Install the desktop app

The desktop app runs on macOS and Linux. There’s no Windows version yet.

Download it from bramble.sh, or install it with one of the commands below.

macOS

Download the .dmg from bramble.sh, open it and move Bramble to your Applications folder. It’s one app for both Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

Or install it with Homebrew:

brew install --cask bramble

Linux

Debian and Ubuntu

Add Bramble’s APT repository and install it:

curl -fsSL https://apt.bramble.sh/keys.asc | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/bramble-keyring.asc > /dev/null
curl -fsSL https://apt.bramble.sh/bramble.sources | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/bramble.sources > /dev/null
sudo apt update && sudo apt install bramble

It’s available for 64-bit x86 (Intel and AMD) and ARM computers.

AppImage

One file that runs on most distributions. Download it from bramble.sh, then make it executable and run it:

chmod +x Bramble_*.AppImage
./Bramble_*.AppImage

Fedora, openSUSE and other RPM-based distributions

Download the .rpm for your computer from the releases page. Import Bramble’s signing key once, then install it:

sudo rpm --import https://apt.bramble.sh/keys.asc
sudo dnf install ./Bramble-*.rpm

On openSUSE, install it with sudo zypper install ./Bramble-*.rpm instead.

Nix and NixOS

Bramble builds from source with its Nix flake:

nix profile install github:bramble-sh/bramble

To try it without installing, run nix run github:bramble-sh/bramble.

Keep it up to date

How Bramble updates depends on how you installed it:

Installed with	How it updates
`.dmg` or Homebrew	Bramble updates itself.
AppImage	Bramble updates itself.
APT	Your system updates it with everything else, for example with `sudo apt upgrade`.
Nix	It updates when you upgrade your Nix profile or system.
`.rpm`	It doesn’t update itself. Install the new `.rpm` from the releases page.

When Bramble updates itself, it checks for a new version a few seconds after it opens. If there is one, it asks first: choose Update now to download it and restart. Your vault isn’t touched.

To check yourself, open Settings → About and choose Check under Check for updates. On a Mac, you can also choose Bramble → Check for Updates… in the menu bar.

To stop the automatic check, turn off Check for updates when Bramble opens in Settings → About.

Start Bramble when you log in

Open Settings → General and turn on Start Bramble at login.

Bramble then starts in the menu bar (or the system tray on Linux) without opening a window. Keep it on if you use scheduled backups: they only run while Bramble is running.

On a Mac, it shows up as Bramble in the Login Items list in System Settings.

Closing and quitting

Closing the window doesn’t quit Bramble. It keeps running in the menu bar or system tray, so the quick-access panel and backups keep working.

To open the window again, click the Bramble icon and choose Open Bramble.
To quit, choose Quit Bramble from the same menu.