Installation

Saga-Scribe is a desktop application. There is no account, no subscription and no installation of a server: download a build, open it, and work offline.

Download

Download the latest version from the releases page.

System	File
Windows	…_x64-setup.exe or …_x64_en-US.msi
macOS (Apple silicon)	…_aarch64.dmg
macOS (Intel)	…_x64.dmg
Linux	.flatpak (recommended), .AppImage, .deb (Debian/Ubuntu) or .rpm (Fedora/openSUSE)

Note

The builds are not code-signed yet, so your system will warn you the first time you open Saga-Scribe. The steps below explain how to allow it. If you are working on institutional hardware, you will almost certainly not have permission to install untrusted software: ask your IT department to review the application, or build it from source.

Windows

1. Run the .exe installer, or the .msi package.
2. Windows SmartScreen shows “Windows protected your PC”. Click More info, then Run anyway.
3. Continue through the installer and start Saga-Scribe from the Start menu.

macOS

1. Open the .dmg and drag Saga Scribe to the Applications folder.

2. On first launch, macOS may say the application “cannot be opened” or “is damaged” because the developer cannot be verified.

3. Either open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway, or run this command in Terminal:

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Saga Scribe.app"

4. Launch the application again.

Use the Apple silicon build on M-series Macs and the Intel build on older machines.

Linux

Flatpak (recommended)

The Flatpak is the most reliable way to run Saga-Scribe on Linux. It needs the GNOME runtime, which comes from Flathub.

flatpak install --user saga-scribe-*.flatpak

Then start Saga Scribe from your application menu, or with:

flatpak run app.sagascribe.Sagascribe

AppImage

Make the file executable and run it:

chmod +x saga-scribe-*.AppImage
./saga-scribe-*.AppImage

Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE

Install the .deb or .rpm with your distribution’s package manager, or with dpkg -i / rpm -i. These packages link against the system’s libraries, so the Flatpak or AppImage is usually the safer choice on older distributions.

First launch

When Saga-Scribe starts, it shows the editor and an empty preview. To begin:

1. Choose a template in the toolbar. TEI P5 and Menota are built in.
2. Type your transcription in the editor. The preview follows after a pause in typing.
3. Save the project with Ctrl+S (Cmd+S on macOS).

The first transcription tutorial walks through this in detail.

Nightly builds

A nightly build is made every night from the version in development. It is useful for testing new features and bug fixes, but may contain unfinished features or file-breaking bugs.

Danger

Do not use a nightly build with original project files. Always edit a copy when testing an in-development build.

Updating

Install a newer release over the old one. Projects saved with older versions of Saga-Scribe can still be opened, and the application keeps older project file formats loadable as the format evolves.

Your work is stored in project files (.teis) that you choose where to save, so updating or uninstalling the application does not touch your projects.