Installation and updates
For macOS, Linux, and Windows via WSL 2. Needs a logged-in agent CLI:
Claude Code (claude login) or
Codex (codex login). See Agents.
Download
Releases page, or the site's Download button.
| Platform | What you get |
|---|---|
| macOS | Universal .dmg (Apple Silicon and Intel), signed and notarized. Drag factorai.app to Applications. |
| Linux | x86-64 .AppImage. Make it executable and run it. Needs glibc 2.39+: Ubuntu 24.04+, Debian 13+, Fedora 40+. |
| Windows | factorai-setup-<version>.exe (stable releases). Installs the Linux build into your default WSL 2 distribution and adds it to the Start menu. Needs Windows 10 21H2 or Windows 11, x86-64, WSL 2 installed. |
First launch, and what looks broken
- macOS asks for permissions again on v0.52.0, once; see macOS permission prompts.
- Windows says it protected your PC. The installer is unsigned: More info → Run anyway.
- Linux says
GLIBC_2.38 not found. Your distribution is older than Ubuntu 24.04; build from source.
Updates
- Checked on launch and every six hours, downloaded in the background.
- Never restarts on its own: Update ready appears in the sidebar footer and Update ready — restart in Settings → About. Restarting mid-run asks first.
- Check for updates (same places) checks now.
- Settings → Advanced → Update channel: Stable (default) or Alpha (every passing commit on
main). Leaving Alpha never downgrades.
On Windows, keep projects inside the distribution
Keep projects under ~ in the WSL distribution. On /mnt/c, git is slow and the session list does
not update on its own; factorai flags such projects.