Calimero Desktop¶

Calimero Desktop is the GUI application for managing Calimero nodes, identities, contexts, and installed apps from a single interface — no CLI required.

Download Calimero Desktop :material-download:

What It Does¶

Capability	Description
Node management	Start, stop, and monitor your local Calimero node
Identity management	Create and manage root keys and client identities
Context management	Browse, create, and join application contexts
App launcher	Install apps from the registry and open them with one click
Single sign-on	Passes auth tokens directly to apps — no manual login needed

Installation¶

Download the latest release for your platform from calimero.network/download.

Platform	Format
macOS	`.dmg` universal binary
Linux	`.AppImage` / `.deb`
Windows	`.exe` installer

Getting Started¶

Download and install Desktop from calimero.network/download.
Start the app — it will launch and manage a local merod node automatically on first run.
Create an identity — generate your root key and first client identity inside the app.
Install an app — browse the App Registry and install an app to your node.
Open the app — click Open; Desktop injects your auth tokens so you're logged in immediately.

Single Sign-On (SSO) for App Developers¶

When a user opens an app from Desktop, it passes authentication tokens directly to the app's frontend via the URL hash:

https://your-app-frontend.com/#access_token=...&refresh_token=...&node_url=...&application_id=...

Apps built with @calimero-network/calimero-client read these values automatically from window.location.hash and skip the manual auth flow.

Hash parameters passed by Desktop:

Parameter	Description
`access_token`	JWT for authenticated node calls
`refresh_token`	Token used to obtain a new access token
`node_url`	URL of the local node the app should connect to
`application_id`	The installed application's ID on the node

If your app uses calimero-client, SSO works out of the box — no extra integration needed. If you're building a custom frontend, read these four values from the hash on startup and use them to initialize your node connection.

Desktop vs CLI¶

Task	Desktop	CLI (`meroctl`)
Daily use by non-developers	✅ Recommended	⚠️ Possible but steep
Automated scripts / CI	❌	✅ Recommended
Local dev multi-node testing	❌	✅ Use Merobox
Opening apps with SSO	✅ Built-in	❌ Manual

For CLI-based node management see meroctl. For local multi-node dev environments see Developer Tools.