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Installing Pluton on Desktop

Pluton can be easily installed with just a few clicks on desktop OSs like Windows 10, macOS, Ubuntu Desktop, Debian Desktop, Fedora, etc.

Download the necessary executables from this table for your system to get started:

OSArchitectureDownload Link
Windows 10/11x64Download (exe)
macOSApple Silicon / IntelVia Homebrew
Linuxx64Download (AppImage)
LinuxArm64Download (AppImage)

Installing​

Installing on Windows​

  1. First, download the exe file from the table above.
  2. Run the installer.
  3. During installation, set the port number where the Pluton server should run.
  4. After installation, open http://localhost:5173 in your browser. If you set any port other than the default 5173, use that instead.
  5. When you first load Pluton on desktop, you will see a setup screen where you need to set your encryption key and admin username and password. These sensitive data will be stored securely in Windows Credential Manager.
  6. After setup, you will be redirected to the login page. Log in with your admin username and password.

Pluton desktop initial setup screen

Note: Never lose your encryption key. The encryption key is used to encrypt all your backups. If you lose it, you may not be able to restore or access your backup data.

Installing on macOS​

Pluton is installed on macOS via Homebrew. It supports both Apple Silicon (arm64) and Intel (x86_64) Macs running macOS Monterey (12) or later.

  1. Add the Pluton Homebrew tap:
brew tap plutonhq/pluton
  1. Install Pluton:
brew install plutonhq/pluton/pluton
  1. After installation, open http://localhost:5173 in your browser.
  2. On first launch, complete the setup wizard:
    • Set your encryption key (minimum 12 characters)
    • Create your admin username and password
  3. After setup, log in with your admin credentials.

Note: Never lose your encryption key. The encryption key is used to encrypt all your backups. If you lose it, you may not be able to restore or access your backup data.

Full Disk Access

To back up files in protected directories (Desktop, Documents, etc.), grant Full Disk Access to the Pluton binary:

System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access → Click + and add /opt/pluton/pluton

You can press Cmd+Shift+G in the file picker dialog to type the path directly.

Installing on Linux Desktop​

A keyring daemon is required (e.g., GNOME Keyring or KDE Wallet with Secret Service enabled). Install gnome-keyring if your distribution doesn't include one: sudo apt install gnome-keyring (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo pacman -S gnome-keyring (Arch).

  1. First, download the AppImage file from the table above for your architecture type.
  2. Open a terminal where the AppImage file is located and then run this command: sudo ./Pluton-0.0.1-x86_64.AppImage --install
  3. During installation, set the port number where the Pluton server should run.
  4. After installation, open http://localhost:5173 in your browser. If you set any port other than the default 5173, use that instead.
  5. When you first load Pluton on desktop, you will see a setup screen where you need to set your encryption key and admin username and password (screenshot above). These sensitive data will be stored securely in Linux Secret Service.
  6. After setup, you will be redirected to the login page. Log in with your admin username and password.

Note: Never lose your encryption key. The encryption key is used to encrypt all your backups. If you lose it, you may not be able to restore or access your backup data.

Updating​

Updating Pluton on Windows​

  1. Download the latest version.
  2. Run the installer.

Updating Pluton on macOS​

brew update
brew upgrade pluton

Your configuration and data are preserved during the update.

Updating Pluton on Linux Desktop​

  1. Download the latest version.
  2. Run this command in the terminal:
sudo ./Pluton-x86_64.AppImage --install

Uninstalling​

Uninstalling Pluton on Windows​

  1. Navigate to C:/Program Files/Pluton
  2. Run uninstall.exe

Uninstalling Pluton on macOS​

Stops the service and removes the LaunchDaemon, but preserves your data:

brew uninstall pluton

To fully uninstall and remove all data:

brew uninstall --zap pluton

Uninstalling Pluton on Linux Desktop​

From the terminal, run this command: sudo /opt/pluton/uninstall.sh