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By the end of this page the desktop app is running in your system tray and paired with the browser extension. The desktop app is the companion tier: it adds dynamic value sources, git-backed workspace sync, and a local proxy on top of what the extension does alone.

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Install

Every installer is on the releases page, with SHA-256 checksums. Installers are signed, and the app keeps itself current with built-in updates (you stay in control of when it restarts).
Download the .dmg for your Mac, open it, and drag Open Headers into Applications:The app is signed and notarized. A .pkg installer ships alongside each .dmg for managed deployments.

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The tray model

Open Headers is a background app: after launch it lives in the system tray (menu bar on macOS) and does its critical work — serving the extension, refreshing sources, syncing workspaces — without any window open. Open the workbench window from the tray icon when you want the UI; closing the window leaves the app running.

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Pair the extension

Nothing to configure: the desktop app listens on 127.0.0.1:8137 and the extension connects to it automatically when both run on the same machine. The extension’s connection indicator shows when the pairing is live, and dynamic values from the desktop app become available to your rules.

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Next steps