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Install Waggle and start your trial
About two minutes. Every bee is free for 14 days from the first time you open Waggle. No card and no account.
You’ll need an Apple silicon Mac (M1 or later) with macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, and an internet connection the first time you open Waggle.
1. Download Waggle
- Go to the Download page.
- Click Download for Mac. The file, Waggle.dmg, goes to your Downloads folder.
The download isn’t public yet. Until it is, the Download page says so. Come back to this guide once it’s there.
What success looks like: Waggle.dmg is in your Downloads folder.
2. Put Waggle in Applications
- Open Waggle.dmg from your Downloads folder. A window opens with Waggle and an Applications folder.
- Drag Waggle onto Applications.
- Close the window. In the Finder sidebar, click the eject button next to Waggle to put the disk image away.
What success looks like: Waggle is in your Applications folder.
3. Open Waggle for the first time
- Open your Applications folder and double-click Waggle.
- macOS says “Waggle is an app downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?” Click Open. That’s the only question at the start.
Waggle is signed with an Apple Developer ID and checked by Apple (notarised), so it opens like any other app.
What success looks like: a hexagon appears in the menu bar at the top of your screen. That’s Waggle. Your 14-day trial has started.
4. Check your trial
- Click the hexagon in the menu bar → Settings…
- Click the Licence tab.
What success looks like: it says “Free trial: 14 days left, every bee included”. The number goes down each day.
Waggle needs the internet once to start the trial. Until then, Settings sync and iMessage on another Mac wait. Everything else works.
What macOS will ask you to allow
Nothing more yet. Each permission is asked for once, by the first bee that needs it, never when you first open Waggle. Most bees only need their own sign-in.
| Permission | Which bee asks | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Full Disk Access | iMessage | macOS keeps your messages in a protected folder. |
| Automation → Messages | iMessage, the first time you send | Waggle sends through the Messages app. |
| Accessibility | iMessage, the first time you read a group chat | To mark those chats read in Messages. |
| Calendars | Calendar and Google Calendar | To read the calendars in the Mac’s Calendar app. Never to change them. |
| Local Network | Web bees on your home network (macOS 15 or later) | To reach devices such as Home Assistant. |
| Downloads Folder | Web bees, the first time you download a file | To save the file. |
Waggle doesn’t use your camera, microphone, location, Contacts, Photos or notifications. If you click Don’t Allow, nothing breaks: only that feature waits, and the bee tells you what’s missing.
Updates
Waggle updates itself. Once a day it checks for a new version, downloads it in the background and installs it the next time Waggle quits. Your bees, settings, sign-ins and licence stay as they are, and so do the permissions you’ve allowed. With a licence, new versions come with Updates & Relay: included for 12 months, then £9.99 per 12 months if you want them.
To update straight away: hexagon in the menu bar → Check for Updates… What success looks like: on the newest version it says “You’re up to date!” To change how updates work: Settings → About → Updates.
On a work Mac
If your Mac only allows apps from the App Store & Known Developers, Waggle is allowed: it’s signed with a Developer ID. If your organisation blocks apps it hasn’t approved, ask your IT team. Please don’t try to get round your organisation’s settings.
If something’s not right
- macOS says Waggle can’t be opened
- My work Mac only allows “App Store & Known Developers”
- What will macOS ask me to allow?
- What do I need to run Waggle?
- Is there a free trial?
- Updates
Still stuck? Email hello@waggle.software.
Next: Add your first bee