Get started

This page takes you from the download to your first saved link: install the app, add the extension to your browser and find your way around the window.

Download and install#

Get the current version from the downloads page. It also lists SHA-256 checksums, so you can check what you downloaded.

Your system	Package
Windows 11, 64-bit	Installer (-setup.exe)
macOS 15 or later, Apple Silicon	.dmg
Ubuntu 26.04 or Debian 13	.deb
Fedora 44	.rpm
Other Linux distributions	AppImage

Windows#

Run the installer. It is signed and needs no administrator rights: it installs just for you. If Windows says it protected your PC, choose More info, then Run anyway.

macOS#

Open the .dmg and drag Koona Pin onto the Applications folder in the same window. The app is signed and notarized. The Safari extension comes inside it, so there is nothing more to download for Safari.

Linux#

Linux builds are 64-bit (x86_64) and made for GNOME or KDE Plasma on Wayland.

On Ubuntu and Debian:

sudo apt install ./koonapin_<version>_amd64.deb

On Fedora:

sudo dnf install ./koonapin-<version>-1.x86_64.rpm

On any other distribution, use the AppImage: mark the file as executable and start it, no install needed. It sets up the connection to your browsers each time it starts, so open it once before you save from the browser.

Add the browser extension#

The extension adds a button to your browser that saves the page you are on to Koona Pin. It works in Chrome and Edge 120 or later, Firefox 140 or later and Safari 18.4 or later. Install the app first: the extension talks only to Koona Pin on the same computer.

Chrome and Edge#

1. Open Koona Pin in the Chrome Web Store or Koona Pin in Edge Add-ons.
2. Click Add to Chrome (Chrome) or Get (Edge).
3. Pin the button. In Chrome, open the puzzle-piece menu on the toolbar and pin Koona Pin. In Edge, open the Extensions menu and choose Show in toolbar for Koona Pin.

Chromium on Linux works the same way as Chrome.

Firefox#

1. In Firefox, open the extension section of the downloads page.
2. Click Add to Firefox under Browser extension, then confirm when Firefox asks.
3. Open the Extensions menu on the toolbar and choose Pin to Toolbar for Koona Pin.

Firefox checks for a new version of the extension once a day and updates it by itself.

Safari#

The extension is already inside the Mac app. Turn it on:

1. In Safari, open Settings, then Extensions.
2. Turn on Koona Pin.
3. Click Edit Websites… and choose Allow for other websites. The Koona Pin button appears on the toolbar.

The extension updates together with the app.

Note: A browser installed from Flatpak, and Chromium from Snap, can’t reach Koona Pin: their sandbox keeps the app out. Use the browser from your distribution’s packages or the vendor’s site. Firefox from Snap works: on your first save it asks whether Koona Pin may run, and you choose Allow. More in Troubleshooting.

Check that the browser is connected#

At the bottom of the sidebar, a line with a colored dot shows the connection. Browser connected means a browser has been in touch with Koona Pin in the last three days. No browser yet means none has.

Click that line to open Connect browser, with the steps for each browser and a button to its extension store. The status updates after your first save, or by itself within half an hour.

To test it, open any website and click the Koona Pin button. A short note on the page says Saved to Koona Pin, and the link waits in your Inbox. More in Save links.

Take a first look#

The sidebar lists where your links are:

• Inbox holds new links until you decide what to do with them. A number shows how many are waiting. See Inbox and triage.
• All bookmarks is your whole library.
• Favorites holds the links you marked with the heart.
• Reading is your list of articles to read later. See Reading mode.
• Offline appears once you keep an offline copy of an article.
• Trash keeps deleted links for 30 days.
• Feeds lists the sites you follow. See Feeds.
• Collections and Tags group your links. See Organize your library.

At the top, New link (CtrlN⌘N) adds a link by hand, and the bell beside the logo collects notifications. The main area shows your links as a grid, a compact grid or a list, with a search field above them (CtrlK⌘K).

When you close the window, Koona Pin keeps running in the tray (the menu bar on a Mac), so links from your browser arrive at once. To quit, choose Quit in the tray icon’s menu. You can change this, or have Koona Pin start with your system, in Settings.

What a new library comes with#

• Three collections: Development, Design & UI and Articles / To read. Delete the ones you don’t need; they don’t come back.
• Five links waiting in Inbox, such as Start here: how Koona Pin works. Sorting them is a good way to try Inbox.
• An offer in the bell to import your bookmarks from Chrome, Edge or Firefox. See Import, export and backups.

Your library is a single file on your computer, with automatic backups next to it. See where your library lives. What the app and the extension send over the network is in the privacy policy.

Where to go next#

• Save links: the extension button, New link, paste and drop.
• Inbox and triage: sort new links one card at a time.
• Organize your library: collections, tags and favorites.
• Keyboard shortcuts: every key in one place.