The desktop app for Windows and Mac

Mythforge has a desktop app for Windows and Mac. It is the same Mythforge you know, in its own window, with your library kept as ordinary files in your Documents folder. Get it from the Download page.

Where your library lives

Your writing is saved in a folder called Mythforge inside your Documents folder: one markdown file per scene and lore entry, the same layout described in Where your writing lives. Settings → Storage shows it as On this device, with "Documents → Mythforge" beneath.

Because they are plain files, you can open them in any text editor, and back them up like any other files. You can also put your Documents folder in a service such as OneDrive or iCloud Drive, if your computer does that already.

Bringing your library from the web

The desktop app starts empty and keeps its own library, separate from the one in your browser. To move your writing over:

1. In Mythforge on the web (or the iPhone app), open Settings → Backup and choose Export library.
2. Get the .zip onto your computer.
3. In the desktop app, open Settings → Backup, choose Restore from backup and pick the .zip.

See Backups and moving devices for more. Restoring replaces what the desktop app has, so do it before you start writing there. Once sync comes to the desktop app, you'll be able to bring a library in through Dropbox or Google Drive instead.

What's different from the web app

• Signing in. The first time it opens, the desktop app asks you to sign in with your email, like the web app; it needs a connection for that once, then opens offline too.
• No sync sign-in yet. Settings → Sync lists Dropbox and Google Drive, but you can't turn them on in the desktop app yet. Use Export and Restore to move your writing in the meantime.
• It updates itself. The app looks for a new version when it opens and every few hours, and downloads it in the background. When it's ready, a message says A new version of Mythforge is ready: choose Restart and it saves your writing, installs and opens again. Your library isn't touched. (Version 0.36.0 and earlier can't update themselves: install a newer version by hand once.) Settings → About shows the version you're on.
• No installing from the browser. It's already an app, and it works offline.
• No folder picker. The library is always the Documents folder above.
• Your computer's own keys. The browser's reload and print shortcuts are switched off, so they don't get in the way. Mythforge's keyboard shortcuts work as they do elsewhere. On Windows they use Ctrl where a Mac uses ⌘.
• On a Mac, the menu bar has Mythforge → Settings… (⌘,), which opens Settings. Closing the window quits the app.

Installing an app that isn't signed yet

Windows and macOS both warn about apps from developers they don't recognise. Mythforge's desktop builds aren't signed yet, so you may see a warning. It's expected, and it doesn't mean anything is wrong.

On Windows, a blue screen says "Windows protected your PC". Choose More info, then Run anyway. The installer puts Mythforge in your own account, so it doesn't ask for an administrator password. Uninstalling removes the app and leaves your Documents → Mythforge folder alone.

On a Mac that didn't build the app itself, opening it is blocked the first time:

• On macOS 13 or 14, right-click (or Control-click) the app and choose Open, then Open again.
• On macOS 15 or later, try to open it once, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway.
• If it says the app "is damaged", that's the same protection acting on a download. Remove the download flag in Terminal: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Mythforge.app.

Once signed builds exist, none of this will be needed.

And the iPhone and iPad?

The Mythforge iPhone app keeps your library as files in the Files app, under On My iPhone → Mythforge. See Installing Mythforge.