Installing CanvasCode

Installing

Download the .dmg, open it and drag CanvasCode into your Applications folder.

The app is signed and notarised by Apple. It opens the first time with no unidentified-developer warning, no right-click workaround and no approval in System Settings.

What the Mac needs

• macOS 26.1 or newer.
• Nothing else to use the canvas: opening panels, browsing, arranging and writing notes.

Two things are optional and can come later:

• The agent program. CanvasCode installs Claude Code in one click, with no administrator password, from the first agent's panel. See the first agent.
• An OpenAI key, for voice and for generating images. Without it, the rest of the app works the same. See setting up voice.

Updating

The app looks for new versions on its own, shows what changed, and replaces itself when you accept.

• To check right away: the CanvasCode → Check for Updates… menu, or the Check for Updates button at the bottom of Settings.
• Installing a new version quits the app, and with it the agents that were working. The warning comes first, with the version number.

The detail is in updates.

Where the data lives

On your machine. Projects, panels, notes and agent conversations stay on your computer, and the app does not require an account to work. See where my data lives.

If the Mac says the file is damaged

The download came through incomplete. Download it again. If it persists, see when something doesn't work.