How to install Sidekicks

This guide shows how to install Sidekicks from the packages of a release, on macOS or Windows (Linux: built from the repository). The packages are on the project's releases page, https://rickub.com/bots-garden/sidekicks/releases; SHA256SUMS lists their checksums.

Sidekicks talks with agents; it does not contain one. Install your agent's program too (for instance mm).

macOS (Apple Silicon)

Sidekicks needs a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 13 (Ventura) or later; there is no build for Intel Macs.

Download Sidekicks-<version>-macos-arm64.dmg and open it.
Drag sidekicks into Applications.
Open it once from Applications. The application is not signed by an Apple developer account, so macOS refuses it the first time ("Apple could not verify…").
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to the message about Sidekicks and click Open Anyway, then confirm.

From then on, Sidekicks opens normally.

Windows (x86-64 and Arm)

Download the installer of your processor and run it: Sidekicks-<version>-windows-amd64-installer.exe (Intel and AMD) or Sidekicks-<version>-windows-arm64-installer.exe (Windows on Arm, e.g. Snapdragon). Settings → System → About → System type tells which one you have.
The installer is not signed: Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway.
The installer adds Microsoft Edge WebView2 when it is missing, then a Sidekicks shortcut.

sidekicks_<version>_windows_amd64.zip and sidekicks_<version>_windows_arm64.zip hold the bare sidekicks.exe, for a machine where WebView2 is already present.

On Windows, the Terminal tab of an agent is not available yet; files, conversations and agents in Docker work.

Linux

The releases do not hold Linux packages for now. Build them from the repository, on Linux (make package-linux) or on a Mac with Docker (LINUX_ARCHES=amd64 make release-build), then:

Debian, Ubuntu: sudo apt install ./sidekicks_<version>_linux_amd64.deb
Fedora: sudo dnf install ./sidekicks_<version>_linux_amd64.rpm
Any distribution, without installing: chmod +x Sidekicks-<version>-x86_64.AppImage, then run it. If it complains about FUSE, run it with --appimage-extract-and-run.

Sidekicks needs GTK 4 and WebKitGTK 6 (Ubuntu 24.04 or later, Debian 13, Fedora 40 or later).

Variants

Check a download: shasum -a 256 <file> (macOS) or Get-FileHash <file> in PowerShell (Windows), and compare with SHA256SUMS.
macOS, from a terminal: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/sidekicks.app lifts the quarantine instead of step 4.
Build it yourself: make package-macos or make package-windows (see How to publish a release).

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# How to install Sidekicks

This guide shows how to install Sidekicks from the packages of a release, on macOS or Windows (Linux: built from the repository). The packages are on the project's releases page, `https://rickub.com/bots-garden/sidekicks/releases`; `SHA256SUMS` lists their checksums.

Sidekicks talks with agents; it does not contain one. Install your agent's program too (for instance `mm`).

## macOS (Apple Silicon)

Sidekicks needs a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 13 (Ventura) or later; there is no build for Intel Macs.

1. Download `Sidekicks-<version>-macos-arm64.dmg` and open it.
2. Drag **sidekicks** into **Applications**.
3. Open it once from **Applications**. The application is not signed by an Apple developer account, so macOS refuses it the first time ("Apple could not verify…").
4. Open **System Settings → Privacy & Security**, scroll to the message about Sidekicks and click **Open Anyway**, then confirm.

From then on, Sidekicks opens normally.

## Windows (x86-64 and Arm)

1. Download the installer of your processor and run it: `Sidekicks-<version>-windows-amd64-installer.exe` (Intel and AMD) or `Sidekicks-<version>-windows-arm64-installer.exe` (Windows on Arm, e.g. Snapdragon). **Settings → System → About → System type** tells which one you have.
2. The installer is not signed: Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC". Click **More info**, then **Run anyway**.
3. The installer adds Microsoft Edge WebView2 when it is missing, then a Sidekicks shortcut.

`sidekicks_<version>_windows_amd64.zip` and `sidekicks_<version>_windows_arm64.zip` hold the bare `sidekicks.exe`, for a machine where WebView2 is already present.

On Windows, the **Terminal** tab of an agent is not available yet; files, conversations and agents in Docker work.

## Linux

The releases do not hold Linux packages for now. Build them from the repository, on Linux (`make package-linux`) or on a Mac with Docker (`LINUX_ARCHES=amd64 make release-build`), then:

- **Debian, Ubuntu**: `sudo apt install ./sidekicks_<version>_linux_amd64.deb`
- **Fedora**: `sudo dnf install ./sidekicks_<version>_linux_amd64.rpm`
- **Any distribution, without installing**: `chmod +x Sidekicks-<version>-x86_64.AppImage`, then run it. If it complains about FUSE, run it with `--appimage-extract-and-run`.

Sidekicks needs GTK 4 and WebKitGTK 6 (Ubuntu 24.04 or later, Debian 13, Fedora 40 or later).

## Variants

- **Check a download**: `shasum -a 256 <file>` (macOS) or `Get-FileHash <file>` in PowerShell (Windows), and compare with `SHA256SUMS`.
- **macOS, from a terminal**: `xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/sidekicks.app` lifts the quarantine instead of step 4.
- **Build it yourself**: `make package-macos` or `make package-windows` (see [How to publish a release](publish-a-release.md)).

## See also

- [Tutorial: your first agent, without writing any configuration](../tutorials/your-first-agent.md)
- [How to reset Sidekicks](reset-sidekicks.md)