Synomy Notes
2.6.0 beta Download

Installing Synomy Notes.

A few minutes, once. The first time you open it, your computer warns you about it. Here is exactly what to click.

On a Mac

You need macOS 11 Big Sur or later. On Big Sur and Monterey, update Safari to 16.4 or later first.

  1. Check which chip your Mac has.

    Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and choose About This Mac. If it says Chip: Apple M1 (or M2, M3, M4…), you have an Apple chip. If it says Processor with Intel in it, you have an Intel chip.

  2. Download the right disk image.

    On the download section, pick Mac with Apple chip or Mac with Intel chip. The file lands in your Downloads folder and ends in .dmg.

    The wrong one will not open, so this step matters.

  3. Drag Synomy into Applications.

    Double-click the .dmg file. A window opens with the Synomy icon and an Applications folder. Drag the Synomy icon onto the Applications folder and wait for the copy to finish.

    Don't open Synomy from this window. It has to run from Applications, or updates can't install.

  4. Open it once, and see the warning.

    Open Finder, click Applications in the sidebar and double-click Synomy. Your Mac says it could not verify the app and won't open it. That's expected. Click Done (or OK), and not Move to Trash.

  5. Allow it in System Settings.

    This is the step for macOS 15 Sequoia and later:

    • Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
    • Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
    • Scroll all the way down to Security. You'll see “Synomy” was blocked to protect your Mac.
    • Click Open Anyway, then confirm with your Mac's password or Touch ID.
    • One more box appears. Click Open Anyway there too.

    No Open Anyway button? It only shows for about an hour after the warning. Double-click Synomy again, then go straight back to this screen.

    On macOS 14 Sonoma or earlier, it's quicker

    In Applications, hold Control and click Synomy (or right-click it). Choose Open from the menu, then click Open in the box that appears. The System Settings route above works too.

    Not sure which macOS you have? It's on the first line of About This Mac.

  6. Say yes to what it asks for.

    Synomy now opens, and every time after that it opens like any other app. When macOS asks whether it may use the microphone, record screen and system audio, or find devices on your local network, click Allow: recording meetings and working with friends need those.

    You can eject the Synomy disk in Finder's sidebar and delete the .dmg file from Downloads.

On Windows

You need Windows 10 (version 2004 or later) or Windows 11. You don't need an administrator password.

  1. Download the installer.

    On the download section, pick Windows. The file lands in your Downloads folder and ends in setup.exe.

  2. If your browser hesitates, keep the file.

    Some browsers say the file isn't commonly downloaded. In Microsoft Edge: open the downloads list, hover over the file, click the three dots (…), choose Keep, then Show more and Keep anyway. In Chrome, click Keep or Download anyway.

  3. Open it, and see the blue warning.

    Double-click the setup file. A blue box says Windows protected your PC, with only a Don't run button. That's expected. Click the small More info link under the text.

  4. Click Run anyway.

    The box now shows the file's name and a second button. Click Run anyway.

  5. Click through the installer.

    Keep the suggested folder, click Install, then Finish. On an older Windows 10 PC it may ask to fetch the WebView2 Runtime from Microsoft: click Yes, Synomy needs it to draw its window.

  6. Open Synomy Notes.

    It's in the Start menu as Synomy Notes. If Windows asks whether to allow it on your network, allow it on private networks, so your computers can find each other. Windows asks for the microphone the first time you record.

“This app has been blocked for your protection” and no Run anyway?

That's Smart App Control, which some new Windows 11 PCs have switched on. It blocks every app that hasn't paid for a Microsoft certificate and offers no button to continue. The only way past it is turning it off in Windows Security › App & browser control › Smart App Control. Once off, Windows won't let you turn it back on without resetting the PC, so decide that for yourself.

Why the warning?

Apple and Microsoft show it for every app whose maker hasn't bought their yearly signing certificate. Synomy hasn't. The warning is about who signed the file, not about what the app does.

You only do this once. Synomy updates itself from inside the app, and every update is checked against its own signature before it's installed.

Stuck on a step this page doesn't cover? Ask in our Discord community.