FOLD Documentation
Early access
Getting started

Install FOLD on the Mac

Download the signed and notarized disk image from foldmail.app, move FOLD to your Applications folder and open it for the first time.

The direct download runs on macOS 13 or later and is a Universal app, so it runs natively on Apple silicon and on Intel Macs. There is no direct install for iPhone and iPad; see iPhone and iPad.

Note If the download page shows No public build yet, the direct build has not been published. The page then offers Request early access instead of a download.

Download

  1. Open the download page. Under Current release it lists the version, the build number, the size, the release date and the SHA-256 of the DMG.
  2. Click Download the DMG. The file is named FOLD-<version>-<build>.dmg.
  3. Optional, but recommended: compare the checksum before you open the file. Verify a download shows how.

Install

  1. Double-click the disk image. macOS mounts a volume named FOLD that contains Fold.app.
  2. Drag Fold.app into your Applications folder, for example in a second Finder window.
  3. Eject the FOLD volume and delete the disk image if you no longer need it.

First launch

The app and the disk image are signed with the Developer ID of Datargo GmbH and notarized by Apple. The notarization ticket is stapled to both, so Gatekeeper can check it on first launch even without a network connection. Because the app comes from the internet, macOS asks once whether you want to open it. Confirm with Open.

If macOS refuses to open FOLD or reports that it is damaged, do not work around the warning. Delete the copy and check the download as described in Verify a download.

On the first start FOLD shows a short tour; Skip closes it, Get started steps through it. The sidebar then shows Welcome to FOLD with an Add account button. Continue with Add your first account.

Default mail app

FOLD may ask Use FOLD as your default mail app? macOS only offers this setting in Apple Mail, under Settings > General > Default email reader, and Apple Mail needs a configured account for it. Open Mail takes you there, In 1 week asks again later, No dismisses the question. The current state is shown in FOLD under Settings > General > Default Mail App.

Updates

The direct download keeps itself up to date. How that works and what the check sends is described in Updates on the Mac.