Viremail for Mac, Windows and Linux

The desktop app is Viremail in its own window, with a few things a browser tab can't do. Everything you use in the browser is there, and new features arrive in the app the moment they are released.

What it adds

• Alerts with the window closed. Close the window and Viremail keeps running in the menu bar (Mac) or the tray (Windows), so new mail, Vire messages and calls still reach you. On Linux this starts off, because not every desktop shows a tray: turn on Keep running when closed in Settings, This device.
• Unread count on the icon, on the dock, the taskbar or the launcher.
• Email links open here. A mailto link in another app opens a new message in Viremail, with the address, subject and text filled in.
• Opens at login, quietly in the background if you like.
• Keyboard shortcuts: Cmd or Ctrl plus 1 to 9 switch apps, Cmd or Ctrl plus N starts a new message.

Opening it the first time

Download the app from the download page. This first version is not signed yet, so your computer asks before opening it the first time. Each download has a SHA-256 checksum published with the release, and the download page shows how to check that your file matches.

Mac

1. Open the .dmg file and drag Viremail into Applications.
2. Open Viremail from Applications. macOS says it could not check the app. Choose Done (not Move to Bin).
3. Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security. Scroll down to the Security section, where it says Viremail was blocked, and choose Open Anyway. If the button is not there, open Viremail from Applications once more, then look again.
4. Choose Open Anyway once more and enter your Mac password or use Touch ID. From then on Viremail opens like any other app.

Windows

1. If your browser says the file isn't commonly downloaded, choose Keep. In Edge, Keep is in the menu next to the download, and you may then need Show more and Keep anyway.
2. Open the installer. If you see Windows protected your PC, choose More info, then Run anyway.
3. Viremail installs for you alone, with no administrator password, and opens by itself.

Linux

1. On Ubuntu or Debian, use the .deb (on Ubuntu 24.04 and later, always use it). On Ubuntu you can open it with App Center. Or open a terminal in your Downloads folder and type sudo apt install ./viremail_, press Tab to fill in the rest of the file name, then press Enter.
2. On other distributions, you can use the AppImage. Make it executable, then run it. In a terminal in your Downloads folder: chmod +x Viremail-*.AppImage, then ./Viremail-*.AppImage.

New versions on a Mac. Until the app is signed, it can't update itself on a Mac. Get new versions from viremail.com/desktop and drag Viremail into Applications again, replacing the old copy. If macOS stops the new version, use Open Anyway as above. It may also ask whether Viremail can use Viremail Safe Storage in your keychain. Choose Always Allow. If you choose Deny, you will need to sign in again.

Signing in

Sign in with your email and password as usual. To use a passkey or a security key, choose Sign in with your browser: your browser opens, you sign in there (or you are already signed in), choose Open Viremail, and the app signs itself in. The app gets its own sign-in, which you can end any time in Settings, Security.

Settings

Open Settings, This device in the app to:

1. check for updates, or switch to the Beta channel to get new desktop features first;
2. turn Open at login and Start in the background on or off;
3. choose whether closing the window keeps Viremail running (on Windows and Linux; on a Mac it always does, and Cmd+Q quits);
4. make Viremail your default email app;
5. pick spelling languages (Windows and Linux; a Mac uses its own).

Alerts are set in Settings, Notifications, where you can also send yourself a test alert.

Updates

On Windows and Linux the app updates itself and asks you to restart when a new version is ready. It never restarts in the middle of a call.

On a Mac, the app can only update itself once it is signed by Apple. Until then, get new versions from the download page as described above, under New versions on a Mac. Settings, This device tells you when a build cannot update itself.

Safety

The app only ever opens viremail.com. Links to other sites open in your usual browser, and the app sends no usage data.

Removing it

First sign out in the app: click your picture, then Sign out. That ends the app's sign-in, and if you signed in with your browser, the app's own mail password is switched off too. If the computer is already gone, end its sign-in from Settings, Security on another device.

Then remove the app:

• Mac: quit Viremail, then drag it from Applications to the Bin.
• Windows: Settings, Apps, Installed apps, Viremail, Uninstall.
• Linux: remove the viremail package, or delete the AppImage.

Removing the app leaves its saved data on the computer: its settings and any mail it kept for reading offline. To remove that as well, delete this folder:

• Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Viremail (in Finder, choose Go, Go to Folder, and paste it)
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Viremail (paste it into the address bar of File Explorer)
• Linux: ~/.config/Viremail

Your mail stays in your account.