In the browser
The web client is served by the instance itself. Open it, and you are in: no download, no store, and it always matches the server it came from.
Download
Use it in the browser, or install the app
Nothing to install to try Trycord: the web client is the same code the desktop app wraps. The desktop build puts that client in its own window and can point at any instance, including one you run.
Two ways in
Use it in a tab, or install the app
Same client either way. Look around in the browser with nothing to install; install a build when you want Trycord out of the tab.
The desktop app
A window around the same client, for people who want Trycord off the browser tab. Published builds for Windows and Linux are attached to GitHub releases, and a macOS build is one command away, below.
How the desktop app works
One client, pointed at any instance
The desktop app is the same client in its own window. There is no second version of it to keep in step, so a feature that works in the browser works in the window.
It picks a backend at launch
First the --api-url argument, then the bundled backend file. There is no hidden third option and no silent fallback to somewhere you did not choose.
Point it at your instance
Run it with your server's address and it talks to that one and nothing else:
Trycord --api-url=https://chat.example.orgThe official instance is a default, not a requirement
The shipped build reaches the official instance out of the box, because most people arrive without a server. Self-hosters replace that with theirs, and the desktop origin must be on the instance's allowed list for API responses to be readable.
Build from source
If there is no build for your platform yet
Each target builds on its own platform. Cross-building from Linux is not reliable for Windows or macOS, so build on the system you are targeting.
cd trycord-desktop
npm install
npm run build:linux # AppImage
npm run build:win # NSIS installer and portable exe
npm run build:mac # dmgThe desktop shell's internals, startup behaviour and update model are documented in docs/desktop.md and docs/launcher.md.
Hosting it yourself
If you run the instance, you decide who gets in.
The documentation covers Docker, manual installs, databases, mail and reverse proxies.