Installing Grindstone

This topic covers getting the Grindstone 5 beta onto a Windows PC or a Mac and how it keeps itself up to date.

What you need

• On Windows: Windows 10 version 1809 or later, including Windows 11, on a PC with an x64 or Arm64 processor.
• On a Mac: macOS 14 or later, on a Mac with Apple silicon or an Intel processor.

There’s no account to create and no license key to enter.

Installing on Windows

1. Go to Downloads.
2. Under Grindstone 5 beta, choose Download next to GS5 for Windows. This downloads an App Installer file named grindstone5-beta.appinstaller.
3. Open the file. Windows App Installer opens and installs Grindstone.

The same file serves x64 and Arm64 PCs. App Installer also brings in the Windows App Runtime that Grindstone needs, so there’s nothing else to install first.

The beta installs as Grindstone Beta. When you start it for the first time, it asks you to make your first workspace. Getting started walks you through it.

Installing on a Mac

1. Go to Downloads.
2. Under Grindstone 5 beta, choose Download next to GS5 for Mac. This downloads a disk image named grindstone5-beta.dmg.
3. Open the disk image. In the window that opens, drag Grindstone Beta to Applications.
4. Open Grindstone Beta from your Applications folder.

When you open it for the first time, it asks you to make your first workspace. Getting started walks you through it.

Staying up to date

You don’t download updates yourself.

On Windows, because you installed Grindstone from an App Installer file, Windows keeps it up to date:

• When you start Grindstone, Windows checks for a newer beta, at most once every 24 hours.
• Windows also checks in the background.

On a Mac, Grindstone keeps itself up to date. It checks for a newer beta once a day, downloads it, and installs it when you quit Grindstone. To check right away, choose Grindstone Beta > Check for Updates in the menu bar.

To see which version you have, open the main menu in a workspace. See Getting started. The version is under the name Grindstone at the top.

Uninstalling

Before you uninstall, export every folio you want to keep. See Workspaces and folios.

• On Windows, Grindstone keeps your folios in its own app data folder on your PC, and Windows deletes that folder when you uninstall Grindstone.
• On a Mac, quit Grindstone, then move Grindstone Beta from your Applications folder to the Trash.

If you have a question about installing, speak with a specialist.