---
title: "Download microManager for Mac, Windows and Linux"
description: "Download microManager free for macOS (Apple Silicon, Intel), Windows x64 and Linux x64 (AppImage, .deb), or install it with one verified command."
url: "https://micromanager.win/install"
updated: "2026-11-09"
---

# Download microManager

microManager is a free download for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows (x64) and Linux (x64, as an AppImage or a .deb), and needs no account. One command can install it instead, in Terminal on macOS and Linux or in PowerShell on Windows, checking the download’s SHA-512 first.

Updated 9 November 2026

[Download for this computer](https://micromanager.win/download) [macOS](#macos) [Windows](#windows) [Linux](#linux)

The Download button picks the build for the system you are browsing from; the sections below have every file.

The newest version and its files are listed in each system’s release manifest, linked below.

## Is a version out yet?

If a download button brought you back to this page, no release has been published for that system yet, or the newest one is still uploading. Leave your email below to hear when it is out. Each system’s manifest always names its current version: [latest-mac.yml](https://micromanager.win/releases/mac/latest-mac.yml), [latest.yml](https://micromanager.win/releases/win/latest.yml) for Windows and [latest-linux.yml](https://micromanager.win/releases/linux/latest-linux.yml) for Linux.

## How do I install microManager on a Mac?

[Apple Silicon (DMG)](https://micromanager.win/download/mac)[Intel (DMG)](https://micromanager.win/download/mac-intel)

Open the DMG and drag microManager into Applications. Or paste this into Terminal:

`curl -fsSL https://micromanager.win/install.sh | sh`

The install script:

1. checks it is on macOS and picks the Apple Silicon or Intel build,
2. reads the release manifest, `latest-mac.yml`, and downloads the matching zip,
3. checks the zip’s SHA-512 against the manifest and stops if they differ,
4. checks the app’s code signature and its Apple developer team,
5. copies the new app next to any existing `/Applications/microManager.app`, swaps them, and only then removes the old copy, asking first if microManager is running, and
6. opens microManager.

It asks for your password (through `sudo`) only if your user cannot write to the install folder. [Read the script](https://micromanager.win/install.sh) before running it if you like; everything runs inside one function called on its last line, so a partly downloaded copy does nothing. Put a setting before `sh`, for example `curl -fsSL https://micromanager.win/install.sh | MICROMANAGER_NO_OPEN=1 sh`. The same settings work on Linux.

| Setting                                   | Effect                                                                     |
| ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `MICROMANAGER_INSTALL_DIR=~/Applications` | Install somewhere other than /Applications (Mac) or \~/.local/bin (Linux). |
| `MICROMANAGER_NO_OPEN=1`                  | Do not open microManager when the install finishes.                        |
| `MICROMANAGER_ASSUME_YES=1`               | Mac: quit and replace a running copy without asking.                       |

### Is there a build for Intel Macs?

Apple Silicon comes first. An Intel build is published only for releases where one is available; when there is none, the Intel button brings you back here. The install script picks the right build for your Mac by itself, and on an Apple Silicon Mac running a Terminal under Rosetta it still installs the Apple Silicon build.

### What does a Mac need?

- macOS 13 Ventura or later, on a Mac with Apple Silicon or an Intel processor. An Intel build is published only for releases where one is available.
- git, which comes with Apple’s Command Line Tools.
- At least one coding agent CLI, installed and signed in: Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build, OpenCode, Gemini CLI or another ACP agent.
- The GitHub CLI (gh), signed in, for pull request features. Everything else works without it.

## How do I install microManager on Windows?

[Windows x64 (installer)](https://micromanager.win/download/windows)

Paste this into PowerShell:

`irm https://micromanager.win/install.ps1 | iex`

It reads the release manifest, `latest.yml`, downloads the installer it names, checks the installer’s SHA-512 against the manifest and stops if they differ, then runs it for your user and deletes the download. [Read the script](https://micromanager.win/install.ps1) first if you like; everything runs inside one function called on its last line, and an error stops it without closing your PowerShell window. Set a setting first, for example `$env:MICROMANAGER_SILENT = '1'`, then paste the command.

| Setting                          | Effect                                                                                       |
| -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `$env:MICROMANAGER_SILENT = '1'` | Install without showing the installer’s progress window.                                     |
| `$env:MICROMANAGER_NO_RUN = '1'` | Only download and check the installer, into the current folder, and leave running it to you. |

Or install it by hand:

1. Download the installer and run it. It installs for your user only, so it does not ask for administrator rights.
2. The Windows installer is not code-signed yet, so Microsoft Defender SmartScreen may warn that it is from an unknown publisher. Check the file’s SHA-512 (below) first, then choose **More info** and **Run anyway**.
3. Open microManager from the Start menu.

Setup, run and archive scripts run with Git Bash when Git for Windows is installed, so the same bash scripts work, otherwise PowerShell. Claude Code uses Git Bash for its own shell commands when it is there, too. Shortcuts use `Ctrl` where the Mac uses `⌘`; see [keyboard shortcuts](https://micromanager.win/docs/keyboard-shortcuts).

### What does a Windows PC need?

- A 64-bit x64 PC running Windows. Windows on ARM is not supported yet.
- Git for Windows, which gives microManager git and the Git Bash your scripts run in. Claude Code runs its own shell commands in Git Bash too when it is there, and in PowerShell when it is not.
- At least one coding agent CLI, installed and signed in: Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build, OpenCode, Gemini CLI or another ACP agent.
- The GitHub CLI (gh), signed in, for pull request features. Everything else works without it.

## How do I install microManager on Linux?

[Linux x64 (AppImage)](https://micromanager.win/download/linux)[Debian and Ubuntu x64 (.deb)](https://micromanager.win/download/linux-deb)

Paste this into a terminal to install the AppImage:

`curl -fsSL https://micromanager.win/install.sh | sh`

The install script:

1. reads the release manifest, `latest-linux.yml`, and downloads the AppImage,
2. checks its SHA-512 against the manifest and stops if they differ,
3. installs it as `~/.local/bin/micromanager`, replacing any previous copy in one step,
4. adds microManager to your applications menu with its icon, under `~/.local/share`, and
5. opens it.

It never uses `sudo`, and the installed AppImage updates itself. To do it by hand instead, make the AppImage executable and start it; it runs on most distributions without installing anything:

```sh
chmod +x microManager-*.AppImage
./microManager-*.AppImage
```

On Debian, Ubuntu and their derivatives, install the .deb with your package manager instead:

```sh
# Use the name of the file you downloaded; apt needs the ./ to treat it as a file
sudo apt install ./FILE.deb
```

Setup, run and archive scripts run with your login shell when it is zsh or bash, otherwise bash, in the workspace folder, with the same [environment variables](https://micromanager.win/docs/environment-variables) as on every other system.

### What does a Linux computer need?

- A 64-bit x64 Linux desktop with glibc 2.31 or newer: Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 11, Fedora 32 or later. ARM64 Linux is not supported yet.
- git, from your distribution’s packages.
- At least one coding agent CLI, installed and signed in: Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build, OpenCode, Gemini CLI or another ACP agent.
- The GitHub CLI (gh), signed in, for pull request features. Everything else works without it.

## How can I check a download myself?

Every release manifest lists each file’s SHA-512 in base64. Compute the same value for the file you downloaded and compare.

### macOS

```sh
# The zip's SHA-512, in the base64 form latest-mac.yml uses
openssl dgst -sha512 -binary microManager-*-arm64.zip | openssl base64 -A

# Who signed the app, and whether Gatekeeper accepts it
codesign -dv --verbose=2 /Applications/microManager.app 2>&1 | grep TeamIdentifier
spctl -a -vv /Applications/microManager.app
```

Compare the first result with the `sha512` next to the zip in [latest-mac.yml](https://micromanager.win/releases/mac/latest-mac.yml). Mac releases are signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

### Windows

```powershell
# PowerShell: the installer's SHA-512 in the base64 form latest.yml uses
$file = Get-Item .\microManager-Setup-*.exe
$sha = [System.Security.Cryptography.SHA512]::Create()
[Convert]::ToBase64String($sha.ComputeHash([IO.File]::ReadAllBytes($file.FullName)))
```

Compare it with the `sha512` in [latest.yml](https://micromanager.win/releases/win/latest.yml).

### Linux

```sh
# The AppImage's SHA-512 in the base64 form latest-linux.yml uses
openssl dgst -sha512 -binary microManager-*.AppImage | openssl base64 -A
```

Compare it with the `sha512` in [latest-linux.yml](https://micromanager.win/releases/linux/latest-linux.yml).

## How does updating work?

The Mac app, the Windows app, the Linux AppImage and the .deb check for a new version when they start and every six hours, download it in the background and show **Restart to update** when it is ready. Updating the .deb asks for your password, because it installs the new package for the whole system. Running the install command again also installs the newest version; on Linux it installs the AppImage, so if you use the .deb, let it update itself instead.

## How do I uninstall it?

Quit microManager first. Its own data (workspace records, chats and settings) lives in `~/Library/Application Support/microManager` on macOS , `%APPDATA%\microManager` on Windows and `~/.config/microManager` on Linux ; delete that folder too if you want a clean slate.

- macOS: delete the app and, if you want, its data:

```sh
rm -rf /Applications/microManager.app
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/microManager
```

- Windows: Settings → Apps → Installed apps (Apps & features on Windows 10) → microManager → Uninstall.
- Linux: delete the AppImage (the install command puts it at `~/.local/bin/micromanager`, with `~/.local/share/applications/micromanager.desktop`), or remove the .deb with `sudo apt remove micromanager`.

Workspaces themselves are git worktrees, by default under `~/micromanager/workspaces` in your home folder. Commit or push anything you need from them before deleting that folder, then run `git worktree prune` in each repository.