Installing ODE Desktop

Complete guide for installing ODE Desktop on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

ODE Desktop is part of the ODE v1.1.0 release. Pre-built installers are published on GitHub Releases.

Overview

ODE Desktop is a native desktop application (Tauri) for:

• Data management — inspect, edit, import, and sync observations with Synkronus
• Forms / app workbench — download app bundles, preview forms, and test custom apps

Choose the installation method that fits your role:

Method	Best for
GitHub Release	Data stewards and app authors who want a ready-to-run installer
Build from source	Contributors and early adopters working from the ODE monorepo

System requirements

Platform	Requirements
Windows	Windows 10 or 11; WebView2 (usually pre-installed)
macOS	Recent macOS; Xcode command-line tools for source builds
Linux	WebKitGTK and related packages per Tauri prerequisites

Method 1: GitHub Releases (recommended)

1. Open OpenDataEnsemble/ode releases.

2. Select the v1.1.0 release (or the latest stable tag).

3. Download the artifact for your platform:

   Platform	Typical artifact
   Windows	.msi installer
   macOS	.dmg or .app bundle
   Linux	AppImage, .deb, or similar

4. Run the installer or extract the bundle and launch ODE Desktop.

A curl-style installer script (scripts/install-ode-desktop.sh) exists in the monorepo as a placeholder for future one-line installs. Until it is wired to release asset URLs, use GitHub Releases directly.

Method 2: Build from source

For development or when no pre-built artifact is available for your platform:

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ and pnpm 10+
• Rust toolchain (rustup)
• Platform build tools (see Tauri prerequisites)

Build steps

git clone https://github.com/OpenDataEnsemble/ode.git
cd ode/desktop
pnpm install
pnpm tauri build

pnpm tauri build runs the full pipeline: Formplayer assets are prepared, the frontend is built, and Tauri packages the native app. Installers or bundles appear under desktop/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.

Development run

To run with hot reload during development:

cd ode/desktop
pnpm install
pnpm tauri dev

pnpm tauri dev opens the Tauri desktop window. Do not use a regular browser at http://localhost:1420 — IPC commands such as invoke only work inside the Tauri shell.

First launch

1. Open ODE Desktop.
2. Switch to Data management mode (if not already selected).
3. On Profiles, add or select a profile with your Synkronus server URL.
4. Authenticate with your Synkronus credentials.
5. On Sync, run Pull to download observations, or Download & apply an app bundle from Workbench → Bundles.

Next steps

• ODE Desktop user guide — screen-by-screen usage
• ODE Desktop reference — architecture and workspace layout
• ODE Desktop developer mode — test a local custom app build
• ODE Desktop development — contributor setup

Troubleshooting

Issue	Suggestion
App won't start on Linux	Install WebKitGTK and dependencies from Tauri docs
WebView2 missing on Windows	Install the WebView2 runtime
Build fails on pnpm tauri build	Ensure Rust and platform prerequisites are installed; run pnpm build:formplayer first if Formplayer assets are missing
Sync authentication fails	Verify server URL and credentials on Profiles; check server reachability on Sync

For more help, see Getting Help or the forum.