Installation
Kaiden is a desktop application available for macOS, Windows, and Linux. The kdn and OpenShell CLI tools it depends on are downloaded and managed from inside the app — you don't install them separately.
Download
Stable releases and nightly builds are published to the openkaiden/prereleases repository on GitHub.
| Platform | Format | Architecture |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | .dmg | Apple Silicon (arm64) |
| Windows | .exe installer or portable | x64, arm64 |
| Linux | .flatpak or .tar.gz | x64, arm64 |
Download the file for your platform, open it, and follow the standard install steps for your OS.
Prerequisites
macOS and Windows: no prerequisites beyond Podman (see below). Kaiden bundles everything else it needs.
Linux (Flatpak): requires Flatpak to be installed on your system. Most major distributions ship it by default or have it in their package manager.
Podman
Kaiden uses Podman to create and manage sandboxes. It must be installed and running on your machine before you can create your first sandbox.
The easiest way to get Podman on any platform is Podman Desktop — a graphical application that installs and manages Podman for you. Download it from podman-desktop.io, run the installer, and Podman Desktop will handle the rest including starting the Podman machine on macOS and Windows.
If you prefer a CLI-only install, Podman is also available via standard package managers:
# Fedora / RHEL
sudo dnf install podman
# macOS
brew install podman && podman machine init && podman machine start
If Kaiden cannot detect a running Podman instance at launch, Settings → Resources will show a warning with a direct link to Podman Desktop.
First launch
On first launch, Kaiden checks for the kdn and OpenShell CLI tools. If they are not yet installed, a setup prompt guides you through installing them in one click. Their versions are visible at any time under Settings → CLI Tools.
Staying up to date
Kaiden checks for updates automatically. When a new version is available, you'll see a notification in the app. CLI tools (kdn and OpenShell) can be updated independently from Settings → CLI Tools without reinstalling the desktop app.
Building from source
If you'd like to run the latest development version:
git clone https://github.com/openkaiden/kaiden
cd kaiden
pnpm install
pnpm watch
Requirements: Node.js 24+, pnpm 10.x.