Chickxel
Download

Thanks for downloading Chickxel

Click the file for your computer to start the download. To check your Mac's chip, open the Apple menu → About This Mac.

Windows macOS · Apple Silicon macOS · Intel

Once it's downloaded, follow the steps below for the first launch, then try the first steps in the guide.

Windows

If a blue warning appears on first launch

Chickxel is made by an independent developer and isn't code-signed yet (no publisher certificate recognized by Microsoft), so Windows stops it once as an app it hasn't seen before. It doesn't mean anything is wrong with the file.

Right-click the downloaded Chickxel-windows-x64.zip, choose Extract All, and double-click Chickxel.exe in the extracted folder.

The Windows protected your PC window shown on first launch (redrawn from the real window). ① More info

When Windows protected your PC appears, click ① More info. Don't run only closes the window without starting Chickxel.

The window after clicking More info. ② Publisher ③ Run anyway

② The publisher shows as Unknown publisher because the app isn't code-signed. Click ③ Run anyway to open Chickxel; the window won't appear again after that.

To skip the window entirely: before extracting, right-click the zip → Properties, check Unblock at the bottom, click OK, then extract.

If Edge holds the download: when the downloads list says the file "isn't commonly downloaded", open that row's More actions menu (three dots) → Keep → Show more → Keep anyway.

If it's blocked with no Run button: PCs with Smart App Control turned on don't run unsigned apps. We don't recommend turning it off; let us know on Discord or in Issues.

Install without the warning (PowerShell)

Open PowerShell from the Start menu, paste the line below and press Enter. It downloads the latest version from GitHub, installs it in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Chickxel, adds a Start menu shortcut and starts it. Because the file isn't downloaded by a browser, Windows protected your PC doesn't appear.

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/1000Pro-1997/Chickxel/main/install.ps1 | iex
macOS

If you see an "unidentified developer" warning

Chickxel isn't signed with an Apple developer ID, so macOS warns you once. It doesn't mean anything is wrong with the file.

  1. Double-click the downloaded zip to extract it, then move Chickxel.app to the Applications folder.
  2. Right-click Chickxel.app, choose Open, and click Open again in the dialog.
  3. If it still won't open, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway near the bottom.

Install without the warning (Terminal)

Paste the line below into the Terminal app and press Enter. It downloads the latest version for your Mac's chip from GitHub, installs it as /Applications/Chickxel.app and opens it.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/1000Pro-1997/Chickxel/main/install.sh | sh

Check that the file is the original

Chickxel is only published on GitHub Releases and this website. If the SHA-256 of the downloaded zip (Windows PowerShell Get-FileHash file.zip, macOS Terminal shasum -a 256 file.zip) matches the value in SHA256SUMS.txt on the release, the file is the original.

If installing fails or Windows Security quarantines the file, tell us on Discord with the name shown in the notification.