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The Knoq desktop app brings your knowledge base to wherever you’re working. Instead of switching to a browser tab, navigating to knoq.one, and finding a chat session, you press a keyboard shortcut from any application — your code editor, your email client, a Zoom call — and a compact Knoq panel appears in the center of your screen, ready for a question. When you’re done, it disappears just as quickly. The desktop app runs on macOS and Windows, sits quietly in your menu bar or system tray, and stays in sync with your web sessions and integrations automatically.

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Download and install

The desktop app is available for macOS (12.0 Monterey or later) and Windows.
1

Download the installer

Go to knoq.one/download and download the installer for your operating system. On macOS you’ll get a .dmg file; on Windows you’ll get an .exe installer.
2

Install the app

macOS: Open the .dmg, drag Knoq into your Applications folder, and launch it from there.Windows: Run the .exe installer and follow the on-screen prompts. Knoq installs to your user profile directory and does not require administrator privileges.
3

Launch Knoq

On first launch, Knoq will ask for permission to register a global keyboard shortcut and to appear in your menu bar or system tray. Allow both to get the full experience.

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Quick access shortcut

Once installed, Knoq registers a global keyboard shortcut that works system-wide — you can trigger it while focused in any other application.
PlatformDefault shortcut
macOS⌘ K (Command + K)
WindowsCtrl + K (Control + K)
Pressing the shortcut once opens the Knoq panel in the center of your screen. Pressing it again — or pressing Escape, or clicking outside the panel — hides it. The panel is always on top of other windows so you can reference it while working. You can also left-click the Knoq icon in your menu bar (macOS) or system tray (Windows) to toggle the panel open and closed. Changing the shortcut. If the default shortcut conflicts with another application you use, you can change it. Open the Knoq panel, go to Settings, and enter a new shortcut in the keyboard shortcut field. Knoq will immediately unregister the old shortcut and register the new one. If the shortcut you choose is already claimed by another app, Knoq will show a conflict notification and keep the previous shortcut. Right-clicking the tray icon reveals a context menu with additional options:
  • Open Knoq — show the quick-access panel
  • Open in Browser — open knoq.one in your default browser
  • Switch Organization — re-authenticate into a different org
  • Settings — open the in-app settings panel
  • Launch at Startup — toggle whether Knoq starts automatically when you log in (enabled by default)
  • Sign Out — sign out of the desktop app
  • Quit — fully close Knoq

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Signing in

The first time you open the quick-access panel, you’ll be prompted to sign in. Knoq uses the same credentials as the web app at knoq.one — there is no separate desktop account.
1

Trigger the panel

Press the keyboard shortcut or click the tray icon to open the Knoq panel.
2

Sign in

Follow the sign-in prompt, which opens a short browser flow to authenticate with your organization’s identity provider (the same flow as the web app). Once complete, the browser closes and the desktop app is authenticated.
3

Start chatting

After sign-in, the panel is ready. Type your question and press Enter.
If your organization uses SSO, the desktop app goes through the same SSO flow as the web. If you belong to multiple Knoq organizations, you can switch between them using Switch Organization in the tray menu.

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Staying in sync

The desktop app and the web app share the same sessions, integrations, and settings. A chat you start in the desktop panel shows up in the sidebar when you open knoq.one in a browser, and vice versa. Your connected tools, Agent Memory (if enabled), and Verified Answers all work exactly the same way in the desktop app as they do on the web — there are no desktop-only or web-only limitations. The tray icon reflects your connection status: a solid icon means Knoq is connected and ready; a dimmed icon means your session has expired or the app is disconnected, and you should sign in again.

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Updating

Knoq checks for updates automatically in the background — once on launch and then every 24 hours. When a new version is available, you’ll receive a non-intrusive notification with Update Now and Later options. You never need to manually download a new installer. If you choose Later, Knoq will remind you the next time it finds a pending update. Applying an update restarts the app automatically and takes only a few seconds.