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sensefold Docs

macOS app

The macOS app is the web app in a native window: the same library, the same account, the same features, plus a Dock icon, a window that remembers its place, and updates that install themselves.

Current version: 0.3.0 (Apple Silicon). The app ships its own copy of the web app, so new features arrive with each desktop update.

The Sensefold macOS app: a native window with the library list on the left and a saved article open on the right, opened through a sensefold:// deep link

Requirements

Section titled “Requirements”
  • A Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later). The download is an arm64 build; it does not run on Intel Macs.
  • macOS 12 Monterey or later.
  • A Sensefold account — the app signs in with the same account as the web app. There is no separate desktop plan.

Install

Section titled “Install”
  1. Download the disk image from sensefold.app/download/mac (it always resolves to the latest version).
  2. Open the .dmg and drag Sensefold into Applications.
  3. Launch it from Applications. The app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so macOS opens it after the usual “downloaded from the internet” confirmation — no Gatekeeper override is needed.
  4. Click Sign in. Signing in happens in your default browser, so your existing Google or Apple session and your password manager work as they do on the web; finish there and the app picks the session up on its own.

Updates

Section titled “Updates”

The app checks for a new version a few seconds after every launch, against updates.sensefold.app. When one exists, a notice appears in the bottom-right corner of the window:

  • Download update fetches it in the background (you keep working).
  • Restart and install applies it once the download is verified. If you skip that and quit later, the update installs on the way out.

Updates are never downloaded without asking, and the app never rolls back to an older version. There is no menu item to check by hand — quit and relaunch to check again.

Same as the web app

Section titled “Same as the web app”

Everything on the Web & macOS page applies:

  • Capture by pasting a URL, an image, or a file anywhere in the window, or by dragging files in — PDFs, images, Word, PowerPoint. Write notes in the same Markdown-backed editor.
  • Search — hybrid keyword and semantic, over everything you have saved on any device, in realtime.
  • Comments, highlights, version history, and the whole-library Markdown ZIP export; the ZIP goes through a native save dialog that defaults to your Downloads folder.
  • Settings → For agents — OAuth connections and Agent keys for the AI tools you connect. See Connect your AI.

Capturing a page from your browser — including AI conversations — is still the Chrome extension’s job; the desktop app is where the library lives, not a clipper.

Desktop-specific

Section titled “Desktop-specific”

  • sensefold:// links open the app at a specific place — from a script, a shortcut, or a note in another tool:

    • sensefold://home — the library
    • sensefold://item/<item-id> — one item
    • sensefold://settings/agents — a settings page (general, appearance, billing, activity, personalization, privacy, or agents)

    The older lexi:// scheme is registered too and does the same thing.

  • YouTube plays inside the app. Press Play on a saved video and the player opens in place, with the transcript seek working as it does on the web. Anything that would leave the video — a channel link, a suggested video — opens in your browser instead.

  • Links open in your browser. Every external link in an item, and every page a sign-in or checkout needs, opens in your default browser rather than inside the app window.

  • Native window details. The window remembers its size and position, ⌘, opens Settings, and the View menu zooms the whole interface.

What it does not do

Section titled “What it does not do”

The desktop app is a window onto your library, not a background agent:

  • No menu-bar icon, no global keyboard shortcut, no clipboard watching, and no background work — with the window closed the app just waits in the Dock.
  • No capture of what is on your screen or in other apps. Paste or drag things in, or use the extension and the iOS share sheet.
  • The window is sandboxed: web content has no access to your files beyond what you choose or drop in, and the app never asks for camera, microphone, or location access.
  • Windows and Linux builds are not available. Use the web app there.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

“Sensefold can’t be opened” or the app quits on launch on an Intel Mac. Intel Macs are not supported. The download is Apple Silicon only, and Rosetta translates Intel apps for Apple Silicon, not the reverse. Use app.sensefold.app in a browser.

“Sensefold is damaged and can’t be opened.” The download did not complete cleanly. Delete the copy in Applications, download it again from sensefold.app/download/mac, and reinstall.

An update failed, or the notice says it could not be installed. Click Download update to retry; a dropped connection is the usual cause. If it keeps failing, quit the app and install the latest version over the old one from sensefold.app/download/mac — your sign-in and library are unaffected.

The sign-in tab opened but the app still shows “Sign in”. Finish signing in in that browser tab; the app waits up to five minutes for it. If the tab was closed early, click Sign in again to open a fresh one.

A sensefold:// link does nothing. macOS learns the scheme when the app is first launched, so open Sensefold once from Applications and try the link again. Only the forms listed above are accepted; anything else is ignored.

For anything about search, agents, or credits, see the general troubleshooting page.