Installation

ArcBrush is a native desktop application available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The editor is free for personal and non-commercial use and needs no account; all 97 nodes work immediately after installation, except the two Cloud nodes (Remove Background and Upscale), which send images through ArcBrush’s cloud service to a third-party provider for processing and require a free account. Commercial use and the 32-bit float pipeline need a Pro license - see Pro License & Trial for how the license and trial work, and the licensing FAQ for when Pro applies.

System Requirements

	Windows	macOS	Linux
OS	Windows 10 or later	macOS 12 (Monterey) or later	Ubuntu 22.04+ or equivalent (glibc 2.35+)
Architecture	x64	Apple Silicon (arm64)	x86_64
Format	.exe installer	.dmg disk image	.AppImage portable binary
Download size	8.9 MB	11.4 MB	15.6 MB
Installed size	25.1 MB	32.3 MB	N/A (portable)
GPU	Optional (OpenCL accelerates supported nodes)	Not used (CPU only on Apple Silicon)	Optional (OpenCL accelerates supported nodes)

The Linux build is tested on Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04. It runs on any distribution with glibc 2.35 or newer, which includes Debian 12, Fedora 36+, Pop!_OS 22.04+, and Linux Mint 21+.

Download

• Download for Windows
• Download for macOS
• Download for Linux

Windows Installation

1. Download the installer (.exe).
2. Run the installer and follow the prompts. No admin rights required.

macOS Installation

1. Download the .dmg file.
2. Open the disk image and drag ArcBrush to your Applications folder.

If macOS blocks the app on first launch with a “cannot be opened” or “developer cannot be verified” warning, right-click (or Control+click) the ArcBrush app in your Applications folder and choose Open. macOS will then ask you to confirm once, after which the app launches normally on every subsequent run.

Linux Installation

ArcBrush ships as a single AppImage that runs on any modern Linux distribution. No package manager, no root access, and no installation needed.

1. Download the .AppImage file.
2. Make it executable. Either right-click the file in your file manager, open Properties, and check Allow executing file as program, or run in a terminal:

   chmod +x ArcBrush-*.AppImage

3. Run it. Double-click the file in your file manager, or run it from the terminal:

   ./ArcBrush-*.AppImage

You can move the AppImage anywhere you like (for example ~/Applications/ or ~/.local/bin/) and it will continue to work.

FUSE requirement

AppImages mount themselves at runtime using FUSE 2. Ubuntu 22.04 and newer ship with FUSE 3 by default, so you may need to install the compatibility package once:

sudo apt install libfuse2

On Fedora the equivalent is sudo dnf install fuse-libs. If you cannot install FUSE, you can extract and run the AppImage without it:

./ArcBrush-*.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run

Desktop integration

ArcBrush registers itself with your desktop environment automatically the first time you run the AppImage. No extra tools required.

After the first launch you’ll get:

• A launcher entry under Graphics in your application menu (GNOME Activities, KDE menu, etc.).
• A custom icon on .arcb project files in your file manager.
• Double-clicking a .arcb file opens it in ArcBrush.

The integration is per-user. Everything lives under ~/.local/share/ and never touches system directories or requires root.

If you move or rename the AppImage later, the next launch detects the new path and updates the launcher entry automatically.

For manual control:

./ArcBrush-*.AppImage --install     # Re-register (rarely needed)
./ArcBrush-*.AppImage --uninstall   # Remove launcher entry and MIME registration
./ArcBrush-*.AppImage --status      # Show what's currently registered

First Launch

The first time ArcBrush opens, it asks you to accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, with the full text of each shown in the prompt. This is a one-time step on every platform; the prompt only returns if the terms are updated.

Updating ArcBrush

ArcBrush checks for new versions on launch (you can turn this off under Settings > Privacy). When an update is available:

• Windows, macOS, and Linux: ArcBrush downloads, verifies, installs, and relaunches the new version in place, without leaving the app. On Linux the running AppImage is replaced with the new one.

What’s Included

• 97 node types across 11 categories, all included free for personal use (the two Cloud nodes have usage limits).
• GPU acceleration via OpenCL when available.
• No account required for the editor; the two Cloud nodes (Remove Background and Upscale) need a free account.

Next Steps

• Watch the Getting Started Tutorial for a guided video walkthrough.
• Read Your First Graph for the step-by-step text version.
• Working commercially, or need the 32-bit pipeline? See Pro License & Trial.