Getting Started
PaddleBoard is in active development, but you don’t have to build it — signed releases are published for macOS and Linux.
Install a release (recommended)
Grab the latest build from GitHub Releases:
| Platform | Asset |
|---|---|
| macOS (Apple Silicon) | PaddleBoard-aarch64.dmg — code-signed and notarized |
| Linux (x86_64) | paddleboard-linux-x86_64.tar.gz |
| Windows | Build from source for now — see below |
The macOS build is signed and notarized with an Apple Developer ID, so it opens without Gatekeeper warnings.
Build from source
Needed on Windows, and useful if you want to hack on PaddleBoard itself.
Prerequisites
- Rust (via rustup).
- macOS: Xcode + Xcode command-line tools, and
cmake. - Linux: run
script/linuxto install system dependencies. - Windows: Visual Studio with the C++ toolchain, the Windows SDK, and
cmake.
Build and run
git clone https://github.com/paddleboarddev/paddleboard.git
cd paddleboard
cargo run -p paddleboard
The first build takes a while (it compiles the whole workspace). Subsequent runs are fast.
First launch
The first time you open PaddleBoard you land on an onboarding page. Three things there matter:
- Theme. PaddleBoard’s own PaddleBoard Dark / Light is the default and is listed first — a deep navy palette matching paddleboard.dev. Every bundled Zed theme (One, Ayu, Gruvbox) is still available if you prefer one.
- AI Providers. Connect a model without leaving onboarding. Local Models is the zero-key path — pick a model and PaddleBoard downloads and runs it on your machine. Or expand any provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, …), paste an API key, and Save; keys go to your OS keychain. See Configuring LLM Providers for the full set of options.
- Finish Setup takes you to the Welcome page, which offers Take the Tour — a short,
rendered six-stop walkthrough. Reopen it any time with
Cmd-Shift-P→workspace: Open Paddle Board Tour.
First steps
- Make sure a model is connected. If you skipped that during onboarding, use the LLM provider panel or the settings LLM page — see Configuring LLM Providers.
- Open a project. Common languages work immediately; others are one click away in Language Support.
- (Optional) Save your git credentials so pushes don’t prompt — see Git Login.