> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.floe.one/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Install Floe Desktop
> Install Floe Desktop for Windows from the Microsoft Store or a GitHub release, what differs between the two channels, plus updating and uninstalling.
Floe Desktop is the same peer-to-peer transfer as [floe.one](https://floe.one), running as a
native Windows app. It uses the same transfer engine as the `floe` CLI, so it sends to and
receives from browser peers and CLI peers without any extra setup.
Floe Desktop is in beta and Windows only. macOS and Linux are planned. On other platforms,
use the [web app](/docs/web-app/sending) or the [CLI](/docs/cli/installation).
## Requirements
* **From the Microsoft Store:** Windows 10 version 2004 (build 19041) or later. The package
itself declares that minimum version.
* **From GitHub:** any Windows 10 or later. The installer stops on anything older.
* **x64.** Both channels ship an x64 build only. The GitHub installer and the portable zip stop
with an architecture error on a native ARM64 machine.
* **The Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime**, which draws the interface. Windows 11 includes it, and
the vast majority of Windows 10 machines already have it. You do not normally need to do
anything about it.
If it is missing, Floe asks to download and install it when you start the app, then carries on
once that finishes. Decline, and Floe closes and asks again the next time you start it. The
installer from GitHub also installs it during setup.
One case needs care. If the machine cannot reach Microsoft's download at that moment, because
it is offline or behind a filtering proxy, the runtime cannot install and Floe cannot start.
Install [WebView2](https://developer.microsoft.com/microsoft-edge/webview2/) yourself, then
start Floe again.
## Choose a channel
The recommended way to install.
[Get Floe Desktop from the Microsoft Store](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NBQ8ZQ1065L)
Or from a terminal:
```powershell Terminal theme={"system"}
winget install --id 9NBQ8ZQ1065L --source msstore
```
Microsoft re-signs the package with its own certificate, so it installs with no warning,
and updates arrive automatically through the Store.
Three things about the app itself differ from the GitHub build:
* The **Show in right-click menu** setting is not available, and the **Windows** section of
Settings that contains it is hidden entirely. A packaged app's registry writes go to a
private view that File Explorer never reads, so the entry could be written but would
never appear. Hidden beats shown and broken.
* Updates are handled by the Store, so there is nothing to download by hand. The Store
build also never runs the GitHub build's daily update check and does not show its
[Check for updates](/docs/desktop/settings#check-for-updates) switch.
* No SmartScreen warning, because Microsoft signs the package.
Both channels ship the same executable, so everything else about the app is identical,
including how it handles a missing [WebView2 runtime](#requirements).
For machines without Store access, and the fallback if a Store update ever goes wrong.
Download from the [releases page](https://github.com/jannskiee/floe/releases) or
[floe.one/download](https://floe.one/download):
| Asset | What it is |
| ------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `floe-desktop-setup-.exe` | The installer. Installs per user, so there is no administrator prompt. |
| `floe-desktop--windows-amd64.zip` | A portable build. Unzip it and run `floe-desktop.exe` from anywhere. |
| `SHA256SUMS.txt` | Checksums for both files. |
These builds are not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen shows an "unknown publisher"
warning the first time you run them. Choose **More info**, then **Run anyway**. The
Microsoft Store build does not show this warning, because Microsoft signs it.
The installer defaults to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Floe` and lets you choose another
folder. It adds Start menu and desktop shortcuts, and installs the WebView2 runtime if it
is missing.
## Verify a download
Every GitHub release ships `SHA256SUMS.txt`. To check a file you downloaded:
```powershell PowerShell theme={"system"}
Get-FileHash floe-desktop-setup-0.2.5.exe -Algorithm SHA256
```
Compare the result with the matching line in `SHA256SUMS.txt`. Store installs need no check:
the Store verifies the package signature itself.
## Check the version
Open **Settings** (the gear in the title bar, or `Ctrl` `,`) and look at the **About** section.
**App version** reads the release tag, for example `desktop-v0.2.5`. A build you compiled
yourself reads `dev`.
That section also shows the transfer protocol version and which signaling server the app is
using, and a **Copy** button that puts all of it on the clipboard. Those are the details worth
including in a bug report.
## Update
| Channel | How to update |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Microsoft Store | Automatic. The Store updates the app in the background. To force a check, open the Store, go to **Library**, then **Get updates**. |
| GitHub release | Manual, with a built-in notice. Builds 0.2.3 and later ask GitHub once a day whether a newer release exists and show a dismissible notice when one does; earlier builds do not, so check the download page yourself. Nothing installs by itself: download the new installer and run it over your existing install, or unzip a new portable build. The daily check can be turned off in [Settings](/docs/desktop/settings#check-for-updates). |
Desktop builds are published as GitHub pre-releases, so they never appear under **Latest
release** on the releases page. Watch [floe.one/download](https://floe.one/download) or the
[full release list](https://github.com/jannskiee/floe/releases) instead.
Desktop releases carry their own `desktop-vX.Y.Z` version numbers, separate from the `vX.Y.Z`
tags that release the CLI and the server. The two lines never need to match, and you never need
to match versions with the person on the other end of a transfer. See
[version compatibility](/docs/desktop/settings#transfer-protocol).
## Uninstall
Open **Settings** in Windows, go to **Apps**, and uninstall it. The GitHub install is listed as
**Floe**; the Store install is listed under its Store name, **Floe Desktop**, and can also be
uninstalled by right-clicking it in the Start menu.
Uninstalling removes the app, its shortcuts, and, on the GitHub build, the File Explorer
right-click entry if you turned it on. It deliberately leaves a few things behind, so a
reinstall picks up where you left off:
* Your settings, in `%APPDATA%\floe\desktop.json`.
* Your transfer history and save folder, stored in the app's local data.
* The update check's once-a-day cache, in `%APPDATA%\floe\desktop-update-check.json`.
Delete the `%APPDATA%\floe` folder to remove those as well. Note that the `floe` CLI keeps its
own files in that same folder, so only delete it if you are removing both.
## Run alongside the CLI
The desktop app and the `floe` CLI share the `%APPDATA%\floe` folder, and both talk to the same
signaling server by default, so a transfer started in one can be received by the other. Point
either at a different server and they still interoperate as long as both use the same one. See
[Settings](/docs/desktop/settings#server).
## Related topics
- [Floe Quick Start](/docs/quickstart.md)
- [Install the Floe CLI](/docs/cli/installation.md)
- [Floe FAQ](/docs/faq.md)
- [Floe Desktop Settings](/docs/desktop/settings.md)
- [Floe Desktop Keyboard Shortcuts](/docs/desktop/keyboard-shortcuts.md)