Install zd on macOS

Use a release DMG for normal installation. Building from source is useful when testing a change.

Install a release

  1. Open the latest GitHub Release.

  2. Download the DMG and matching .sha256 file for your Mac. uname -m prints arm64 on Apple Silicon and x86_64 on an Intel Mac.

  3. From the download directory, verify the image before opening it:

    shasum -a 256 -c zd_<version>_<architecture>.dmg.sha256
    
  4. Open the DMG and drag zd.app to Applications.

  5. The v0.1 build is ad-hoc signed, not notarized. If Gatekeeper blocks the first launch, use the Open Anyway control in System Settings → Privacy & Security after confirming the checksum.

To make the terminal command available, create a link in a directory already on PATH. This command fails instead of replacing an existing zd entry:

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin
sudo ln -s /Applications/zd.app/Contents/MacOS/zd /usr/local/bin/zd
command -v zd

Install a source build

From a checkout with the supported Node and Rust toolchains installed:

npm ci
npm run package:macos
sudo npm run install:macos

The installer stages a complete replacement app, preserves no stale bundle files, and refuses to overwrite an unrelated /usr/local/bin/zd command.

Update

For a release build, replace /Applications/zd.app with the app from the new verified DMG. The existing command link continues to point into it. For a source build, rerun the package and install commands above.

Remove

Inspect the command link before removing exactly these installed paths:

ls -l /usr/local/bin/zd
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/zd
sudo rm -rf /Applications/zd.app

Your Markdown files are ordinary files and are not removed with the application.