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Installation

Requirements​

  • macOS 13 (Ventura) or later
  • Apple Silicon or Intel Mac — releases are universal binaries

Each Branda release ships as a single disk image, Branda-<version>.dmg, on the GitHub Releases page.

  1. Download the latest Branda-<version>.dmg and open it.
  2. Double-click Branda.pkg and follow the installer. It places:
    • Branda.app — the status bar app — in /Applications
    • branda-cli — the command-line tool — in /usr/local/bin
  3. Start Branda from /Applications (or Spotlight). The Branda icon appears in your status bar; there is no Dock icon and no regular window.

The disk image also contains a Read Me.txt with these steps.

"Unidentified developer" warning​

Branda releases are not notarized by Apple (the project doesn't use a paid Apple Developer ID), so macOS Gatekeeper will likely block the installer the first time. To proceed:

  1. Double-click Branda.pkg again — macOS usually offers an Open Anyway option the second time.
  2. Or open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down to the notice about the blocked installer, and click Open Anyway.

Verify the installation​

branda-cli --help

If your shell can't find branda-cli, make sure /usr/local/bin is on your PATH.

Build from source​

Branda is a Swift package with no third-party dependencies. You need Xcode or the Swift toolchain (Swift 6), plus mise if you want to use the project's tasks.

git clone git@github.com:mpowr-it/branda.git
cd branda
mise install          # provisions the project toolchain

mise run build        # swift build
mise run test         # swift test
mise run menubar      # build and run the status bar app

Without mise, use the Swift toolchain directly:

swift build
swift run branda-cli --help
swift run BrandaMenuBar

To build the same installer artifacts as a release locally:

mise run release -- 1.2.3
# -> dist/Branda-1.2.3.dmg (plus the intermediate .app and .pkg)

Where your data lives​

Branda stores everything locally in open, human-readable files:

~/Library/Application Support/Branda/
├── settings.json                                    (only once you change a shortcut)
└── organizations/
    ├── <orgID>.json                                 (+ <orgID>.icon)
    └── <orgID>/brands/
        ├── <brandID>.json                           (+ <brandID>.icon)
        └── <brandID>/assets/
            └── <assetID>.json                       (+ <assetID>.payload for file assets)

Colors and website links are stored inline in their JSON record; files (images, fonts, videos, PDFs, Markdown) keep their raw bytes in a .payload file next to it. To back up or move your brand library, copy this folder.

Uninstall​

  1. Quit Branda: open its settings (gear button or ⌘, in the popover) and click Quit branda.
  2. Delete /Applications/Branda.app and /usr/local/bin/branda-cli.
  3. Optionally delete your data: ~/Library/Application Support/Branda/.