Getting started

Installing Storage Studio

Download the Storage Studio disk image, drag the app into your Applications folder and open it from there. You need macOS 12 Monterey or later, and Storage Studio 4.18 and later need a Mac with Apple silicon.

Last updated Markdown

To install Storage Studio, open the disk image you downloaded, drag Storage Studio into your Applications folder, then open it from Applications. A short series of first-launch screens walks you through the rest.

What you need

RequirementDetails
macOSmacOS 12 Monterey or later. A few features, such as starting the app automatically at login, need macOS 13 Ventura or later.
ProcessorStorage Studio 4.18 and later need a Mac with Apple silicon. Intel Macs stay on version 4.17.1.
InternetNeeded once at first launch, to verify your email and start your free trial.
External driveOptional. You can set one up during setup or later.

An Intel Mac is never offered an update it can't open: it keeps being offered version 4.17.1. See Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

Step by step

Installing Storage Studio from the disk image
  1. Download Storage Studio from the Storage Studio website.
  2. Open the disk image. Finder shows the Storage Studio icon, an arrow and your Applications folder, with the line "To install, drag Storage Studio to Applications."
  3. Drag the Storage Studio icon onto the Applications folder.
  4. Open Storage Studio from Applications — not from the disk image. Updates can only install themselves when the app is in your Applications folder.
  5. Eject the disk image once the app is open. You can delete the downloaded file too.

The first launch then takes you through the terms, a permission request, your free trial and a short setup. Your first launch, step by step explains each screen.

If macOS won't open it

Release downloads are signed and notarised by Apple, so macOS normally opens them without complaint. If you see a warning that the app can't be opened, follow macOS says the app can't be opened.

Installing over an older version

You don't need to remove an older copy first. If Storage Studio is already running and you open the disk image of a newer version, it recognises the newer app, updates itself in place and relaunches. It only does this for a genuinely newer version that macOS accepts as coming from us. See Keeping Storage Studio up to date.

See also: Is Storage Studio safe to install?, The Setup Wizard, Uninstalling Storage Studio.

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