Installation

Download and install Kindling on your platform. All downloads are free.

Download

Get the latest release from the Kindling download page or directly from GitHub Releases.

Available Downloads

Platform	File	Description
macOS (Universal)	Kindling_*_universal.dmg	Works on both Apple Silicon and Intel
Windows	Kindling_*_x64-setup.exe	Windows installer
Linux	Kindling_*_amd64.AppImage	Portable, works on most distros
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)	kindling_*_amd64.deb	Native package for apt-based systems

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Verify Your Download

To ensure you downloaded the authentic Kindling release:

1. Download only from official sources: kindlingwriter.com/download/ or GitHub Releases
2. Verify checksums (optional but recommended):
   • Download checksums.sha256 from the same release page
   • Verify with your platform:

# macOS / Linux
shasum -a 256 -c checksums.sha256 --ignore-missing

# Windows (PowerShell)
certutil -hashfile Kindling_*_x64-setup.exe SHA256

If your checksum doesn’t match, delete the file and re-download from the official release page.

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macOS Installation

Kindling is code-signed and notarized by Apple. It should open without Gatekeeper warnings.

1. Double-click the .dmg file to mount it
2. Drag Kindling to your Applications folder
3. Double-click Kindling in your Applications folder to launch it

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Windows Installation

Kindling is not yet signed with a Windows code signing certificate. Windows SmartScreen may show a warning when you first run the installer.

Bypassing SmartScreen

1. Download the .exe installer
2. Double-click to run the installer
3. If you see “Windows protected your PC”:
   • Click More info
   • Click Run anyway
4. Follow the installation wizard
5. Launch Kindling from the Start menu

After installation, Kindling will run without warnings.

Why This Warning Appears

SmartScreen warns about apps that don’t have an established reputation with Microsoft. As more users download and run Kindling, this warning will eventually disappear. Code signing certificates are expensive, so we’ve opted to ship unsigned for now. Kindling is fully open source — you can inspect the source code and the CI build process at any time.

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Linux Installation

AppImage (Recommended)

AppImage is a portable format that works on most Linux distributions without installation.

# Make it executable
chmod +x Kindling_*.AppImage

# Run it
./Kindling_*.AppImage

Optional: Desktop Integration

To add Kindling to your application menu:

# Move AppImage to a permanent location
mkdir -p ~/Applications
mv Kindling_*.AppImage ~/Applications/

# Create desktop entry
cat > ~/.local/share/applications/kindling.desktop << EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Kindling
Exec=$HOME/Applications/Kindling_*.AppImage
Icon=kindling
Type=Application
Categories=Office;Writing;
EOF

Debian/Ubuntu (.deb)

For Debian-based distributions (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, etc.):

# Install the package
sudo dpkg -i kindling_*.deb

# If there are dependency issues
sudo apt-get install -f

Launch Kindling from your application menu or run kindling in the terminal.

Uninstalling

sudo apt remove kindling

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Troubleshooting

macOS: App crashes immediately

Ensure you downloaded the correct version for your Mac. Check your chip: Apple menu → About This Mac → Chip/Processor. The universal .dmg works on both Apple Silicon and Intel.

Windows: Installer fails silently

Try running the installer as Administrator:

1. Right-click the .exe file
2. Select Run as administrator

Linux: AppImage won’t start

Ensure FUSE is installed:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install libfuse2

# Fedora
sudo dnf install fuse

Linux: No application icon

AppImages don’t always integrate with desktop environments automatically. Use AppImageLauncher or create a .desktop file manually (see above).

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Updating Kindling

As of v1.1, Kindling checks for updates automatically on launch. When a new version is available, it downloads silently in the background and shows a banner at the bottom of the window:

“Kindling vX.Y.Z is ready — Restart to update.”

Click Restart to apply the update immediately, or dismiss the banner and restart later. You’ll be prompted again on the next launch.

If you prefer to update manually, download the latest release from kindlingwriter.com/download/ and install over your existing version. Your projects are stored separately and will be preserved.

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Building from Source

If you prefer to build Kindling yourself, see the README for instructions.