to Downloads for the last step: drag it into Applications, or run sudo apt install ./file.deb.

Updates never touch your chats, settings or project folders. Because builds are unsigned, macOS asks once before opening a new version; see Installation notes. A beta build is offered both betas and stable releases.

Run from source

To run Asyncat from source you need Node.js 22 (22.13 or later) or Node.js 24 or later, npm and Git. Then run:

git clone https://github.com/asyncat-oss/asyncat-oss.git
cd asyncat-oss
npm install
npm run electron:dev

A copy run from source doesn't update itself. Update it with git pull and npm install. If native modules need rebuilding after a Node change, see Troubleshooting. For the project structure, tests and other commands, read Development.