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Installation
| Platform | Download |
|---|---|
| macOS — Apple Silicon | OpenFOAM.Studio-arm64.dmg |
| macOS — Intel | OpenFOAM.Studio.dmg |
| Windows x64 | OpenFOAM.Studio.Setup.exe |
Both tags are rolling builds of main, rebuilt automatically on every push. Grab the arm64 DMG for M-series Macs and the plain one for Intel.
There is nothing else to install. The app ships its own Node runtime, so no npm install, no system Node, no Python.
The binaries are not code-signed or notarized — signing certificates cost money this project does not have. Your OS will object on first launch. This is expected, not a sign of a corrupted download.
macOS — do not double-click. Right-click the app in /Applications and choose Open, then confirm. If macOS still refuses:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/OpenFOAM Studio.app"
Windows — on the SmartScreen prompt, click More info → Run anyway.
If you would rather not run an unsigned binary, Building from source takes about five minutes.
OpenFOAM Studio does not bundle OpenFOAM. It runs the solver inside a container, so Docker Desktop must be installed and running before you can solve anything.
Install it, launch it, and wait for the whale icon to stop animating. You do not need a Docker Hub account.
If you use Colima, OrbStack, Rancher Desktop, or podman instead: the app currently only looks for Docker Desktop's socket and cannot reach these. See Troubleshooting.
The app opens on a setup screen that checks four things in order and will not let you past until they pass:
| Check | What it wants |
|---|---|
| Docker daemon | Docker responding on its socket |
| OpenFOAM image |
microfluidica/openfoam:13 present locally |
| Claude CLI | Only required if you pick the Claude CLI provider |
| AI provider | A key configured, or a claude login session |
Each failing check shows the exact command that fixes it, and most have a Fix it for me button that runs it and streams the output.
The OpenFOAM image is several GB, so the first launch spends a while pulling it. Progress streams live line by line — it is not frozen.
Known issue on macOS: the "Fix it for me" button may fail with a command not found error when the app is launched from Finder, because macOS gives GUI apps a minimal
PATHthat excludes where Docker installs its CLI. If that happens, run the command yourself in a terminal:docker pull microfluidica/openfoam:13Then click Re-check.
Once Docker is green, the last step is telling the app which AI model to use. See Configuring an AI provider.
| macOS | Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| App | /Applications/OpenFOAM Studio.app |
your chosen install directory |
| Settings | ~/Library/Application Support/OpenFOAM Studio/config.json |
%APPDATA%\OpenFOAM Studio\config.json |
| Projects | ~/Library/Application Support/OpenFOAM Studio/projects/ |
%APPDATA%\OpenFOAM Studio\projects\ |
Your API keys live in config.json with 0600 permissions, on your machine only. Nothing is sent anywhere except to the provider you chose.
Download the current installer from the same release tag and install over the top. Your settings and projects live outside the app bundle, so they survive.
Delete the app (macOS) or use Add/Remove Programs (Windows). To remove your data as well, delete the settings directory listed above. The OpenFOAM Docker image stays until you remove it yourself:
docker rmi microfluidica/openfoam:13
MIT licensed. Not approved or endorsed by OpenCFD Limited, owner of the OPENFOAM and OpenCFD trademarks.