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The desktop app is the same ClinikEHR you use in a browser, in a window that can reach hardware. It contains no copy of the product — it loads the hosted app every time — so it never falls behind the web version, and there is nothing to “upgrade” when a feature ships.

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When you need it

Use the browser for everything except these, which a browser cannot do: Everything else — appointments, notes, results, billing — is identical in a browser, and a browser is the right choice for staff who move between machines.

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Which build to install

Three builds, one for each edition. Install only the one matching your workspace. Each keeps its own session, its own settings and its own local queue, so two builds on one machine never interfere.

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Install it

1

Download the installer for your platform

  • Windows — an .exe installer. It installs for the current user and lets you choose the folder.
  • macOS — a .dmg (or a .zip), for both Intel and Apple silicon.
  • Linux — an AppImage or a .deb.
Ask support for the current download link for your edition.
2

Run it, and expect a warning

The builds are not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen shows an “unknown publisher” warning. Choose More info → Run anyway. macOS may need you to open it from the Applications folder the first time.
3

Sign in, online, once

Sign in exactly as you would in a browser — same email, same password, same passkey or authenticator code. The first run must have a connection: the app has nothing cached yet, and offline it shows “Can’t reach ClinikEHR” with the note that the terminal needs to connect once to finish setting up.
4

Set the receipt printer, if this is a till

Print one receipt and check it comes out on the right printer at the right width. See Thermal printers.
Launching the app a second time focuses the window that is already open rather than starting another. One machine runs one till.

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What the desktop app adds

  • Silent receipt printing. Receipts go straight to the printer with no dialog and without taking focus off the till, including a scannable barcode of the sale number. Prescriptions, payment slips, lab and imaging orders and invoices print the same way.
  • Serial and barcode hardware. Scanners and count-scanner cradles on a USB serial bridge are picked up without a port picker. See Barcode scanners and Stock counts.
  • A durable local queue. Sales and captured orders are stored in a file the app owns, outside the browser’s data. Clearing browsing data, or the browser profile being wiped by IT, does not touch queued sales.
  • Automatic updates. The shell checks on launch and every few hours, and installs quietly when you quit. Nothing in the queue is affected.
  • Screen-capture protection, on the Desktop and Diagnostics builds: the window renders black in screenshots, recordings and screen shares. Useful on a workstation showing patient data; it also means a screen share during a support call shows a black rectangle.

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Kiosk mode and idle locking

Two options exist for machines nobody supervises. Both are set when the terminal is installed, not from inside the app — ask support to configure them.
  • Kiosk mode runs full-screen with no window controls. It is off by default, including on tills, because staff multitask and a window with no controls traps them. Turn it on only for a genuinely dedicated, customer-facing terminal.
  • Idle lock signs the session out — properly, not just showing a lock screen — after a period with no keyboard or mouse activity. It is off by default on the Pharmacy POS and ClinikEHR Desktop builds, where a session ends when the person ends it, and set to 15 minutes on the Diagnostics build.
A workspace that requires two-factor still requires it here, regardless of either setting. See Two-factor on patient data.

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Check it worked

  • The app opens straight into your workspace, with no address bar.
  • A test receipt prints on the correct printer without a print dialog.
  • A scanned barcode drops into the till without you selecting a port.
  • Unplug the network and the till keeps ringing up sales — see Working without internet.

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If something goes wrong

The builds are unsigned. Choose More info → Run anyway. If your organisation blocks unsigned installers outright, ask support.
The terminal has never completed a run online, so there is nothing cached. Fix the connection and sign in once. Sales already saved on the device are safe and sync automatically.
Check the printer is installed in the operating system and selected as the receipt printer, and that the paper size matches the roll. See Thermal printers.
Confirm the cradle is on a USB serial adapter and plugged in before you open the scan screen. See Barcode scanners.
Unsigned macOS builds cannot self-update. Download and install the current version manually until signed builds are available. Windows updates itself fine.
Screen-capture protection is on for that build. It is deliberate; for a support call, share a photo of the screen or describe what you see.

Working without internet

What the till keeps doing during an outage, and what waits.

Set up the till hardware

Pharmacy-specific setup for the POS terminal.