Installing the app and creator

Where to download

Every published build lives on the website repository's GitHub Releases — not on Play, App Store, Microsoft Store, or the VS Code Marketplace.

• • Latest non-prerelease — the newest stable set of files.
• • All versions — if you need a specific build, including prereleases.

Filenames include the version. Architecture is in the name too (x64 or arm64). Local GGUF model weights are never bundled — you add those later if you want on-device AI.

• • apprenti-<version>-windows-<arch>.zip — Windows app
• • apprenti-<version>-macos-<arch>.zip — macOS app
• • apprenti-<version>-linux-<arch>.tar.gz — Linux app
• • apprenti-<version>-android.apk — Android app
• • apprenti-creator-<version>.vsix — creator extension
• • SHA256SUMS.txt — checksums for the files above

Desktop builds are unsigned. Windows SmartScreen and macOS Gatekeeper will warn. That is expected for a sideloaded GitHub Release, not a sign the file is damaged.

Windows

1. Download apprenti-<version>-windows-x64.zip (or arm64 if that matches your machine).
2. Unzip the archive to a folder you keep — for example Documents\apprenti. Leave the folder as-is. The .exe needs the DLLs and data directory next to it; do not copy only the executable to the desktop.
3. Run apprenti\apprenti.exe.
4. If SmartScreen says “Windows protected your PC”, choose More info → Run anyway. The build is unsigned; there is no store listing to skip this.

macOS

1. Download apprenti-<version>-macos-arm64.zip on Apple silicon, or …-macos-x64.zip on Intel.
2. Double-click the zip to unpack apprenti.app. Drag it to Applications if you want it on the Launchpad, or run it from the unzipped folder.
3. Do not double-click to launch the first time. Control-click (or right-click) apprenti.app → Open → Open again in the dialog. Gatekeeper blocks unsigned apps on a normal double-click.
4. If macOS still refuses, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway for apprenti.

Linux

1. Download apprenti-<version>-linux-x64.tar.gz (or arm64).
2. Extract the tarball. You should get an apprenti/ directory with the binary at apprenti/apprenti.
3. From a terminal:

   chmod +x apprenti/apprenti
   ./apprenti/apprenti

This is a portable Flutter bundle, not a .deb or AppImage. It expects a desktop Linux with GTK 3. If the binary exits immediately, ldd apprenti/apprenti will show any missing shared libraries.

Android

1. Download apprenti-<version>-android.apk on the phone (or copy it over).
2. Open the APK from Files or the browser. Android will ask you to allow that app to install unknown apps — enable it for the Files app or browser you used, then confirm the install.
3. Open apprenti from the launcher.

Current APKs are signed with the debug key until a release keystore is configured. Installing a later store-signed or keystore-signed build over this one will fail — uninstall the debug-signed app first (that wipes local app data on the device; your curriculum Git repository on disk or remote is separate).

Installing apprenti creator

Creator is only an editor extension. Mentors and apprentices who are not authoring a curriculum do not need it. Authors still install the app separately if they want to walk the path as an apprentice or review as a mentor.

You need VS Code 1.85+, Cursor, or VSCodium.

1. Download apprenti-creator-<version>.vsix from the same GitHub Release as the app.
2. In the editor: open the Extensions view → the … menu (Views and More Actions) → Install from VSIX… → pick that file. Reload if asked.
3. File → Open Folder on a curriculum working copy — a folder that contains curriculum.json or curricula.json. Creator stays dormant on a folder that is only the Flutter app repo or a random project.
4. Confirm the Creator icon on the activity bar. The Curricula view should list the path in that folder.

From a terminal, with the editor's CLI on PATH:

code --install-extension ./apprenti-creator-0.1.0.vsix
# or: cursor --install-extension ./apprenti-creator-0.1.0.vsix
# or: codium --install-extension ./apprenti-creator-0.1.0.vsix

Uninstall from the Extensions view, or code --uninstall-extension apprenti-dev.apprenti-creator.

After it is installed, Authoring with apprenti creator covers the Path canvas, editors, and validation. Creator writes files; it does not wrap Git — commit and push from the editor's ordinary source-control view.

Updates and checksums

There is no in-app updater. Download the new release and replace the previous install: unzip Windows/macOS over the old folder (or drop a new .app in Applications), extract a new Linux tarball, install a new Android APK over the existing one (same signing key), or install the new VSIX over the old extension.

Each release includes SHA256SUMS.txt. To check a downloaded file:

# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-FileHash .\apprenti-0.1.0-windows-x64.zip -Algorithm SHA256

# macOS / Linux
shasum -a 256 apprenti-0.1.0-macos-arm64.zip

The digest should match the line for that filename in SHA256SUMS.txt.