Installation

Download

Download the latest version of Silk from download.heysilkai.com.

macOS

Requirements: macOS 12 or later, Apple Silicon or Intel.

1. Download the .dmg file for your architecture:
   • Silk-<version>-arm64.dmg — Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4)
   • Silk-<version>.dmg — Intel
2. Open the .dmg and drag Silk into your Applications folder.
3. Launch Silk from Applications.

Tip

If macOS shows “Silk cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified”, right-click the app and choose Open instead of double-clicking. This only needs to happen once.

Windows

Requirements: Windows 10 or later (64-bit).

1. Download Silk Setup <version>.exe.
2. Run the installer. Windows SmartScreen may show a warning — click More info → Run anyway to proceed.
3. Follow the installer steps. Silk can be installed per-user (no admin required).
4. Launch Silk from the Start menu or desktop shortcut.

Note

Silk’s Windows installer is signed, but because Silk is a newer app, Windows SmartScreen may still show a warning the first time. Click More info → Run anyway. It isn’t a sign of a problem, and the warning fades as more people install Silk.

First launch

When you first open Silk, it asks you to activate it with the email address you bought it with. See Activation & License.

Then it walks you through a short onboarding flow to grant the permissions it needs:

1. Microphone — required for push-to-talk voice input.
2. Screen Recording — required on macOS for screen capture and AI analysis.

You must grant both permissions before Silk can function fully. See Permissions Setup for details.

After permissions are granted, Silk’s icon appears in your menu bar (macOS) or system tray (Windows). Click it to open the companion panel.

Can’t see the icon? A full menu bar or the Windows tray overflow (^) can hide it. Press ⌃⇧Space (Control+Shift+Space) on Mac or Ctrl+Shift+Space on Windows to open Silk from anywhere. More fixes in Troubleshooting.

Updating

Silk downloads updates automatically in the background and installs them when it restarts. When one is ready, a banner at the top of the panel says so: click Restart. Nothing is lost on restart. See Updating Silk.