How to install Cupola

Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities › Terminal, or search for it with Spotlight) and paste this line, then press Return:

curl -fsSL https://trycupola.com/app/install.sh | bash

That's the whole install. No download page, no drag-to-Applications, no DMG. The command downloads a small script from trycupola.com and runs it, and in under a minute Cupola opens for the first time.

What the install script actually does

Cupola isn't on the Mac App Store, so the install script does the checking a store normally would, in order, every time you run it:

1. Checks your Mac. It confirms you're on macOS and on Apple silicon (an M1 Mac or newer). Intel Macs stop here with a clear error.
2. Looks up the latest version from trycupola.com and reads the minimum macOS version it needs, failing with a readable message if your macOS is older.
3. Downloads the app as a zip, over HTTPS, and verifies its SHA-256 checksum. A damaged download is rejected rather than installed.
4. Checks the signature. It unzips the download and confirms Cupola.app is signed, and specifically that it's signed by the real "NotchApp Self-Signed" certificate every Cupola release uses, not just signed by something. If either check fails, the script stops and installs nothing.
5. Quits any running copy of Cupola, installs the new app into /Applications (asking for your administrator password only if /Applications isn't writable by your account), and removes the quarantine flag so Gatekeeper doesn't block it.
6. Opens Cupola.

The whole thing runs as one block, so if your connection drops partway through the download, nothing gets installed; you just run the line again.

If you're new to Terminal, this probably sounds unfamiliar: Terminal is a plain text window instead of a window with buttons, and it's where you paste the one line above and press Return. You don't need to use it for anything else. For more on why Cupola ships this way instead of a normal download, see Is a curl | bash install safe?

First launch

Once Cupola opens, it walks you through a short welcome tour: it explains Calendars, Reminders and Notes access one at a time before macOS asks you to grant them, so you know what each prompt is for and why. You can turn any of those off again later in Settings › Permissions.

Reinstalling or updating

Run the exact same line again at any time: it's safe to run repeatedly. If Cupola is already up to date, the script reinstalls the current version over itself. If a newer version is out, it updates to it. In normal use you won't need to do this: Cupola checks for updates itself and lets you install them from inside the app (Settings › General), so running the Terminal line again is only for a clean reinstall or if something's gone wrong.

System requirements

Cupola needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or newer) running macOS 26 or later. Intel Macs aren't supported.

Once it's installed, see how to unlock the trial with a license key or why Cupola asks for Full Disk Access.