# Install HARD for Mac

Download HARD for Mac, move it to Applications and allow notifications. Its first check of your Mac starts straight away, and where it keeps things.

Source: https://hard.fyi/docs/mac/install/

1. [Download HARD for Mac](/mac/HARD.dmg). It needs macOS 14 or later.
2. Open the download and drag **HARD** into Applications, then open it from there. Apple has checked it, so it opens without a warning.
3. Allow notifications when macOS asks, so HARD can tell you when something needs you.
4. HARD sits in your menu bar and opens a window with everything it watches. Its first check of your Mac starts straight away.

![HARD’s menu-bar panel: Nothing urgent, checked 5 minutes ago](https://hard.fyi/images/docs/mac-menu-bar-light.webp "HARD in the menu bar. Click its icon for this panel.")

![HARD’s window, Home: what needs you and what HARD handled](https://hard.fyi/images/docs/mac-overview-light.webp "HARD’s window. Everything it watches is in the sidebar.")

## Where HARD keeps things

HARD keeps everything it learns about your Mac in `~/Library/Application Support/HARD/`. The first time it opens, it also registers itself with Chrome, Brave and other Chromium browsers, so [the extension](/docs/extension/) can report to it.

## Next

- [Turn on the firewall](/docs/mac/firewall/), so HARD sees every connection.
- [Turn on Secure DNS](/docs/mac/secure-dns/), so the Wi-Fi you’re on can’t send you to a fake site.