Install and first open

The newest build is on the Download page, and every build is on the releases page. The current release is 0.0.4, published on 3 November 2026; the first outside alpha was 0.0.3, on 17 October. Alphas continue between releases and are labelled.

0.0.4 ships unsigned on purpose, as 0.0.3 did: on macOS it is ad-hoc signed and not notarized, and on Windows the installer is not code-signed. Until Noto is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized (and an equivalent Windows certificate), macOS and Windows warn once the first time you open a download; Linux packages are not code-signed and need no such warning. That is expected. Follow the steps below so the first launch is smooth.

macOS

Mac builds come as a zip; there is no .dmg yet.

1. Download Noto-<version>-macos-arm64.zip for Apple silicon, or Noto-<version>-macos-x64.zip for an Intel Mac. The Intel zip is in releases after v0.0.2-alpha.113; before that, an Intel Mac has no build it can run.

2. Unzip. You should get Noto.app (move it to /Applications if you like).

3. First open. Double-click Noto.app once. macOS says it cannot check Noto for malicious software; click Done. Then open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down to Security, and click Open Anyway next to the message about Noto. It is there for about an hour after you tried to open the app. Confirm in the dialog that follows and enter your login password. From then on Noto opens with a double-click.

   Or in Terminal, from the folder that contains Noto.app:

   xattr -cr Noto.app && open Noto.app

   On macOS 14 Sonoma and older you can also Right-click (or Control-click) Noto.app, choose Open, then confirm Open. From macOS 15 Sequoia on that shortcut is gone; use Open Anyway or the Terminal line.

What the dialogs mean

Dialog	What to do
"Noto" Not Opened / Apple could not verify "Noto" is free of malware / unidentified developer	Try to open Noto once, then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway and enter your login password. Or run the xattr line above. On macOS 14 and older, Right-click → Open also works. After that, double-click works.
"Noto" is damaged and can't be opened	Re-download the zip from the current release (avoid an old cached copy). Then run xattr -cr Noto.app and open it again.

True notarization (no Gatekeeper prompt) needs an Apple Developer identity on the release machine. Until then, the warning on first open is normal.

Windows

1. Download NotoSetup-<version>.exe.
2. Run the installer. If SmartScreen says Windows protected your PC, click More info, then Run anyway.
3. Finish the installer and launch Noto from the Start menu.

Linux

• Debian / Ubuntu: sudo apt install ./noto_<version>_amd64.deb (exact filename varies by tag; check the release assets).
• Fedora / openSUSE: sudo rpm -i noto-<version>-1.x86_64.rpm

No code signing is required on typical Linux desktops for these packages.

In-app updates

Packaged builds can check GitHub Releases from Settings → Updates:

• Stable (default) — formal releases only
• Testing — includes prerelease alphas

Check-on-launch is off by default. Until builds are signed, Noto does not install an update itself on any platform: a found update opens its download on the release page, and you install it as above. That holds from the first release after 0.0.3 (roobli/Noto#329), which also hides the setting to download automatically. An unsigned app replacing itself silently is exactly what the system's first-open warnings exist to stop.

After install

See Using Noto for the day-to-day shortcuts and the vault rail.