productivity tips · May 28, 2019
Creating Quire Desktop App from Google Chrome
Last updated: July 22, 2026
You can create a Quire desktop app for MacOS or Windows straight from Google Chrome, with no separate download. On recent Chrome, use the Install Quire option to add a shortcut to your Dock or Launchpad. On older Chrome, use More Tools, Create Shortcut, then Open as window. The app works both online and offline.
Quire runs in your browser and ships native iOS and Android apps, and plenty of people have asked for a standalone Mac or Windows desktop app. There isn't a separate one to download yet, but you don't have to wait for it. Google Chrome can turn the Quire web workspace into a desktop app in a couple of clicks, and it works both online and offline.
Related: Introducing Quire iPad App — another way Quire gives you a dedicated native window instead of a browser tab, this time on iPad.
A dedicated window keeps you out of tab soup. Gloria Mark's team at UC Irvine found it takes about 23 minutes to refocus after an interruption, and every stray tab is an interruption waiting to happen.
Does Quire have a desktop app for Mac or Windows?
There's no standalone client to install. Instead, Chrome (and Chromium browsers like Microsoft Edge) can install the Quire web app as a desktop app: a standalone window with its own Dock or Start menu icon and no browser tabs around it. It's the same Quire you use on the web, just in its own frame. Here's how to set it up, whether your Chrome is current or a few versions behind.
How do you create a Quire desktop app from Chrome?
On the latest version of Google Chrome
First, open Quire workspace.
At the dropdown menu, you can find the option named "Install Quire"
Hit the option and a shortcut will be automatically created to the Dock and the Launchpad view.
On an older version of Google Chrome
First, open Quire workspace.
Click on the dropdown menu on the upper right side of Google Chrome. Tip: Update Google Chrome to the latest version.
Select More Tools then choose Create Shortcut.
Create a Shortcut named Quire and choose Open as window.
Start Quire on your Desktop.
Voilà, you've got a Quire app living on your desktop, online and offline. It opens in its own window, so it won't get buried under the forty tabs you swear you'll close later.
Have fun, and we hope you get a little closer to your dreams this week.
Browser tab or Chrome desktop app: what changes?
Same Quire, very different feel once it has its own window.
Why does a dedicated window matter so much? Because focus is fragile. When Quire is just one tab among twenty, every glance at the browser is a chance to get pulled into email, the news, or the thing you were avoiding. A standalone window pinned to your dock is one click to the work and nothing else. It is a small setup, five minutes at most, but it changes how the tool feels day to day: less like a website you visit, more like an app you work in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Quire have a native desktop app for MacOS or Windows?
No, Quire runs in the browser and ships native iOS and Android apps but no desktop client. This guide shows how to build one from Chrome instead.
How do I create a Quire desktop app from Chrome?
Open Quire in Chrome, click the three-dot menu, and choose Install Quire for a Dock or Launchpad shortcut. On older Chrome, use More tools, Create shortcut, name it Quire, and tick Open as window.
What is the Install Quire option in Chrome?
It's a Progressive Web App option in recent Chrome that turns Quire into a standalone shortcut on your Dock, Launchpad, desktop, or Start menu.
Does the Chrome desktop app for Quire work offline?
Yes, it works both online and offline since it's the same Quire web app in its own window, syncing once you reconnect.
What if I do not have the latest version of Chrome?
Use More tools then Create shortcut from the three-dot menu instead. Name it Quire and tick Open as window so it opens in its own frame.
