Install the Mac desktop app

Monad has a native desktop app for macOS. It gives you multiple signed-in workspaces, native notifications with a Dock badge, and a graceful offline screen — alongside everything you can do in the browser.

Download and install#

1. Download Monad for Mac.
2. Open the downloaded Monad.dmg.
3. Drag Monad into your Applications folder.
4. Open Monad from Applications (or Spotlight).

Monad is signed and notarized by Apple. The first time you open it, macOS may ask you to confirm — click Open.

First launch#

When you open Monad, sign in with the same account you use in the browser. Once you're in, your workspaces, spaces, and messages are exactly where you left them.

Workspaces#

If you belong to more than one workspace, switch between them from the sidebar. Each workspace remembers where you left off.

To join one more, open the workspace switcher and choose Add workspace — it takes you to the workspace picker, where you can log into another workspace or create a brand-new one.

Notifications#

Monad shows native macOS notifications and a count on the Dock icon for open Control Tower Do work. Know editions and ordinary unread-message volume do not inflate that action badge. Click a notification to jump straight to its current source. Notifications respect your macOS Focus settings.

Monad can also notify you even when it isn't open, so important activity reaches you like a message from Mail or Messages. This is off until you turn it on: go to Settings → Notifications → Push Notifications and choose Turn on for this device. The first time you do, macOS asks you to allow notifications — click Allow. When the app is open and you're already looking at a conversation, Monad won't double-notify you about it. You can turn it back off from the same place anytime.

Staying up to date#

When a new version is available, Monad lets you know and asks how to proceed — install it now, be reminded later, or skip that version. From the same prompt you can turn on automatic updates, so future versions download in the background and install the next time you quit and reopen Monad. Either way, you can check any time from Monad → Check for Updates….

Once in a while an update can't install itself automatically — for example after a behind-the-scenes change to how the app is packaged. If that happens, Monad tells you and offers a Download Latest button: click it, open the downloaded Monad.dmg, and drag the new Monad into your Applications folder. macOS will ask you to confirm replacing the old version — click Replace. After that one manual update, automatic updates pick up again as normal.

Working offline#

On a device that has already synchronized your workspace, Monad opens the cached app shell and last route even without a connection. You can switch among cached spaces and DMs, read recent messages, and queue text messages, replies, edits, reactions, and message shares. Canvas documents and databases you've already opened also keep working. Everything reconnects and syncs automatically.

The offline screen appears only when this Mac has no usable cached workspace. Attachments, invitations, space creation, and other administrative changes still require a connection. See Messaging while offline.