# Installation

Polyscope is a desktop app for macOS and Windows that lets you run multiple AI coding agents in parallel. Each agent works in its own isolated workspace — a [clone](/docs/core-concepts/workflows#what-is-copy-on-write) of your repository (copy-on-write on macOS) — so they never interfere with each other. Instead of waiting for one agent to finish, you spin up multiple workspaces and have agents working on different features, bug fixes, or refactors at the same time.

Prefer to work from a browser? You can also run Polyscope as a [standalone server](/docs/getting-started/standalone-server) on Linux and connect to it from any browser or phone — see [Remote Access](/docs/digging-deeper/remote).

![Polyscope main window](/images/docs/intro.png)

## Prerequisites

Before installing Polyscope, make sure you have the following:

- **macOS 13.3+ or Windows** — Polyscope ships as a desktop app for both
- **Git** — Required for repository management and workspace cloning
- **Claude CLI** — Required if using Claude as your coding agent ([install instructions](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code))
- **Codex CLI** — Required if using OpenAI Codex as your coding agent ([install instructions](https://developers.openai.com/codex/quickstart))
- **Cursor CLI** — Required if using Cursor as your coding agent ([install instructions](https://cursor.com/cli))
- **GitHub CLI** (`gh`) — Required for creating pull requests and working with GitHub issues ([install instructions](https://cli.github.com/))

## Download and Install

1. Download Polyscope for [macOS](/download/latest/darwin) or [Windows](/download/latest/win32)
2. **macOS:** open the `.dmg` and drag Polyscope to your Applications folder. **Windows:** run the downloaded installer.
3. Launch Polyscope
4. Login with GitHub

> Running headless on Linux instead? Follow the [Standalone Server](/docs/getting-started/standalone-server) guide.

![Polyscope login](/images/docs/sign-in.png)

## First Launch

When you first open Polyscope, you'll see a welcome screen with an overview of keyboard shortcuts. The sidebar on the left lists your repositories and workspaces, and the main area is ready for you to get started.

![Polyscope welcome screen](/images/docs/first-launch.png)

From here, head to the [Quickstart](/docs/getting-started/quickstart) guide to add your first repository and create your first workspace.

## Data Storage

Polyscope stores its data in `~/.polyscope/`:

- `polyscope.db` — SQLite database with your repositories, workspaces, and settings
- `clones/` — Workspace clones of your repositories (one per workspace; copy-on-write on macOS)