Install

Conifer ships as a desktop app called Sage. One install carries the runtime, the model catalog, and the studio where you chat and build. Nothing in the app talks to a server you don’t control, so there is no sign-up step and no key to paste. For what the runtime does once it’s loaded a model, see What is Conifer?

Grab the build for your operating system from conifer.build/download. The page reads your OS and hands you the right file. Across the three platforms the only differences are the installer format and one first-launch quirk apiece.

The macOS build is one universal binary, so the same file runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

macOS#

The Mac build is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized, so Gatekeeper clears it on the first launch. Open the .dmg, drag Sage into Applications, and launch it from there. No security warning, no right-click to open, no Terminal.

One line does the same install without the disk image. The script fetches the latest build, verifies the notarization ticket, copies the app to /Applications, and opens it. It’s a plain file, so read it before you pipe it to a shell.

curl -fsSL https://www.conifer.build/install.sh | sh

Windows#

Run Sage_x64-setup.exe and follow the installer. Until the code-signing certificate lands, SmartScreen may flag the binary as coming from an unknown publisher. Click More info, then Run anyway. PowerShell pulls and runs the same installer in one line:

irm https://www.conifer.build/install.ps1 | iex

Linux#

The Linux build is an AppImage: one self-contained file. Mark it executable and run it. Nothing installs system-wide, and nothing asks for root.

chmod +x Sage_amd64.AppImage
./Sage_amd64.AppImage

The same release attaches a .deb if you’d rather let apt track it. Both carry the x86-64 build.

First launch and updates#

On first open the studio loads with an empty catalog and no model resident in memory. No onboarding wizard, no account screen. Pull a model next; the runtime sizes it to your machine on the way down. That walkthrough lives in Your first model, and the path from a cold app to a streaming reply is Your first chat.

New builds arrive through the in-app updater. It polls a signed release feed, downloads quietly in the background, and refuses any build whose signature the release key didn’t produce. On macOS and Linux the new build swaps in place and starts the next time you open Sage; on Windows it applies when you quit. Either way it’s automatic, and nothing leaves your machine.

What gets collected#

A default install sends nothing. Usage telemetry is a single opt-in toggle, off out of the box; until you flip it on, the app stores and transmits no usage data at all. Your models, chats, and the weights stay on your disk.

Account

None. The app has no login.

API key

None. There is no remote inference to authenticate against.

Telemetry

Off by default; opt-in, anonymized, and local-first when on.