Installation and system requirements

Solo is a native desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

System requirements#

The Linux AppImage bundles its own WebKitGTK, GTK, and media libraries, so you don't need to install them. It uses your system's graphics driver and display libraries (X11 or Wayland). Each release is launch-tested on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and Arch.

Install Solo#

macOS#

1. Download the macOS .dmg from soloterm.com/download.
2. Open the downloaded .dmg.
3. Drag Solo into your Applications folder.
4. Eject the disk image and launch Solo from Applications or Spotlight.

Windows#

1. Download the Windows installer from soloterm.com/download.
2. Open the downloaded .exe.
3. Follow the installer prompts.
4. Launch Solo from the Start menu.

Linux#

1. Download the Linux .AppImage from soloterm.com/download.
2. Move it somewhere your user can write to, such as ~/Applications. The updater replaces this file in place.
3. Make it executable, either from your file manager's Properties dialog or with chmod +x Solo_*.AppImage.
4. Open it, or run ./Solo_*.AppImage from a terminal.

The AppImage doesn't add itself to your application launcher. To get a launcher entry, use a tool such as Gear Lever or AppImageLauncher.

Nix and NixOS#

On x86-64 Linux, Solo is also available as a Nix flake. It packages the same signed release as the AppImage, and it adds Solo to your application launcher.

• To try Solo without installing it, run nix run github:soloterm/nix.
• To install it into your profile, run nix profile install github:soloterm/nix.
• On NixOS or Home Manager, add github:soloterm/nix as a flake input and add its package to your configuration. The flake's README has an example.

Nix updates this install, not Solo's built-in updater. Run nix profile upgrade --all, or nix flake update solo in your configuration. A new release reaches the flake shortly after it appears on the download page. Solo 0.11.1 may still offer an in-app update on a Nix install; skip it and update with Nix instead.

On a distribution other than NixOS, Solo may need nixGL to find your GPU drivers.

AppImage won't start on Linux#

AppImages mount themselves with FUSE. If launching prints Cannot mount AppImage, please check your FUSE setup, install your distribution's fuse3 package, which provides fusermount3. You can also skip FUSE entirely by running ./Solo_*.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run.

Blank window on Linux#

If Solo opens to an empty window, download the current AppImage from soloterm.com/download and replace your existing .AppImage file with it. The in-app updater runs inside that window, so it can't update a copy that never draws its interface.

Software rendering on Linux#

When a window is running on a software renderer, such as Mesa's llvmpipe or SwiftShader in a VM, XRDP session, or machine without a GPU, Solo detects it and switches terminals to a slower drawing mode that renders reliably there.

To force software rendering, launch Solo with SOLOTERM_LINUX_SOFTWARE_RENDERING=1:

SOLOTERM_LINUX_SOFTWARE_RENDERING=1 ./Solo_*.AppImage

The variable must be exactly 1, and it applies when Solo starts, so quit Solo completely before relaunching. If you've also set WEBKIT_FORCE_COMPOSITING_MODE, or set WEBKIT_DISABLE_COMPOSITING_MODE=0, Solo leaves rendering alone and prints a warning to the terminal instead.

First launch prompt on macOS#

On first launch, macOS may show a security confirmation because Solo was downloaded from the internet. Click Open to continue.

If you see a stricter developer-verification warning, right-click the app in Applications, choose Open, and confirm once. After that, it'll open normally.

Once Solo opens, continue with First launch to create or load a project and start your first process.

Updates#

Solo includes a built-in updater. You don't need to re-download anything.

• An update indicator appears in the app when a new version is available.
• On macOS, you can check manually from Solo > Check for updates....
• On Linux, the updater replaces the AppImage file you launched, so keep it in a folder your user can write to.
• A Nix install is updated with Nix instead. See Nix and NixOS.
• You can also check from Settings > Account.
• Updates are signed and verified by Solo before installation.

Uninstall#

macOS#

1. Quit Solo.
2. Delete Solo.app from Applications.
3. To remove core local state, optionally delete ~/.config/soloterm. If SOLOTERM_APP_DATA_DIR or the fallback TAURI_ENV_SOLOTERM_APP_DATA_DIR points elsewhere, delete that resolved directory instead. Deleting that directory removes projects, commands, license state, settings stored with Solo's core state, and related data stored there; it does not clear UI-only preferences stored separately in the app's webview.

Windows#

1. Quit Solo.
2. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
3. Find Solo and choose Uninstall.
4. To remove core local state, optionally delete %USERPROFILE%\.config\soloterm. If SOLOTERM_APP_DATA_DIR or the fallback TAURI_ENV_SOLOTERM_APP_DATA_DIR points elsewhere, delete that resolved directory instead. Deleting that directory removes projects, commands, license state, settings stored with Solo's core state, and related data stored there; it does not clear UI-only preferences stored separately in the app's webview.

Linux#

1. Quit Solo.
2. Delete the .AppImage file, and any launcher entry you created for it.
3. To remove core local state, optionally delete ~/.config/soloterm. If SOLOTERM_APP_DATA_DIR or the fallback TAURI_ENV_SOLOTERM_APP_DATA_DIR points elsewhere, delete that resolved directory instead. Deleting that directory removes projects, commands, license state, settings stored with Solo's core state, and related data stored there; it does not clear UI-only preferences stored separately in the app's webview.

If you installed Solo with Nix, remove it with Nix in step 2 instead: find its name with nix profile list and run nix profile remove <name>, or remove the flake input and package from your configuration.