Distribution: two binaries, one unit

Juggler is two programs, not one:

• juggler (juggler.exe on Windows) — the headless command-line server. It does all the work: HTTP/WebSocket server, session store, tool execution.
• Juggler app (juggler-app.exe) — the native desktop app. It owns the windows and is otherwise a thin client pointed at a server.

These two are versioned and shipped together, as one indivisible unit. The desktop app locates its server as a sibling file on disk (serverBinPath()) and spawns it, so the app always runs a server of its exact build. Mixing an app from one release with a server from another is never a supported configuration, and every distribution channel is built to make that impossible.

Why they must stay in lock-step

The app and server speak a private protocol over HTTP/WebSocket that is not promised to be stable across versions. The document format, the engine command mailbox, and the session-store shape all evolve together. Pinning the app to the server that ships beside it removes a whole class of "works on my machine" version-skew bugs: there is only ever one pairing that has been tested.

Channels

Every channel installs both binaries into a single location so the app's sibling lookup resolves the matching server.

macOS — .dmg

The .dmg contains Juggler.app, a normal drag-to-Applications bundle. Both binaries live inside the bundle (Juggler.app/Contents/MacOS/), so the app and its server can never be separated — moving or copying the app moves both. Launching the app spawns the bundled server automatically.

Opening on macOS. Downloaded builds are quarantined by Gatekeeper. The first time you open Juggler, right-click (or Control-click) the app → Open → Open, or go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway. After the first launch it opens normally.

Windows — installer

Juggler-<version>-setup.exe (built with Inno Setup, see packaging/windows/juggler.iss) writes juggler-app.exe and juggler.exe into one install directory as siblings and can add juggler to your PATH. Because they land in the same directory in a single install step, the two never drift apart. Uninstalling removes both.

Linux — server binary

Linux ships the juggler server binary; run it from a terminal and connect with a browser or the desktop app. There is no separate app package yet.

Planned: Homebrew cask / winget

A Homebrew cask (macOS) and a winget package (Windows) are planned. Both will wrap the same artifacts above — the cask installs the .app bundle (both binaries inside it), the winget package runs the same installer — so they inherit the same lock-step guarantee without introducing a way to install the two halves independently.

The invariant, restated

However Juggler reaches your machine, the desktop app and its server arrive and install as one unit, in one place, and the app spawns the server sitting beside it. Never install, package, or update the two halves separately.