Zero installation and trial guide

Check release availability first

There is no public GitHub Release yet. Read the trial packaging guide and follow the project; this site does not link directly to unpublished installers.

The download page follows the maintained public-release catalog. If no suitable public package exists, use the trial notes; draft releases and temporary Actions artifacts are not ordinary public releases.

Choose a platform, architecture and profile

standard — Awake · Paper · Snap · Launch. Choose this configuration for everyday tools.

core — No bundled tools. Intended for host trials and size comparison.

File is not in the standard trial package.

1. macOS: choose Apple Silicon or Intel for your processor and use the corresponding DMG.
2. Windows: verify x64 and the actual MSI or EXE offered.
3. There are currently no Linux, iOS or Android application installers. The website can be read on mobile devices.

Verify before installation

Trial packaging has not added developer-certificate signing, Apple notarization or Windows Authenticode. Actions artifacts may require sign-in and expire; a successful build is not device acceptance. Read the installation guide first.

1. Use the download page or the official project release entry and check version, profile, platform and architecture.
2. Calculate SHA-256 and compare it with the download page or the matching entry in SHA256SUMS.txt. On macOS use shasum -a 256; on Windows use PowerShell Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256.
3. Install the matching artifact after verification. If Gatekeeper or SmartScreen warns, check the source and signing conditions before following system guidance.

Trial options before a public release

Maintainers can select a profile and targets in the GitHub Actions Package Zero workflow. Download the ZIP from the completed run artifacts, extract it and verify SHA256SUMS.txt.

Actions artifacts may require GitHub login and expire. Running the workflow requires repository permissions. Other visitors can read the trial packaging notes or wait for a public release. A successful build does not establish acceptance on every device.

Upgrades and profile changes

Core and standard both install as Zero and share the application identity and ~/.zero data directory. Replace them sequentially; they are not separate applications that can run together.

Profile changes preserve records of absent tools while hiding them in the current package. Stop active tasks before replacing a version, keep needed data and read the release notes.