The desktop app
Everything in this section describes one product served from one place — the Bowrain server. You reach a workspace through two clients: a browser and a native desktop app. They are equal real-time clients of the same server, so presence, edits, reviews, terminology, and content memory are shared live across both. The pages on workspaces, the editor, memory, terminology, brand governance, and connectors apply to both clients; this page covers only what is different about the desktop app.
The native desktop client is a real-time working copy of the server — the same dashboard, editor, and reviews as the browser.
A working copy of the server
The desktop app is a working copy of the server, never a separate source of truth. The authoritative content, content memory, terminology, and project configuration live on the server; the desktop holds only:
- 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.
Neither is a source of truth. If the local cache is cleared, the desktop
re-fetches everything from the server. Authoring local files and project
configuration — the kapi.yaml recipe with its content, flows, plugins, languages,
and brand — is kapi's job, not the desktop
app's.
What the desktop adds: offline editing
The browser client is always online. 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 and replay in order the moment you reconnect, then rejoin the live session. You never lose work to a dropped connection, and you do not have to think about sync — it happens on reconnect. See Real-time collaboration for the shared presence and live-update model both clients use.
Web and desktop, in sync
Both clients connect to the same server and the same workspaces. Which you reach for is a matter of where you work, not what you can do.
| Browser | Desktop app | |
|---|---|---|
| Install | Nothing — open a URL | Native app (macOS / Linux / Windows) |
| Real-time presence & live updates | Yes | Yes |
| Translation editor, memory & terminology explorers | Yes | Yes |
| Brand, terminology & memory context | Yes | Yes |
| AI/MT translation | 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 translators, 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 (e.g.
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. The desktop does not author local-file projects there — creating and configuring projects is kapi's job. Connect to a server to open real projects. Once connected, its workspaces, projects, and resources 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 — sourcing content from a filesystem or a git
checkout is a server-side concern, and a local codebase syncs in 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.