Install on a Mac

Download Nifty for Mac, set it up and keep it up to date.

On this page

Nifty for Mac keeps your data on your Mac, or it can open a Nifty server. It needs a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later.

Install

Run Nifty from Applications, not from the disk image or Downloads. It can only update itself from Applications.

Choose Get started.
Choose Keep my data on this Mac.
Nifty gets ready and opens. Follow its welcome: check your name, choose your details, colours and backups, and start the free trial or add your licence key (Setting up Nifty).

You don't need a password. Nifty signs you in by itself each time it opens.

The first run also asks whether to Send error reports when something goes wrong. This is off unless you tick it. See Error reports and privacy.

To keep your data somewhere else, choose Advanced options in step 2 and choose a folder. If the folder already has Nifty data, Nifty opens it as it was (Open my data).
To use a Nifty server instead, choose Use Nifty on a server, type its address and choose Connect. You sign in with the server's username and password, and with a code if it asks for one (Signing in).

To use Nifty in a browser or on another device too, run it on a server. See Why run a server.

Nifty checks for a new version once a day, downloads it in the background and installs it when you quit.

To install it now, choose Nifty → Restart to Update. You come back to the page you were on, and anything you're typing is kept.
To check for an update yourself, choose Nifty → Check for Updates….
Versions released after your licence's Updates until date aren't installed, and Nifty → Desktop Settings… → Updates tells you so. See When your updates end.
Nifty → Desktop Settings… → Updates has Check for updates automatically, which is on by default. It also has Beta releases, which give you new features before they're stable and are on if you installed a beta. Turning beta releases off never takes you back a version.

Choose Nifty → Desktop Settings…, and then Data. You can switch between this Mac and a server, or choose another folder.

What	Where
Your data (by default)	`~/Library/Application Support/Nifty`
Backups	`~/Library/Application Support/Nifty Backups` (Backups)
The app's own settings	`~/Library/Application Support/io.niftyware.desktop`

To keep a copy elsewhere, see Backups. To keep your data encrypted, turn on FileVault in System Settings → Privacy & Security → FileVault.

Quit Nifty and drag it from Applications to the Bin. Your data stays in its folder until you delete it.