Desktop App

The Tarsk desktop app is a native macOS application built with Electrobun. It bundles the same React UI and Bun server as npx tarsk, so projects, threads, and settings are identical across both.

Download

Get the DMG from tarsk.io/#download:

Architecture	Download
Apple Silicon	stable-macos-arm64-tarsk.dmg
Intel	stable-macos-x64-tarsk.dmg

The desktop app bundles its own runtime. You do not need Node.js or Bun installed.

How It Differs from the CLI

Feature	Desktop app	npx tarsk
Native window	Yes	Opens in your browser
Menu bar tray	Yes	No
Keeps running when window closes	Yes	Stops when you press Ctrl+C
Auto-updates	Yes (from install.tarsk.io)	Use npx tarsk@latest
Default URL	http://localhost:641	Same

Both share the same data directory and SQLite database. You can switch between them without losing projects or threads.

Menu Bar and Quitting

Closing the main window does not stop the server. Tarsk keeps running in the menu bar so background agent work and the Slack bridge can continue.

Quit explicitly from the tray menu or Tarsk → Quit.

Auto-Updates

When a new version is available, Upgrade to Latest appears on the projects home screen. Click it to download and apply the update without leaving the app. Updates come from https://install.tarsk.io/releases.

macOS Permissions

On macOS, Tarsk may request:

• Screen & Audio Recording — for browser tools and screen capture features. Grant in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & Audio Recording. Status and a shortcut to System Settings appear in Settings → Settings (app-wide preferences).
• Microphone — for voice input in chat (optional).

Related

• Installation — CLI flags and system requirements
• Mobile App — connect from iOS or Android over LAN
• General Settings — network access and logging