What you end up with
Astro installed like any other app on your Mac. It is free, and it stays free — there is no account, no trial and no subscription at the end of this.
- Time
- About 15 minutes
- Steps
- 6
- Cost
- Free
Install Astro
Download Astro
A complete browser — no BrowserOS, no toolchain, nothing to build. About 231 MB, Apple silicon.
Download Astro.dmgYou know this worked when: Astro.dmg finished downloading
Drag Astro to Applications
Signed and notarized, so it opens normally — no right-click trick, no Terminal.
Open the release pageYou know this worked when: Astro opens
Remove BrowserOS, keep Astro
They share a bundle ID and profile. In Applications, quit and Trash BrowserOS.app; keep Astro.
You know this worked when: Only Astro.app is in Applications
Let the search engine download
About 150 MB on your first search. Every search after that runs on your own machine.
You know this worked when: A search returns results
Choose where answers come from
Astro ships with publik API selected — no key to paste. Swap in your own route here if you prefer.
You know this worked when: A model is selected in Settings — publik API unless you changed it
Coming back later
Next time: open Astro from Applications, Spotlight, or the Dock — no terminal needed.
You know this worked when: You know how to reopen Astro
If something goes wrong
Nothing here can damage your computer, and every step can be run again safely. If a command fails, the usual cause is the step before it not having finished.
Still stuck? Tell us what happened and we will fix the guide. Include the step number and we can usually reproduce it.