Install and sign in

Polyform runs on Windows 10 and 11, macOS 12 or later, and 64-bit Linux. Install it from getpolyform.com, then sign in once, in your browser, to edit. It’s free during the beta, and your files open whether you sign in or not.

1. Download the installer

Open getpolyform.com/download and download Polyform for Windows. The file is named for its version, for example Polyform-Setup-0.9.0-beta.9-x64.exe.

To check that it’s ours, compare the file’s SHA-256 with the one on the download page; the command is under Verify your download there. If the name or the checksum is different, don’t run it, and tell us from the Contact page.

2. Windows asks first

Polyform isn’t code-signed yet, so Microsoft Defender SmartScreen stops the installer once and asks you. It takes two clicks:

1. On Windows protected your PC, click More info.
2. Check that App shows the installer’s name, then click Run anyway. Publisher says “Unknown publisher”: that is what an unsigned installer shows.

Your browser may warn first that the file isn’t commonly downloaded. That is the same reason: keep the file, then open it.

The installer needs no other answers. It installs Polyform for your Windows account and then opens it.

On a Mac

There are two Mac downloads: Apple silicon (an M1 or later) and Intel. To see which you have, open the Apple menu → About This Mac: “Chip” means Apple silicon; “Processor” with Intel in it means Intel. Polyform needs macOS 12 Monterey or later.

1. Open the DMG, and drag Polyform onto Applications.
2. Open Polyform from Applications. Polyform isn’t notarised by Apple yet, so the Mac says it can’t check it, and doesn’t open it.
3. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down to the line about Polyform, and click Open Anyway. Confirm with your password or Touch ID.

You do this once for each version. If the Mac says instead that Polyform “is damaged and can’t be opened”, open Terminal and run xattr -cr /Applications/Polyform.app, then open it again.

On a Mac, the keys that say Ctrl in this guide are ⌘ (Command), and Alt is ⌥ (Option).

On Linux

There are two Linux downloads, both for 64-bit (x86-64) PCs: an AppImage, which runs on most distributions, and a .deb for Ubuntu, Debian and their relatives. Polyform needs Ubuntu 22.04 or later, Debian 12 or later, or a similar distribution.

• The AppImage: make it runnable (in a terminal, chmod +x Polyform-*.AppImage, or tick “Allow executing file as program” in its properties), then open it. It updates itself.
• The .deb: open it with your software installer, or run sudo apt install ./Polyform-*.deb in the folder you downloaded it to. It adds Polyform to your applications and opens .poly files. It doesn’t update itself: Polyform tells you when there’s a new version, and you install it the same way.

If your desktop has no keyring (most desktops do), Polyform can’t keep you signed in between launches, and asks you to sign in each time you start it.

3. Sign in once

Polyform opens on its start screen, and asks you to sign in to edit.

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1. Click Sign in with your browser. Polyform opens getpolyform.com in your browser.
2. Sign in there, or create an account. Your password goes only to getpolyform.com; it never reaches Polyform.
3. The site asks Open Polyform on this device? Confirm it.
4. Back in Polyform, the dialog says You’re signed in. Click Start designing.

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• Nothing happened in Polyform after you confirmed? Some firewalls block the way back. After a few seconds the dialog offers Use the browser link instead, which opens Polyform another way.
• Signing in needs the internet once. Offline, the dialog says so; connect, then Try again.
• If you cancel in the browser, nothing changes. The dialog stops waiting after five minutes; start again when you’re ready.

The account button at the top right then shows Beta · free until 1.0. Its menu shows your plan and This PC, links to your account on getpolyform.com, and has Sign out….

Free during the beta

Polyform is free during the beta. Sign in once and editing stays free until Polyform 1.0. No card is needed.

Without signing in

Your files always open. Without an account, Polyform still opens, presents and exports every project; you just can’t change them. A project opens in Dev Mode with Design locked, and clicking Design says why and what still works.

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• Still works: opening, presenting and inspecting every project; exporting, copying, and Save a Copy; agents and plugins that only read.
• Needs an account: editing, new projects and importing; edits by agents and plugins.

Polyform checks your account in the background and never waits for the network to start. If it can’t reach getpolyform.com for 37 days, editing pauses until it reconnects. Your files still open.

Your devices

One account can be signed in on three devices at a time. Each PC you sign in on counts as one.

• To free a place, open the account button’s menu on that PC and choose Sign out…. Its files stay on that PC and keep opening.
• If you sign in on a fourth, the dialog says You’re on 3 of 3 devices. Sign out of Polyform on one of the others, or remove one on getpolyform.com (Manage devices), then Try again.

Updates

Polyform updates itself on Windows and from the Linux AppImage. It checks soon after it starts and every few hours, downloads an update in the background, and installs it when you quit. Restart to update installs it straight away, after saving your work. To check now, choose Help → Check for Updates….

On a Mac and from the Linux .deb, Polyform checks the same way and tells you when there’s a new version, but can’t install it itself yet: Open the download page takes you to it, and you install it as you did the first time. Your files and settings stay as they are.