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Install Trove

Trove is pre-launch. This page documents the install flow that will be live at launch — there is no downloadable build yet. Join the waitlist on trove.ink to be notified when builds become available.

Get a build (at launch)

Section titled “Get a build (at launch)”

Signed builds for each platform will be published on the Releases page.

Platform File Notes
macOS Universal Trove_x.y.z_universal.dmg Apple Silicon + Intel, notarised
Windows Trove_x.y.z_x64.msix Signed, Windows 11
Linux (AppImage) Trove_x.y.z.AppImage Plus .deb with checksum

Install on macOS (at launch)

Section titled “Install on macOS (at launch)”
  1. Download the DMG from the Releases page.
  2. Open the DMG.
  3. Drag Trove to your Applications folder.
  4. Launch from Applications or Spotlight.

The build is notarised by Apple — Gatekeeper should let it through without ceremony. If you see a Gatekeeper warning, right-click the app and choose Open the first time.

Install on Windows and Linux (at launch)

Section titled “Install on Windows and Linux (at launch)”
  • Windows: .msix package, double-click to install.
  • Linux: .AppImage (make executable, run) or .deb (dpkg -i trove.deb).

First launch and the trial

Section titled “First launch and the trial”

The first time you open Trove, you get a 14-day full-features trial. No card, no account, no email. The clock starts on the local machine and runs from the day you first launch — Trove records this in license.toml under the app data directory.

After 14 days without an Activation:

  • Your files stay visible.
  • The editor switches to read-only mode.
  • You can browse, read, and export — you just can’t write until you activate.

This is deliberate. Trove never holds your manuscript hostage.

Activate with a License Key

Section titled “Activate with a License Key”

If you’ve bought Trove (£49 standard, £39 founders price for the first six months), Polar emails you a License Key in the format TROVE-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.

To activate:

  1. Open Trove.
  2. Go to Settings → Account — the Licence section.
  3. Paste your key. Click Activate.

The desktop client talks directly to Polar’s customer-portal endpoints to validate and bind the machine. No intermediate server. Each License allows up to 5 Activations (machines). You can free a slot at any time from the Polar customer portal.

trove · Settings · License
Trove settings panel showing License section with trial countdown

Updating

Section titled “Updating”

At launch, updates will be a manual download from the Releases page — grab the new DMG and replace the app in Applications. Your Trove root, License, and Tome are stored separately and persist across updates. An in-app updater is on the roadmap.

Re-installing or moving machines

Section titled “Re-installing or moving machines”
  • Same machine, fresh install — Trove will find the existing license.toml and re-validate on first launch. No action needed.
  • New machine — re-paste your License Key in Settings → Account. If you’ve used all 5 activation slots, free one from the Polar portal first.
  • No internet — Trove caches the activation result. You can write offline for weeks before the cache asks for a re-check.

Uninstalling

Section titled “Uninstalling”
  • Drag Trove from Applications to the Trash.
  • (Optional) Remove app data from ~/Library/Application Support/ink.trove/.
  • Your Trove root (~/Documents/trove/ by default) is not touched. Your manuscripts stay where you put them.

Build from source (at launch)

Section titled “Build from source (at launch)”

The source ships under the licence above and will be buildable yourself — development, testing a fix, or just curiosity. You’ll need Bun, Rust stable, and the Tauri CLI; bun install && bun run build from the repository root.

Next

Section titled “Next”