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Getting Started

Hive Desktop collects work from supported sources and routes it into local feeds. Flows decide which items enter a feed, show a notification, or run an action.

Install

Direct downloads come from the release manifest. Use the install script below if they do not appear.

The macOS download is a .dmg: open it and drag Hive to Applications. The Linux downloads are tarballs: extract one and put the hive-desktop binary on your PATH.

Install from the terminal

The install script picks the right build, verifies its checksum, and installs the app. It leaves the separate hive CLI unchanged.

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

Installs /Applications/Hive.app, or ~/Applications when the first is not writable.

Hive requires the GTK 4 and WebKitGTK 6.0 runtime libraries. Install the packages for your distribution before you start Hive.

The installer puts the binary under ~/.local/share/hive and adds Hive to your application menu. Set HIVE_HOME to choose another binary directory. A manually extracted tarball does not add the application-menu entry.

To inspect the installer first, omit | bash.

Hive updates itself. You can change the release channel under Settings ▸ About. See Settings.

First run

  1. Choose a coding agent and the folders holding your repositories.
  2. Connect GitHub, or skip it and connect another source.
  3. Allow notifications if you want system banners.
  4. Start a chat with your agent, or open the feed.

Hive creates a profile named Default for you; connecting GitHub fills it with the starter feeds. The last step opens the built-in Hive workspace, where your agent asks how you work and offers to set up your profiles and feeds. Select Not now to go straight to the feed instead.

These pages cover each step:

Configure Hive

Use the flow editor and Settings screens for normal configuration. You can also edit the YAML files under ~/.config/hive/desktop/.

The built-in Hive workspace in Chats can create flows, connect generic sources, define actions, and change settings. It requires a supported coding agent CLI on your PATH.

Start with: