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Installing on macOS

The macOS build is the native Metal app (KuroMetalApp.app). It is notarized, so it just opens — no Gatekeeper workaround needed.

The legacy .saver builds (pre-rendered video .savers, the WebGL .saver, and the experimental live .saver) were retired in v0.5.0 — the native app replaces them. macOS Tahoe's sandboxed legacyScreenSaver process broke the WebGL/Metal compositing those bundles relied on; the standalone app sidesteps it entirely.

Native app — KuroMetalApp.app

  1. Download KuroScreensaver-native-app-macos.dmg from the latest release, open it, and drag KuroMetalApp.app into the Applications shortcut. (Releases up to v0.9.0 shipped a .zip instead — unzip, then drag.)
  2. Double-click to open. It's notarized, so it launches straight away — no "cannot verify" prompt, no quarantine fiddling.
  3. In its window, pick a scene / preset / Look / effects (live preview), and turn on "Bei Inaktivität automatisch starten" to run it as a real screensaver (it then starts after the chosen idle time). Any input exits the fullscreen; ⌘Q quits.

That's it. Because the app is notarized + stapled, it also works fully offline on a fresh Mac — no internet round-trip to Apple on first launch.

Windows (.scr)

On Windows, unzip into a folder you keep, then right-click KuroScreensaver.scr → Install. The .scr is unsigned, so SmartScreen may warn on first run — click "More info" → "Run anyway". (Needs the WebView2 runtime, present on almost all current Win10/11 machines.) Full steps + troubleshooting: WINDOWS-INSTALL.md.

Why notarized + why no .saver?

Apple's Gatekeeper quarantines anything downloaded that isn't signed with a paid Apple Developer ID and notarized. The native app is signed + notarized + stapled, so none of the old "Open Anyway" / xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine dances apply on macOS anymore.

The old .saver bundles couldn't be stapled (a .saver can't carry a stapled ticket) and, more importantly, the screensaver host process on recent macOS no longer composites a live GPU layer reliably — which is why the live .saver was never shipped and the video .savers have now been retired in favour of the app. The build is open source; you can inspect or build it yourself from this repo.