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Installation

Orchard is distributed as a notarized DMG from the Orchard website, not through the Mac App Store.

System requirements

Orchard requires macOS 13.0 or later. It runs on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

Why not the Mac App Store

Orchard needs Full Disk Access and broad automation permissions to read and control apps like Mail and Messages. Those requirements are incompatible with the App Store sandbox, so Orchard ships as a notarized DMG instead. See the FAQ for details.

Install Orchard

  1. Download Orchard to get the latest DMG.

  2. Open the downloaded .dmg file and drag Orchard into your Applications folder.

  3. Open Orchard from Applications (or Launchpad). macOS may show a Gatekeeper prompt for a downloaded app the first time. Click Open to continue.

  4. Orchard launches as a menu bar app; it does not create a Dock icon or a normal app window. On this first launch, its Welcome window opens automatically so you can start signing in right away — there’s no panel to go looking for.

    Orchard's Welcome window opening automatically on first launch

Find Orchard in your menu bar

Once running, Orchard lives entirely in the macOS menu bar. Look for its icon near the right side of the menu bar, alongside Wi-Fi, battery, and other system status items.

Orchard icon in the macOS menu bar

Click the icon to open the main panel. This is where you sign in, enable apps, check permissions, and install the Skill or MCP integration; there is no separate Settings window to look for.

Tip

If you ever close the first-run walkthrough and want to see it again, open the panel, go to More Options, and choose Show Welcome Screen.

Keeping Orchard up to date

Orchard checks for updates automatically in the background. You can also trigger a manual check anytime from the panel.

  1. Click the Orchard menu bar icon to open the panel.
  2. Open More Options.
  3. Click Check for Updates.
Orchard's More Options page with Launch at Login, CLI, MCP Config, and Check for Updates

If you’ve installed the orchard CLI symlink, you don’t need to reinstall it after an update: updating Orchard automatically keeps the symlink pointing at the current version. See the CLI Reference for CLI installation details.

Next steps

Continue to Quick Start to sign in, enable your first apps, and send your first AI-assisted command.