Install the Mac app

The Desktop App runs on the Mac your Devices plug into. Everything that touches a phone happens there.

Download the Desktop App and get your activation code from the download page.

What it needs#

• macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon
• Xcode from the Mac App Store, opened once
• A Mac that stays awake. tame holds that itself while running

What is included#

Everything tame needs to prepare and operate your Devices is included in the Desktop App. Install Xcode separately as listed above.

No administrator password is part of setup.

First launch#

It checks its own setup before asking you for anything, and names what is missing rather than failing later at the step that needed it:

• Xcode, not the Command Line Tools. Those are a different thing with a similar name, and having only them produces a signing failure that reads like a certificate problem.
• A signing identity. An Apple ID already in Xcode is found without asking. A paid Team key goes in Settings and makes signing headless. See Install the automation runtime.
• Keep awake, off by default and worth switching on for a Mac that runs overnight. The screen stays lit while it is enabled. Keep a laptop's lid open.

Your Apple signing credentials stay on your Mac.