Song Cage Desktop is the same writing canvas this manual describes, packaged as a native app for macOS and Windows. It installs locally, works fully offline, and syncs to your cloud library the moment you sign in. This chapter covers installing it, the trial and license, and the few places where it behaves differently from the browser.
What you'll learn
- What the desktop app is, and how it differs from using Song Cage in a browser
- System requirements and where to download
- How to install on a Mac (Apple Silicon or Intel)
- How to install on Windows, including the SmartScreen prompt you may see
- How the 14-day trial and the one-time license work
- What works offline, and what sign-in adds
- How auto-updates work
Everything in the previous eighteen chapters applies to the desktop app unchanged. The chord palette, the modulation panel, the word tools, playback, export: it is the same canvas. What the desktop app changes is where Song Cage lives (your dock or taskbar instead of a browser tab) and what it needs to run (nothing, not even a network connection).
Song Cage Desktop reached 1.0 in August 2026, after a long public beta. It is stable for daily writing, and updates land often (see §19.8).
19.1 What the desktop app is
Song Cage Desktop is a native application for macOS and Windows. Compared to running Song Cage in a browser, the differences are at the operating-system level:
- It lives in your dock or taskbar. One click opens it, no browser session or tab hunting involved.
- It works fully offline. Songs are stored locally on your machine. The word tools (rhymes, slant rhymes, synonyms, associations) ship inside the app, so even a rhyme lookup needs no network call.
- It has a native menu bar. File, Edit, and View menus with standard keyboard shortcuts for things like creating a song and exporting MIDI or PDF (see Keyboard Shortcuts & Tips).
- It remembers its window. Size and position persist across launches.
- It can read your folders. Point it at a folder of voice memos or notes and it walks the whole tree, subfolders included, and remembers the permission between launches. A browser can only take what you hand it each time. See The Ideas Inbox.
- It is small. About 40 MB installed.
If you only ever write at a desk with good Wi-Fi, the web app at app.songcage.com gives you nearly the identical experience; importing a whole folder of recordings in one grant is the main thing it cannot do. The desktop app earns its place when you write on planes, in rehearsal spaces, or anywhere you want Song Cage to open instantly next to your DAW.
19.2 System requirements and downloads
| Build | Requirement |
|---|---|
| macOS (Apple Silicon) | macOS 12 or later, M1 or newer |
| macOS (Intel) | macOS 12 or later, Intel x86_64 |
| Windows | Windows 10 or later, 64-bit |
All three installers are on the desktop page. Download the build that matches your machine; on a Mac, that means choosing between the Apple Silicon and Intel installers.
19.3 Installing on a Mac
- Download the
.dmgfor your chip (Apple Silicon or Intel) from the desktop page. - Open the
.dmgand drag Song Cage into your Applications folder. - Launch it from Applications (or Spotlight). The app is signed and notarized, so macOS opens it without security warnings.
19.4 Installing on Windows
- Download the Windows installer from the desktop page.
- Run the setup
.exeand follow the prompts.
The "Windows protected your PC" prompt
On a newly released version, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen may show a blue "Windows protected your PC" screen. This appears for any recently published app until enough people have installed it to build a reputation with Microsoft; it is not a verdict on the software. The installer is code-signed by Digital Candy LLC, the company behind Song Cage.
To continue: click More info, confirm the publisher reads Digital Candy LLC, then click Run anyway. The prompt disappears on its own as more people install each version.
19.5 The trial and the license
The desktop app starts with a 14-day free trial: the full app, no card required. Sign in once to start it; from then on it runs offline. The trial belongs to your account rather than the machine, so the desktop app and the plugin share one 14-day window and reinstalling does not restart it. After that, there is one way to keep using it:
- A one-time license. No subscription. One license covers both macOS and Windows, on all desktop computers you personally use. It includes free updates for the v1.x line, and the same license also unlocks the Song Cage plugin (AU and VST3 for your DAW): one purchase covers both native apps. See The Plugin for what it does.
A Pro subscription does not include the desktop app. As of 31 July 2026 the two are priced separately: Pro is the web and mobile plan (cloud sync, unlimited songs, export, sharing), and the one-time license is the software you own outright. See Pricing for the current price. If your desktop entitlement was granted by a subscription before that date, you keep it.
The one-time license unlocks the apps themselves; it does not include cloud sync. Syncing your songs across desktop, web, and mobile comes with a Pro subscription, exactly as described in the Collaboration and Account & Subscription chapters.
19.6 Working offline
Offline is the desktop app's natural state, not a degraded mode. With no network connection you can:
- Create and edit songs (they save to a local database on your machine)
- Use every chord, melody, and modulation tool
- Look up rhymes, slant rhymes, synonyms, and associations (the word data ships inside the app)
- Record audio and use melody detection
- Play back and arrange
Beyond the one sign-in that starts the trial or unlocks a license, no account activity is required for any of this. Your songs stay local to that machine unless you subscribe to sync.
If you activated through a subscription, the app caches your entitlement locally so it keeps working offline for extended stretches between check-ins; you don't need to be online every time you launch.
19.7 Signing in and cloud sync
Signing in connects the desktop app to your Song Cage cloud library. With a Pro plan, edits sync in the background: a song you change on the desktop shows up on the web and mobile within seconds, and offline edits sync when you reconnect.
Sign-in happens in your default browser, not inside the app: the app opens a Song Cage page where you sign in as usual, and the browser hands the session back to the app. You never type your password into the desktop app itself.
Signing out doesn't lock anything. The app keeps working offline with your local songs.
19.8 Updates
When a new version is available, a small banner appears in the app. One click downloads the update, verifies its signature, and restarts on the new version. Nothing installs on its own: the new version is applied only when you click to install and restart. You can dismiss the banner to update later, or check for updates yourself anytime from the menu (Check for Updates...).