Install the desktop app
Download Relay from the latest release:
- macOS: a DMG for Apple Silicon and Intel. Open it and drag Relay to Applications.
- Linux: an AppImage. Make it executable (
chmod +x Relay-*.AppImage) and run it.
Relay runs in the menu bar and starts at login. Closing the window doesn’t stop it: it keeps listening in the background. Quit it from the menu bar.
Updates
Section titled “Updates”The app updates itself. It checks when it starts and every 4 hours, downloads new versions in the background, and installs them the next time you restart Relay. An update never installs in the middle of a code run or action.
To check now, use Settings → About → Check for updates, or Check for updates… in the menu bar.
Where your data lives
Section titled “Where your data lives”Your data is kept outside the app, so updates and reinstalls never touch it:
| Platform | Data folder |
|---|---|
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/Relay/data |
| Linux | ~/.config/Relay/data |
Menu bar → Show data folder opens it. See Data folder and backups for what’s inside.
Before a new version changes the database’s structure, it saves a copy in data/backups/ (the last 5 are kept). An older version refuses to open data from a newer one instead of risking it.
First-run setup walks you through the rest.