# Install Axon

Axon is a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux. It is free for one person
on one machine and needs no account to install or use. Check the
[system requirements](https://exaflux.io/docs/axon/system-requirements) first if you are not sure
your machine is big enough.

## Download

Get the installer from the [download page](https://exaflux.io/download). It
offers the right build for the system you are on, and every other build under
**Other downloads**:

| System | Build | For |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | Disk image (`.dmg`) | Apple silicon and Intel, one universal build |
| Windows | Installer (`.exe`) | Most people |
| Windows | MSI package (`.msi`) | Managed deployment — Intune, Group Policy |
| Linux | AppImage | Most distributions |
| Linux | Debian package (`.deb`) | Debian and Ubuntu |

## macOS

1. Open the `.dmg` and drag **Axon** into **Applications**.
2. Open Axon from Applications.

Axon is not yet notarized by Apple, so the first launch stops with "Axon Not
Opened". To get past it once:

1. When macOS says it could not verify Axon, click **Done**.
2. Open **System Settings → Privacy & Security**, scroll down to Security, and
   click **Open Anyway** next to the message about Axon. Confirm with your
   password.

On macOS 14 or earlier you can instead Control-click Axon in Applications,
choose **Open**, then **Open** again.

## Windows

Run the installer. It installs Axon for every user of the machine, so Windows
asks for an administrator's approval.

Both installers are signed by **Exaflux Technologies Private Limited**. The
certificate is new, and Microsoft SmartScreen warns about software it has not
seen many downloads of yet, so Windows may warn twice:

1. If your browser says the installer "isn't commonly downloaded": in Edge,
   open the download's **⋯** menu, choose **Keep**, then **Show more** and
   **Keep anyway**.
2. If "Windows protected your PC" appears when you run it, click **More
   info**, check that the publisher is Exaflux Technologies Private Limited,
   then click **Run anyway**.

The warnings come from how new the publisher identity is to Apple and
Microsoft. They do not mean anything was found in the file.

To roll Axon out to many machines, use the MSI package with your usual
deployment tool.

## Linux

**AppImage** — make the file executable and run it:

```bash
chmod +x Axon_*.AppImage
./Axon_*.AppImage
```

If it will not start and mentions FUSE, install your distribution's
`libfuse2` package (`libfuse2t64` on Ubuntu 24.04 and later).

**Debian package** — install it with `apt`, which also fetches what it depends
on:

```bash
sudo apt install ./Axon_*.deb
```

## The first launch

The first time Axon starts, the **Setup assistant** offers to download the
local models Axon runs on your machine — about 3.8 GB on a typical laptop. This
is the only large download, and after it Axon answers without an internet
connection. [Getting started](https://exaflux.io/docs/axon/getting-started) picks up from there.

## Updates

Axon does not reach out for updates on its own. Check when you choose:
**Settings → General → Check for updates**, or **Axon → Check for Updates…**
on a Mac.

## Pro

Pro is a subscription on the account you buy it with, not a different
download: you upgrade the copy you already have. See
[Licence](https://exaflux.io/docs/axon/settings-and-providers#licence) for activating it on a
machine.

## Uninstall

Remove Axon the way your system removes any app — drag it from Applications to
the Trash on a Mac, **Settings → Apps** on Windows, delete the AppImage or
`sudo apt remove axon` on Linux.

Your documents are never touched: a project is a folder you already had, and
Axon writes nothing into it, so uninstalling leaves every folder exactly as it
was.