> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The desktop app

> Install the Windows, macOS or Linux shell to get silent receipt printing, scanner support and a sale queue that survives a browser wipe.

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['all']} plans="All plans" roles="Any staff member" note="Required for silent receipt printing and serial scanners." />

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.

<TaskHeader before="A workstation you control, and one working internet connection for the first run" time="5 minutes" after="A till or bench that prints receipts without a dialog and keeps selling through an outage" />

## When you need it

Use the browser for everything except these, which a browser cannot do:

| You need                                                           | Why the browser cannot                          |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------- |
| Receipts that print with no dialog and no focus stolen             | A web page must ask before printing             |
| A barcode or count scanner on a serial cradle                      | The browser cannot choose a port unattended     |
| A sale queue that survives clearing the browser or reinstalling it | Browser storage is not durable enough for money |
| A machine dedicated to one screen all day                          | Tabs and address bars invite drift              |

Everything else — appointments, notes, results, billing — is identical in a browser, and a browser is the right choice for staff who move between machines.

## Which build to install

Three builds, one for each edition. Install only the one matching your workspace.

| Build                      | For                              | Opens               |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| **ClinikEHR Pharmacy POS** | A pharmacy till                  | The pharmacy app    |
| **ClinikEHR Desktop**      | A clinic or hospital workstation | The main app        |
| **ClinikEHR LIMS Desktop** | A diagnostics bench              | The diagnostics app |

Each keeps its own session, its own settings and its own local queue, so two builds on one machine never interfere.

## Install it

<Steps>
  <Step title="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](/platform/help/contact-support) for the current download link for your edition.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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](/pharmacy/hardware/thermal-printer).
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Launching the app a second time focuses the window that is already open rather than starting another. One machine runs one till.
</Note>

## 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](/pharmacy/hardware/barcode-scanner) and [Stock counts](/pharmacy/inventory/cipherlab).
* **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.

## 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](/platform/help/contact-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](/platform/security/mfa).

## 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](/platform/apps/offline).

## If something goes wrong

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Windows blocks the installer">
    The builds are unsigned. Choose **More info** → **Run anyway**. If your organisation blocks unsigned installers outright, ask [support](/platform/help/contact-support).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can't reach ClinikEHR">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Nothing prints, or the receipt comes out blank">
    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](/pharmacy/hardware/thermal-printer).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The scanner does nothing">
    Confirm the cradle is on a USB serial adapter and plugged in before you open the scan screen. See [Barcode scanners](/pharmacy/hardware/barcode-scanner).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The macOS app never updates itself">
    Unsigned macOS builds cannot self-update. Download and install the current version manually until signed builds are available. Windows updates itself fine.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A screen share shows a black window">
    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.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Working without internet" icon="https://mintcdn.com/clinikehr/nLyvBRumcl1Yk8z3/images/icons/wifi-slash.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=nLyvBRumcl1Yk8z3&q=85&s=a906e760ec06ff133ba28b970a22c838" href="/platform/apps/offline" width="24" height="24" data-path="images/icons/wifi-slash.svg">
    What the till keeps doing during an outage, and what waits.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set up the till hardware" icon="https://mintcdn.com/clinikehr/gjlpJWWKqjyYNRzM/images/icons/cash-register.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=gjlpJWWKqjyYNRzM&q=85&s=807c0319009cf1ee912aa2649aaf7d04" href="/pharmacy/hardware/desktop-app" width="24" height="24" data-path="images/icons/cash-register.svg">
    Pharmacy-specific setup for the POS terminal.
  </Card>
</Columns>

<StillStuck />