What you can download#

Plasma is a desktop app. The builds on the download section of the home page are the ones listed below. There are no builds for Intel Macs, ARM Windows or ARM Linux.

Published builds
System	Files	Notes
macOS	`Plasma-<version>-arm64.dmg`, `Plasma-<version>-arm64.zip`	Apple Silicon only. The build is not signed by Apple yet.
Windows	`Plasma-Setup-<version>-x64.exe` (installer), `Plasma-Portable-<version>-x64.exe`	x64. The build is not signed by Microsoft yet.
Linux	`Plasma-<version>-x86_64.AppImage`, `Plasma-<version>-amd64.deb`	x64.

Plasma is free and open source (Apache-2.0). You do not need an account to use it.

macOS#

01
Open the disk image
Open the .dmg, then drag Plasma into Applications. Keep it there: an app that runs straight from the disk image or from Downloads cannot replace itself when an update arrives.
02
Open it the first time
The build has no Apple signature, so macOS can refuse to open it. Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security, and click Open Anyway next to the Plasma message.
You can also clear the download flag from a terminal:
Terminal
```
xattr -cr /Applications/Plasma.app
```
03
Allow the keychain item
Plasma keeps a key for your saved passwords in the login keychain, in an item called “Plasma Safe Storage”. After an update macOS may ask, once, whether Plasma can use that item again. Click Always Allow. This happens because the build has no certificate-backed signature, so the keychain sees each build as a different app.

Windows#

Installer (Plasma-Setup-<version>-x64.exe). It is not a one-click installer: it asks whether to install for you only or for all users, and lets you choose the install folder. It creates a desktop shortcut and a Start menu entry named Plasma.
Portable (Plasma-Portable-<version>-x64.exe). Runs without installing. A portable copy cannot update itself; download the new file instead.

Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because the build has no Microsoft signature yet. Click More info, then Run anyway.

Linux#

Pick one of two packages.

AppImage. Make it executable and run it:

Terminal

chmod +x Plasma-<version>-x86_64.AppImage
./Plasma-<version>-x86_64.AppImage

.deb. Install it with your package manager, for example:

Terminal

sudo apt install ./Plasma-<version>-amd64.deb

The AppImage updates itself. A .deb install needs administrator rights to update, so Plasma shows a download button for the new package instead.

Updates#

Plasma checks its release feed for a new version and downloads it in the background. When the download is ready, a Restart to update button appears in the top bar and a notice says Plasma <version> is ready, with a What’s new link to the release notes. One click installs it and reopens Plasma. You can also look for updates yourself in Settings → Advanced → Check now; the same section shows the version you run and when the feed was last checked.

What happens to unsaved work#

If nothing is at stake, the restart happens straight away. Otherwise Plasma lists what the restart would lose and asks you to confirm. It can name any of these:

an open transaction (it will be rolled back);
unsaved grid edits;
a Safe Run waiting for Commit or Roll back (it will be rolled back);
a query that is still running (it will be cancelled);
SQL tabs with unsaved text that cannot be restored.

Your open SQL tabs are written to disk before the restart and come back afterwards, so ordinary unsaved SQL text is not on that list. The confirmation button reads Restart and discard.

Which installs update themselves#

Install	Update
Windows installer (per user)	Automatic: downloads, then installs without installer windows when you restart.
Windows portable, or installed for all users	Manual: Plasma offers the download page.
Linux AppImage	Automatic. Plasma keeps a backup link of the old file during the swap and restores it if the swap fails.
Linux .deb	Manual: install the new package.
macOS (in Applications)	Automatic: Plasma installs the new app itself and reopens. If it runs from a disk image or another place it cannot write to, the top bar shows an Update button for a manual download and Settings says “Move Plasma to Applications to get automatic updates.”

On every platform a failed or refused update shows a message in the top bar; click it to try again. An update the app cannot verify is never installed: the message then reads Update refused: <reason>.

How updates are checked#

The builds are not code-signed by Apple or Microsoft, so Plasma protects the update channel itself. The release manifest carries an ed25519 signature that Plasma checks against a public key built into the app. The version and the checksum of every file must match the signed manifest before the download counts, and the downloaded file is hashed again on disk before it is installed. Downgrades and prereleases are refused.

Install and update.