Desktop app

AuroraDocs has a native desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux, built with Tauri. It's smaller and faster than Electron-based alternatives.

Download

Download the latest release from auroradocs.eu.

Platform	Format
macOS (Apple Silicon)	.dmg
macOS (Intel)	.dmg
Windows	.msi / .exe
Linux	.AppImage / .deb

Installation

macOS: Open the .dmg, drag AuroraDocs to /Applications.

Windows: Run the .msi installer.

Linux: Make the .AppImage executable (chmod +x) and run it, or install the .deb with dpkg -i.

Onboarding hub

On first launch (and any time the app starts with no prior workspace) the desktop shell shows a hub titled "How do you want to start on this desktop?" with three entry points:

Entry	Storage mode	Notes
Sign in to AuroraCloud	AuroraCloud	Use your existing account. You can enable Local folders later when you also want a folder-backed working copy.
Create a new Aurora folder	Offline folders	Pick an empty folder on disk; it becomes your workspace. No account needed.
Open an existing Aurora folder	Offline folders	Reconnect to a folder you already use on another device; saved local settings come back automatically.

See Sync & storage for the full storage-mode model and how to upgrade Offline folders to Local folders later.

Signing in

The desktop app shares the same account as the web app. Sign in with your AuroraDocs email and password — or create an Offline-folders workspace and stay account-free.

Local file activity log

Whenever the desktop app reads, writes, imports, or skips a file in your Aurora folder, it records a structured entry in the activity log. Settings → Desktop → Recent file activity shows:

• External edits picked up by the watcher (Finder edits, another device's writes via cloud-drive sync, etc.)
• Manual rescan results (X imported, Y removed)
• Skip reasons when Aurora recognises a file as the watcher's own self-write echo
• Read-only safe-mode flips

The panel is exportable as JSON for support purposes (Settings → Desktop → Recent file activity → Export JSON).

Desktop sync center

Settings → Desktop includes a sync center for the active workspace. It shows queued desktop sync work, recent queue items with status/age/failure messages, and native folder actions for the Local files root, workspace folder, and Markdown mirror target when those folders are available.

Use Re-scan now or Re-authorize folders when local-files permissions drift or you need Aurora to import fresh disk state without restarting.

The sync center also summarizes which workspaces are using AuroraCloud, Local folders, or Offline folders, including Markdown mirror state and whether watching is intentionally blocked by E2EE or owner offline-download policy.

Read-only safe mode

If the desktop app loses write permission on your Aurora folder (folder revoked, drive unmounted, encrypted volume locked), the workspace flips into a read-only safe mode:

• An overlay banner appears explaining the cause (folder permission denied / offline-download disabled / workspace folder unavailable)
• Aurora keeps reading and rendering the workspace but blocks every write attempt with a clear error
• AuroraCloud sync, if active, continues uploading already-staged changes but does not pull new content into the broken folder
• When permission is restored, Aurora clears safe mode automatically and resumes normal operation

This prevents silent data loss when the disk goes unwriteable mid-session.

Encrypted folder workspaces

Folder-backed encrypted workspaces reopen in a locked state and must be unlocked on the device before content can be read or exported. The on-disk workspace files remain encrypted, and Aurora restricts the automatic watcher/import loop while the workspace is encrypted. See Security & encryption for the full flow.

Clean Markdown

Desktop Local folders can use Aurora JSON or Clean Markdown. Aurora JSON is the safest native format. Clean Markdown is plaintext and intended for people who want editable .md files alongside Aurora's hidden sidecar state. See Sync & storage.

Secret storage on desktop

Sensitive desktop-only secrets (e.g. AI provider keys you opt into persisting) are stored in the OS keychain — Keychain Access on macOS, Credential Manager on Windows, Secret Service / libsecret on Linux. If the OS keychain is unavailable, Aurora does not silently downgrade to plaintext storage; it surfaces a visible Settings warning and keeps the secret in session memory only.

Custom AuroraCloud endpoint (self-hosting)

The desktop app reads an optional config.json from the platform-specific app-data directory at launch and uses any apiUrl it finds to override the AuroraCloud endpoint. This lets a packaged build talk to your own AuroraCloud backend without rebuilding.

OS	Path
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/com.aurora.docs/config.json
Windows	%APPDATA%\com.aurora.docs\config.json
Linux	$XDG_DATA_HOME/com.aurora.docs/config.json (defaults to ~/.local/share/com.aurora.docs/config.json)

Shape:

{
  "apiUrl": "https://cloud.example.com"
}

Trailing slashes are trimmed. An empty string or missing apiUrl clears any previously stored override and falls back to the build-time default. The file is read once at startup — relaunch AuroraDocs after editing.

The override is intended for self-hosted deployments and managed support scenarios. Most users should leave it unset.

Updates and release channels

The app checks for updates on launch and prompts you to install them. You can also check manually under Settings → Desktop → Updater, where Aurora shows updater state, available version details, feed release notes, and last-checked timing.

AuroraDocs ships three desktop release channels:

Channel	Audience	Cadence
stable	Default download	When preview has been clean for at least one cycle without rollback
preview	Friendly testers / opt-in users	Every 1–3 days after a feature batch passes the automation gate
development	Maintainers and CI smoke runs	Continuous

Switch channels via Settings → Desktop → Updater → Channel. Most users should stay on stable; preview and development are intended for testers and may receive changes before the default download channel.

Offline use

The desktop app stores a local copy of every workspace and works fully offline regardless of storage mode. Changes sync to AuroraCloud the next time the device is online (in Local folders / AuroraCloud modes).

Differences from the web app

The desktop app has full feature parity with the web app and adds:

• Onboarding hub with three storage modes, including no-account Offline folders.
• Native file dialogs for saving exports and opening folders.
• Folder watcher that picks up external edits to your Aurora folder in real time, with a visible activity log.
• OS keychain integration for sensitive secret storage.
• Auto-update with stable / preview / development channels.
• System-level keyboard shortcuts (e.g. global ⌘J Quick Capture from any app on macOS).
• System tray Quick Capture — four capture actions directly from the menu bar / system tray (see below).
• Read-only safe mode when the workspace folder loses write permission.

System tray Quick Capture

The desktop app adds a system tray icon with four dedicated capture actions:

Tray item	What it creates
New Inbox Note	A note dropped straight into the Inbox
New Page	A new page
New Note	A new note
New Task	A new task

Clicking any of these opens a small, borderless, always-on-top capture window (420 x 320 px) with a title field and body area. Three actions are available:

• Save (⌘Enter / Ctrl+Enter) — saves the object and closes the window.
• Open — saves and navigates the main window to the new object.
• Cancel (Escape) — closes without saving.

The tray also shows Open AuroraDocs (brings the main window to front), an Open at Login toggle, and Quit.

Companion app trays

The companion apps have simpler tray menus:

• AuroraNotes — Open AuroraNotes, New Note (⌘N), Quit.
• AuroraTasks — Open AuroraTasks, New Task (⌘N), Quit.

Diagnostics

Aurora keeps a structured native log at <app_data_dir>/diagnostics/desktop-runtime.jsonl (append-only JSON Lines). If you ever need to share diagnostics for support, Settings → Desktop → Diagnostics → Export packages the log alongside non-sensitive runtime context. Secrets are never included.