Desktop install

Nimbus Desktop (nimbus-desktop) is the native shell for the Nimbus operator console — the same /ui/ console the server embeds, wrapped in a desktop window with system tray integration and automatic updates. It ships from its own repository, nimbus/desktop, on a release cadence independent of the nimbus CLI.

The shell does not bundle the server. Install the nimbus CLI first:

# macOS / Linux (Homebrew)
brew install --cask nimbus/tap/nimbus

# Linux (install script)
curl -fsSL https://github.com/nimbus/nimbus/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

On launch the shell looks for a running nimbus server and connects to it; if none is running, it spawns one in the background and waits for it to become ready.

macOS

Requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later.

Homebrew Cask (recommended)

brew tap nimbus/tap
brew install --cask nimbus/tap/nimbus-desktop

The cask installs nimbus-desktop.app into /Applications from a Developer ID-signed, notarized DMG — no quarantine prompt. The cask sets auto_updates, so ongoing upgrades are handled by the app’s built-in updater rather than brew upgrade.

Direct download

Download nimbus-desktop-<version>-universal.dmg from the latest release and drag nimbus-desktop.app into /Applications. The DMG is a universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel. The release also publishes a ZIP variant used internally by the auto-updater; prefer the DMG.

Verify the signature

codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=2 /Applications/nimbus-desktop.app
spctl --assess --type execute --verbose=4 /Applications/nimbus-desktop.app
xcrun stapler validate /Applications/nimbus-desktop.app

Expect valid on disk, satisfies its Designated Requirement, source=Notarized Developer ID, and The validate action worked!.

Linux

Three x86_64 formats per release on the releases page. Pick the one that matches your distribution.

Debian / Ubuntu (.deb)

curl -LO https://github.com/nimbus/desktop/releases/latest/download/nimbus-desktop_<version>_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./nimbus-desktop_<version>_amd64.deb

Installs under /opt/nimbus-desktop/ with a launcher entry in the Development category.

Fedora / RHEL (.rpm)

curl -LO https://github.com/nimbus/desktop/releases/latest/download/nimbus-desktop-<version>.x86_64.rpm
sudo dnf install ./nimbus-desktop-<version>.x86_64.rpm

Any distribution (AppImage)

curl -LO https://github.com/nimbus/desktop/releases/latest/download/nimbus-desktop-<version>-x86_64.AppImage
chmod +x nimbus-desktop-<version>-x86_64.AppImage
./nimbus-desktop-<version>-x86_64.AppImage

Linux artifacts are not code-signed; fetch them over TLS directly from the GitHub Releases page.

Windows

NSIS installers (nimbus-desktop-Setup-<version>-x64.exe and -arm64.exe) are published on the releases page. They are currently unsigned, so SmartScreen warns on first launch — downloading directly from the GitHub release and accepting the prompt is the supported path today. The installer defaults to a per-user install under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\nimbus-desktop\.

Launch

# macOS
open -a nimbus-desktop

# Linux
nimbus-desktop

On Windows, launch nimbus-desktop from the Start menu. The window opens to the operator console. If the shell reports that no server was discovered, confirm the CLI is installed and starts cleanly:

nimbus --version
nimbus start

Updates

The shell updates itself: it polls the GitHub release feed, downloads new versions in the background, and installs on the next quit — never a forced restart. This is independent of the nimbus CLI; see updates for how the server binary updates and how each surface reports its own version.

Next steps

• Self-host quickstart — get a server running for the shell to connect to.
• Updates — CLI and shell update cadences.