Install the desktop app

Parley runs in any browser with nothing to install. The desktop app adds what a browser tab cannot do: models far larger than the browser ceiling running on your own hardware, a real terminal and filesystem, and full offline use once a model is downloaded.

1. Install from PowerShell

Parley installs through Scoop, a package manager for Windows, rather than a file you download and open. Scoop fetches Parley from parley.live, checks its fingerprint and installs it for you only: no administrator rights, and none of the "unknown publisher" warnings Windows shows for a downloaded installer.

Open PowerShell, not Command Prompt (the commands are not recognised there). If you do not have Scoop yet, install it first:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://get.scoop.sh | Invoke-Expression

Then install Git (Scoop needs it to add Parley's package list), add the list, and install Parley:

scoop install git
scoop bucket add parley https://www.parley.live/scoop/parley-bucket.git
scoop install parley

2. What the commands do

1. Download Parley from parley.live and check its SHA-256 fingerprint against the one we publish.
2. Unpack it into your Scoop apps folder, for you only. No setup window opens and no administrator rights are needed.
3. Add Parley to your Start menu and put a Parley shortcut on your desktop.
4. Add the parley command, so typing parley in PowerShell opens the app too.

3. First run

Parley opens on the sign-in screen. Sign in with the same email and password you use on the web; your chats and projects follow you across both. New to Parley? Choose Create an account: the app opens the sign-up page in your browser, and once your account is made you press Connect there and the app signs you in by itself.

Once you are signed in, a short setup runs once: it reads your hardware, offers to install the local AI engine, and recommends a first model sized to your machine. A last, optional step sets up drawing pictures offline. You can skip setup at any point and use cloud models instead.

4. The local AI engine

Local models run through Ollama. Parley downloads the official installer for you and opens it; you approve the install the same way you would for any other app. Nothing is installed silently.

Updating and removing

When a new version is out, a card in the corner of the app tells you. Open Settings, then Updates, and press Update now: Parley closes, installs the update and opens again by itself. This can take a few minutes, and your chats and settings are kept. Nothing updates without your click.

To update from PowerShell instead, close Parley first (Scoop does not update an app that is running). The first line refreshes Scoop and its package lists, the second updates Parley:

scoop update
scoop update parley

scoop uninstall parley

Desktop or browser?