The desktop app
The Bowrain desktop app is a native client for the same workspace you open in the browser. It adds offline editing; everything else matches the browser.
The pages on workspaces, the hub, review, the editor, memory, terms and connectors apply to both clients. The sections below cover what is different about the desktop app.
A working copy of the server
The desktop app is a working copy of the server. The server holds the content, content memory, terms and project configuration. The desktop app holds:
- a content cache, so a project opens fast and stays readable offline, and
- an offline edit queue, which holds your changes when the network drops and replays them to the server, in order, on reconnect.
If the local cache is cleared, the desktop app fetches everything again from
the server. To work on local files and project configuration, such as the
kapi.yaml recipe, use kapi.
What the desktop adds: offline editing
The browser client needs a connection. The desktop client keeps working when the network drops: on a flight, in a tunnel, or during server maintenance. Edits, reviews and memory updates made offline queue locally. When you reconnect, they replay in order and the app rejoins the live session.
Each queued edit names the version of the translation it was made against. If a teammate changed that translation while you were offline, the app keeps their version and lists yours, with its wording, as a change that was not sent. You then make it again on the current translation (see Troubleshooting). See Real-time collaboration for the presence and live-update model both clients use.
Web and desktop, in sync
Both clients connect to the same server and the same workspaces. Choose by where you work.
| Browser | Desktop app | |
|---|---|---|
| Install | Nothing; open a URL | Native app (macOS / Linux / Windows) |
| Real-time presence & live updates | Yes | Yes |
| Context hub, review session, editor, memory & terms explorers | Yes | Yes |
| Voice, terms & memory context | Yes | Yes |
| AI drafting | Yes | Yes |
| Works offline | No (always online) | Yes: edits queue, sync on reconnect |
| Local footprint | Browser session | Cache only: content cache, offline edit queue, memory and terms mirrors |
| Best for | Quick access, reviewers, occasional contributors | Daily contributors, large files, unreliable connectivity |
Installation
Install via Homebrew (brew install --cask neokapi/tap/bowrain) or download a
build for your platform; the installation page
carries the direct, version-pinned links for the current release.
First sign-in
- Launch Bowrain.
- Open Settings and enter your server URL (for example
https://app.bowrain.cloud). - Click Connect. This opens the login flow in your browser. After authorization, your workspaces appear in the workspace rail.
- Pick a workspace, then open a project from its project list.
Until you connect, the rail shows a single placeholder Personal workspace. To create and configure local-file projects, use kapi. Connect to a server to open real projects. Once connected, the workspaces, projects and resources you see are the server's, the same ones the team works on in the browser. See Workspaces & members for the role and permission model, and The editor for the editing surfaces both clients share.
Remote connectors only
Pulling content from a CMS, a git host, or a design tool is configured
server-side through connectors; both clients edit the
resulting project. The desktop app itself offers only remote/CMS connectors
(WordPress, Figma, HubSpot). The local-filesystem connectors (file, git) are
registered server-side only. A local codebase reaches the workspace through
kapi (kapi push / kapi pull).
File export
In the browser, Export triggers a file download. On the desktop, the file is saved to disk and opened in your system file manager. The export itself produces the same file in its original format with all translations applied. See The editor.
Platform
Bowrain Desktop runs as a single native application on macOS, Windows, and Linux; no additional runtimes or dependencies are needed.