Getting started

ObjectExplorer is one program, objectexplorer. Opened from Finder, the Start menu or an application menu, it is the desktop window. Typed in a terminal, run by npx or by Homebrew, it is the command line: a server on http://127.0.0.1:9421 that opens the same app in your browser.

Download

Every link below fetches the newest release.

Platform	Download
macOS, Apple silicon	objectexplorer-app-darwin-arm64.dmg
macOS, Apple silicon	objectexplorer-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
macOS, Intel	objectexplorer-app-darwin-x64.dmg
macOS, Intel	objectexplorer-darwin-x64.tar.gz
Windows, x64 / AMD64	objectexplorer-windows-x64.msix
Windows, x64 / AMD64	objectexplorer-windows-x64.zip
Windows, ARM64	objectexplorer-windows-arm64.msix
Windows, ARM64	objectexplorer-windows-arm64.zip
Linux, x64 / AMD64	objectexplorer-linux-x64.tar.gz
Linux, ARM64	objectexplorer-linux-arm64.tar.gz

Older versions, and the release notes for each one, are on the releases page.

macOS

Open the .dmg and drag ObjectExplorer to the Applications folder beside it, as its window says. The app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized, so it opens on the first double-click. It needs macOS 13 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.

The .tar.gz is the command line alone, one file objectexplorer beside oe, its short name. Put both somewhere on your PATH.

Windows

Open the signed .msix and Windows installs it: a Start menu entry, an icon, and an entry in Add or remove programs that uninstalls cleanly. SmartScreen may still show a notice the first time.

The portable .zip runs where you unpack it, with nothing installed: ObjectExplorer.exe is the window, objectexplorer.com beside it is the command line, and oe.exe is the short name.

Linux

One .tar.gz per processor. The binary runs on any distribution with glibc 2.28 or later: Debian 10, RHEL 8, Ubuntu 20.04 and newer. The window needs Wayland.

tar -xzf objectexplorer-linux-x64.tar.gz
./objectexplorer                  # the command line: opens the app in your browser
./objectexplorer window=true      # the desktop window

To have it in the application menu, for your user alone, with no root and no install script:

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin ~/.local/share
cp -P objectexplorer oe objectexplorer.install.json ~/.local/bin/
cp -R share/. ~/.local/share/

The menu entry runs objectexplorer window=true, so ~/.local/bin must be on your PATH. To remove it, delete those files again. The README.txt in the archive says the same.

Homebrew

On macOS and Linux:

brew install knockdata/tap/objectexplorer              # the command line, and oe
brew install --cask knockdata/tap/objectexplorer-app   # the desktop app (macOS)

To keep the command line running in the background, started with the machine:

brew services start objectexplorer

It then serves the app on http://127.0.0.1:9421 without opening a browser. Homebrew updates both: brew upgrade.

Run it with npx

No install at all, if you already have Node on your machine:

npx @knockdata/objectexplorer

npm fetches the one binary built for your machine, and npx starts it with the arguments as you gave them. It starts a local server, opens a browser tab, and shows the folder you ran it from. Every argument is optional, and written name=value:

npx @knockdata/objectexplorer ~/data http_port=9500 open=false

The rest are on the command line. If PowerShell refuses to run npx, see troubleshooting.

Or open it in a browser

objectexplorer.com/app runs the same app with nothing installed, in instant mode. It reads what you give it, a local folder you pick or a share link somebody sent you, and parses it in your browser rather than on a server.

What needs a machine of your own stays in the desktop app and the command line: cloud connections, the MCP door for agents, Python, the writing tool's sources, and Check for Updates. The browser version leaves those panes out rather than showing one that can only fail.

The download icon above the account icon, at the bottom of the activity bar, is Download app: every installer, with your computer's platform already open.

Signing in

The account icon at the bottom of the activity bar, above the settings gear, is where you sign in: with Google, or with an email address. The first sign-in turns on Pro for seven days, and any limit you run into, such as a fourth bucket of one provider on the Free plan, offers the same sign-in.

Once signed in, the icon's menu shows your name and email, and Plan…, which opens Settings → Plan. Sign out forgets your name and picture on this machine; your plan stays as it is.

At objectexplorer.com/app the sign-in is kept in your browser: the week of Pro counts there, and signing out, or clearing the site's data, ends it.

First run

1. A short tour lights up the activity bar, the tree, Add a folder, the tabs, search and settings, one card at a time. The ? at the bottom of the activity bar shows it again; see the tour and what is new.
2. The tree shows the folder you started from, or is empty in the desktop window. Add a folder on this machine with + in the sidebar's header, which opens Settings → Local folder, or connect a cloud account in Settings — see connecting storage.
3. Click a file and it opens as itself: a table as rows, a picture as a picture. A data table opens as a notebook, already queried.

Next: your data stays here.