Web Alpha, in its own window
The same platform you use in the browser, wrapped in a proper application: its own cache so it opens fast, native menus and shortcuts, a window that remembers itself, and advanced mode from the first launch: the whole platform as a desktop of windows. Made for the people who run their whole business here.
- Free, like everything on Web Alpha
- Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Use it alongside the web app
Installers
Pick your computer
Version 1.0.2, released Sep 9, 2026. The app opens the hosted platform, so it never needs updating to get new features.
Windows
Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit.
Installer (NSIS), installs for your user, no admin rights needed.
Download for WindowsWebAlpha-Setup.exe · 77 MB
macOS
macOS 12 and later.
One universal download for Apple silicon and Intel. Drag to Applications.
Download for macOSWebAlpha.dmg · 172 MB
Linux
AppImage or .deb, 64-bit.
The AppImage runs anywhere; the .deb installs on Debian and Ubuntu.
What changes in the app itself is in the changelog. Every version stays available.
Why install it
What the desktop app adds
Everything below is the difference between a browser tab and an application. The product itself is identical.
It opens faster
The app keeps its own cache and stays signed in, so it comes back where you left it instead of loading from scratch every morning.
Advanced from the start
The desktop app opens in advanced mode: the whole platform as a desktop of windows, with a menu bar and a dock. Websites, an app, Billing, and the docs side by side; Simple mode is one click away.
Native shortcuts and menus
New website, dashboard, apps, community, and settings from the menu bar, with back, forward, reload, and zoom where your hands expect them.
Its own window
No tab to lose among forty others. The window remembers its size and position, and links to other sites open in your browser.
A sane offline screen
Lose the connection and you get a calm page that reconnects, not a browser error. Nothing you saved is ever kept only on your machine.
The same platform
It shows the hosted app, so it is always the current version: no updates to chase, nothing to migrate, and the web app keeps working exactly as it does now.
Every shortcut, everywhere
The desk’s shortcuts work inside any window as well as on the desk, and the app’s menu bar carries the same ones, so nothing ever clashes with a browser.
Side by side
A browser tab and the app
Same account, same data, same features. The app is about the room around them.
| What | Browser tab | Desktop app |
|---|---|---|
| Every Web Alpha feature, the same account, the same data | Yes | Yes |
| Opens where you left it, already signed in | Depends on the browser | Yes |
| Its own cache, so pages come back instantly on a slow line | No | Yes |
| A window of its own, with a place in the dock or taskbar | One tab among many | Yes |
| Native menus: new website, home, apps, community, settings | No | Yes |
| Keyboard shortcuts that never clash with browser ones | Some | Yes |
| Advanced mode (the desk of windows) from the first launch | One click away | The default |
| A calm screen when the connection drops, with a retry | No | Yes |
| Updates | Always current | Always current: it shows the hosted platform |
Two ways to work
Simple or advanced, your choice
The browser starts you in simple mode: the classic dashboard, a sidebar and one page at a time. The desktop app starts in advanced mode: a desktop of windows with a menu bar and a dock, so Websites, an app, Billing, and the docs sit side by side. Either way it is one setting under Settings → Appearance, and it follows your account rather than the machine.
Simple
The classic dashboard: a sidebar on the left, one page at a time. What the browser starts you in, and one click away from the desk whenever you want it back.
Advanced Free
A desktop of windows: every section and app in its own window, a menu bar, a dock. Drag, resize, snap, minimise, and come back to the same layout tomorrow.
First launch
Installing it, step by step
A minute on each system. The installers are built by our release pipeline and are not code-signed yet, which is why Windows and macOS ask you to confirm the first time.
Windows
- 1Open WebAlpha-Setup.exe and choose where to install it; the whole thing takes a few seconds.
- 2If SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway. It says this for any new installer that is not code-signed yet, and this one is the exact file our release pipeline built.
- 3Web Alpha appears in the Start menu and on the desktop. Uninstall it from Settings → Apps like anything else.
macOS
- 1Open WebAlpha.dmg and drag Web Alpha into Applications. The same file runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
- 2On the first launch macOS may say it cannot verify the developer. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and choose Open Anyway; on older versions, Control-click the app and choose Open. It asks once.
- 3After that it opens like any app, from Launchpad, Spotlight, or the Dock.
Linux
- 1AppImage: mark it executable (chmod +x WebAlpha.AppImage) and run it; nothing to install.
- 2Debian and Ubuntu: install the package with sudo apt install ./WebAlpha.deb and find Web Alpha in your applications menu.
- 3Both are 64-bit builds; they keep their data under your home folder.
Questions
Before you install
The short answers. The documentation has the long ones.
Is the desktop app free?
Yes, like everything on Web Alpha. It is the same account and the same data as the web app; nothing is unlocked by installing it, and nothing is lost by not installing it.
Do I have to use it?
No. The web app is not going anywhere. Use the desktop app on the machine where you spend the day and the browser everywhere else; you can be signed in on both at once.
Does it work offline?
It shows the hosted platform, so it needs a connection to load pages and save changes. When the connection drops you get a calm screen that retries, and what you already saved is safe on the platform, never kept only on your machine.
Why does Windows or macOS warn me on the first launch?
The installers are not code-signed yet, so Windows shows SmartScreen and macOS asks under Privacy & Security once. The files are exactly what our release pipeline built; the steps above show the one click each needs.
How do updates work?
The app opens the hosted platform, so every new feature is there the moment it ships, with no update to download. The wrapper itself changes rarely; when it does, the download page shows the new version and the changelog says what changed.
Which computers does it run on?
Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit), macOS 12 and later on Apple silicon and Intel with one download, and 64-bit Linux as an AppImage or a .deb package.
Your business, in its own window
Free, like everything on Web Alpha. Two minutes to install, and the web app is still there whenever you need it.