Install and license

midcode is a Mac app. It runs on macOS 13 or later, on Apple silicon and Intel. It’s free for 3 days. After that it’s one payment, with every update included, and a license key that works on up to 3 Macs.

What you need

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  A Mac with macOS 13 or later.

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  A project: a folder with a site built in code. Open a project says what midcode recognizes, and What works with what how much of each it edits.

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  Git, if you want to publish from midcode. Everything else works without it.

Node.js is optional for running a project. midcode starts your dev server with the Node your terminal uses, and with its own when the Mac has none. A few things run npm or npx and do need Node installed: installing a project’s dependencies from midcode, the Claude Code and Codex chats in the Agent tab, and, from the next release, New project.

Install with Homebrew

brew install --cask agusdellaquila/midcode/midcode

The cask lives in midcode’s own tap and is updated with every release.

Install from the disk image

1. 1

   Download midcode. That link gives the Apple silicon build; on an Intel Mac use midcode.app/download?arch=x64. Every release, with both files, is at github.com/agusdellaquila/midcode/releases.

2. 2

   Open the .dmg and drag midcode to Applications.

3. 3

   Open it from Applications.

If you open midcode straight from the disk image, or from Downloads, the first thing it shows is “Move midcode to Applications”. Click “Move to Applications”: midcode moves itself there, sends an older copy to the Trash and opens again from Applications. “Not now” skips the move, but midcode only updates itself from Applications.

The app is signed and notarized.

Updates

midcode updates itself. It looks for a new version a few seconds after it opens and every four hours after that, downloads it in the background and checks its signature. A banner under the tabs says where it is:

Updates come from the same public releases on GitHub as the download. There’s no midcode server in between. The version you have is at the bottom of Settings.

The free trial

The first time midcode opens it shows “Welcome to midcode”, with three ways forward:

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  Type your email and click “Start 3-day free trial”.

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  “Buy midcode”.

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  “I have a license key”.

The trial is the whole app for 3 days, counted from the moment you start it. The email is where news of a new version goes, and you can unsubscribe. The trial starts with no connection too: the address is sent the next time midcode opens with one.

While the trial runs, a badge at the top of the window says how long is left: “Trial · 2 days left”, then hours, then minutes. Click it to buy, or to paste a key.

When the trial ends, midcode shows “Your free trial has ended” and waits for a purchase or a key. Nothing happens to your projects: every edit you made is already in their files. Reinstalling midcode doesn’t start a new trial on the same Mac.

Buy and activate

“Buy midcode” opens the checkout at midcode.app/buy. It’s one payment: the app, every update, and a license key that works on up to 3 Macs. The launch price is $119. The regular price is $199.

After you pay, the key is on the page you land on, and in your email. To activate it:

1. 1

   Open midcode.

2. 2

   Click “I have a license key” on the welcome screen. If the trial is still running, click the trial badge at the top instead.

3. 3

   Paste the key and click “Activate”.

Activating needs a connection: the key is checked with the license server of Polar, the service that sells midcode. From then on:

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  midcode checks the key again about once a day, in the background.

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  Offline, the last good answer stands for 30 days. Past that, the license waits until midcode reaches the server again.

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  A fourth Mac is refused: “This key is already active on 3 Macs. Free one from the Polar customer portal (the link is in your order email), then try again.”

Move the license to another Mac

1. 1

   On the Mac you’re leaving, press ⌘,.

2. 2

   In the “License” row, click “Deactivate” and confirm.

That frees one of the 3 Macs on your key. Paste the key again whenever you want that Mac back.

Settings

⌘, opens Settings from anywhere. On the hub there’s also a gear at the top right.

The version is at the bottom of the sheet. Settings are kept in midcode’s own folder, ~/Library/Application Support/midcode/settings.json, never in a project.

Limits

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  macOS only. There is no Windows or Linux build.

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  The trial can’t be extended or paused: it’s 3 days from the moment it starts.

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  A key activates on 3 Macs at a time. Free one with “Deactivate”, or from the Polar customer portal linked in your order email.

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  Activating a key needs a connection. Working afterwards doesn’t, for up to 30 days at a stretch.

If something goes wrong on the way, see Troubleshooting. What midcode sends to the license server, and what it keeps on your Mac, is in Privacy and security.