Desktop Quickstart

The desktop app is a Tauri-based shell wrapping the same React frontend that the web build uses. Installers for macOS (Apple Silicon + Intel), Windows 11, and Linux (AppImage + .deb) land on the Download page.

Install

1. Download the installer for your OS.
2. Run it — macOS will Gatekeeper-warn the first time; Windows SmartScreen the same; Linux just makes the AppImage executable.
3. Launch. You’ll see the Welcome screen.

First-time setup

1. Click Get started.
2. Sign in with Google, GitHub, or ORCID — or sign up with email.
3. Pick your Citation Style default (APA / MLA / Chicago / Harvard / IEEE / Vancouver) under Settings → Citation Style.

Import your first paper

• PDF from disk: drag a PDF into the Library window, or click the + Add PDF button.
• Metadata gets extracted automatically: title, authors, DOI, page count, abstract (P10.12 lopdf extractor reads the PDF Info dict + scans first 5 pages for a DOI).
• From a DOI URL: paste a doi.org URL into the address bar of the browser extension and click Save to Ad Marginem (P12.1+).

Daily workflow

1. Read. Open a paper. Highlights live in the right sidebar; sticky notes float on the page; the pencil tool draws freehand strokes that survive export.
2. Note. Switch to the Notes tab. Wiki-links resolve across your library.
3. Cite. Switch to the Reader → Citations picker and insert formatted citations.
4. Export. Reader → Download → Export annotated PDF writes a flat PDF with all your marginalia baked in (P10.10).

Updates

The desktop app checks for updates on launch and surfaces a small banner when one is available. Click Install to download; click Restart now when ready (P10.11).