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Desktop app

Standalone builds of Scanpath Studio for Windows / macOS / Linux — no Python toolchain, no terminal. The app starts a local server and opens in your default browser; the console window that stays open is the server (close it, or press Ctrl+C, to quit). Everything runs on your machine — no data leaves it, which makes the desktop build the right choice for private eye-tracking corpora.

Builds are attached to every GitHub release from v0.25.0 on (≈190 MB download, ≈500 MB unpacked; earlier releases predate the desktop build).

Unsigned builds

The builds are not code-signed yet, so your OS will warn on first launch — the per-OS steps below include the extra click that gets you past it.

Install & launch

  1. Download ScanpathStudio-windows-x86_64.zip from the latest release.
  2. Right-click → Extract All, open the extracted ScanpathStudio folder.
  3. Double-click ScanpathStudio.exe. On first launch SmartScreen will warn — click More info → Run anyway.
  4. A console window shows the server log; your browser opens the app.
  1. Download ScanpathStudio-macos-arm64.tar.gz from the latest release (Safari usually unpacks it; otherwise double-click the archive).
  2. In the ScanpathStudio folder, right-click ScanpathStudio → Open → Open the first time — a plain double-click is blocked by Gatekeeper because the build isn't notarized. (Alternative: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.)
  3. A Terminal window shows the server log; your browser opens the app.

The build is Apple silicon (M-series) only — on an Intel Mac, use the pip install instead.

  1. Download ScanpathStudio-linux-x86_64.tar.gz from the latest release.
  2. tar -xzf ScanpathStudio-linux-x86_64.tar.gz (the tarball preserves the executable bit — that's why it isn't a zip).
  3. Run ./ScanpathStudio/ScanpathStudio — from a terminal, or double-click in a file manager that executes binaries.

Good to know

  • Static image / video export needs a Chrome/Chromium on the machine — same as the pip install; interactive HTML export always works. Details in Export & troubleshooting.
  • Advanced: two environment variables tweak the launch — SCANPATH_DESKTOP_PORT pins the server port (default: a free one), and SCANPATH_DESKTOP_NO_BROWSER=1 skips opening the browser.
  • Building it yourself / how it's put together: the launcher, PyInstaller spec, smoke test, and CI matrix live in desktop/, with the design rationale in the ENG-15 ADR.