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Installing MindMax

MindMax runs on macOS and Windows. Download links are on the download page.

Requirements​

  • macOS on Apple silicon (M1 or newer). Intel Macs are not supported in this version.
  • Windows 10 or later, 64-bit.

macOS​

  1. Open the .dmg and drag MindMax to Applications.
  2. Open it. The macOS build is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarised by Apple, so it opens like any other app — at most macOS asks once to confirm you want to open something downloaded from the internet.
  3. MindMax opens on a knowledge base it creates for you, with a few sample documents in it. See opening your first folder.

Windows​

The recommended way is the Microsoft Store:

  1. Open the Store page and choose Get (or Install). The Store version is signed by Microsoft, so there is no warning to click through.
  2. MindMax opens on a knowledge base it creates for you.

If your computer cannot use the Microsoft Store — some work machines block it, and Windows LTSC editions do not have it — download the .exe installer from the download page instead:

  1. Run the installer. It installs for your user account only and does not ask for an administrator password.
  2. SmartScreen warns about an unrecognised publisher, because the .exe installer is not code-signed yet. Click More info, then Run anyway. You only do this once.
  3. MindMax opens on a knowledge base it creates for you.

Why the installer warns​

Windows shows SmartScreen for installers that are not code-signed. The macOS build is signed and notarised, and the Microsoft Store version is signed by Microsoft; the certificate for the .exe installer is still being sorted out. We would rather tell you here than have you meet the warning with no explanation and assume the worst.

Updates​

MindMax checks for updates on its own and downloads them in the background. Nothing interrupts you while that happens; when a new version is ready, a small Restart to update prompt appears. Choose Later and a badge in the status bar keeps the update one click away.

This works on macOS and with the Windows .exe installer. The Microsoft Store version is updated by the Store instead, so it has no Check for updates button; a new version reaches the Store after Microsoft's review, usually a little later than the download page.

If an install ever cannot update itself, the prompt says the update has to be installed by hand and links to the download page; install the new version over the old one. Your knowledge bases and settings are kept.

Outside the Store version, you can check at any time from Settings → General.

First thing to do​

Ask the assistant what is in a folder you know well — getting up to speed on a folder takes about ten minutes and is the quickest way to see whether this is useful to you. Or try reading a paper outside your field.

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