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Installation

Kova is a native desktop application for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Download the latest release from the Releases page and follow the instructions for your platform below.

macOS

  1. Download the .dmg file from the Releases page.
  2. Open the .dmg and drag Kova.app into your Applications folder.
  3. Launch Kova from Applications or Spotlight.

Universal binary

The .dmg is a universal binary — the same file runs natively on both Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) and Intel Macs. No separate downloads needed.

Signed and notarised

Kova is signed and notarised by Apple. You will not see any security warning on first launch.

Windows

  1. Download the .msi file from the Releases page.
  2. Run the installer and follow the prompts.
  1. Download the _x64-setup.exe file from the Releases page.
  2. Run the setup executable and follow the prompts.

Windows SmartScreen

Because Kova is not yet code-signed for Windows, SmartScreen may show a "Windows protected your PC" warning.

To proceed: click More info → Run anyway.

This warning will disappear once Kova acquires a Windows code-signing certificate.

Linux

Download the .deb package and install with apt:

sudo apt install ./kova_*.deb

Then launch with:

kova

Download the .rpm package and install with dnf:

sudo dnf install ./kova-*.rpm

Then launch with:

kova
  1. Download the .AppImage file.

  2. Make it executable:

    chmod +x Kova_*.AppImage

  3. Run it:

    ./Kova_*.AppImage --no-sandbox

AppImageLauncher

For desktop integration (application menu entry, file associations), install AppImageLauncher and double-click the AppImage.

System requirements for AppImage: GTK/WebKit desktop environment, fontconfig.

Building from source

See the Contributing page for full instructions on cloning the repo, installing dependencies, and running a development build.

Verifying your version

After installing, open Kova and check Settings → Updates to see the installed version and optionally enable automatic update checks.