Download

Install ForkMesh Desktop

The desktop client keeps your local Git mirrors online and serves live clone traffic to the network. One command installs it on macOS, Windows, and Linux — it autodetects your platform and drops the app in ~/.local/bin.

curl -fsSL https://forkmesh.com/install.sh | bash

The installer downloads the prebuilt binary for your platform when one is published, otherwise it clones the repo and builds the Qt client from source. Pick your OS below for step-by-step instructions.

macOS

Intel & Apple Silicon. Run the one-liner in Terminal.

Instructions →

Windows

Via WSL or Git Bash. Same one-liner in a bash shell.

Instructions →

Linux

Prebuilt x86_64 binary, AppImage-style bundle, or from source.

Instructions →

macOS

Works on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

  1. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal).
  2. Paste and run the installer:
    curl -fsSL https://forkmesh.com/install.sh | bash
  3. If the installer needs to build from source, it will prompt to install the Xcode Command Line Tools and Qt. Approve when asked.
  4. The app lands in ~/.local/bin/forkmesh. If it isn't already on your PATH, the installer prints the line to add to your shell profile.
  5. Launch it with forkmesh, then connect a mirror.

Windows

The client installs through a bash environment — either the Windows Subsystem for Linux (recommended) or Git Bash.

  1. Install WSL if you haven't already — open PowerShell as Administrator and run wsl --install, then reboot. (Or install Git for Windows to get Git Bash.)
  2. Open your WSL / Ubuntu terminal (or Git Bash).
  3. Run the installer:
    curl -fsSL https://forkmesh.com/install.sh | bash
  4. The installer autodetects the platform and installs missing prerequisites. When it finishes, launch it with forkmesh from the same shell.

Linux

A prebuilt x86_64 binary is published with each release; other architectures build from source automatically.

  1. Open a terminal.
  2. Run the installer:
    curl -fsSL https://forkmesh.com/install.sh | bash
  3. Missing build prerequisites are installed automatically when a supported package manager is detected. Set FORKMESH_NO_INSTALL_DEPS=1 to opt out.
  4. The binary lands in ~/.local/bin/forkmesh. Run forkmesh to start it.
  5. Headless servers: on a box with no display the installer sets up a background mirror node instead of a desktop window — ideal for keeping repos online 24/7. See the docs for hosting a mirror.

After installing

Sign in, connect a local repository, and it goes live on the network.

  1. Create an account or log in from the app or the website.
  2. Add a local Git repo as a mirror and bring it online.
  3. Read the Quickstart for hosting, tunnels, and issues.