Ripul runs agents on hardware you own, which means there has to be something running on that hardware. The Mac companion app is it: a small host that sits in the background, keeps your agent CLIs ready, and answers requests from your phone.
- Download the Mac appOpen the Mac Companion page in Ripul’s onboarding and tap Download for Mac. If you skipped onboarding, the same download is linked from the Ripul website.
- Move it to Applications and launch itThe first launch asks for the permissions it needs. Granting them up front saves you a round of confused failures later.
- Sign in with the same account as your phoneThis is what makes the two devices one system. Different accounts on the two devices is the single most common setup mistake.
- Point it at your agent CLIsOpen CLI settings and confirm it has found Claude Code, Codex, or whichever you use. A tick means it can launch them; a question mark means you need to tell it where they live.
Decide how the two will talk
There are two routes between your phone and your Mac: through Ripul’s relay, which needs no setup and carries every feature, or Direct, which connects the two devices straight to each other so nothing leaves your network. You choose per conversation, and you can use both.
Nothing to do about it now — the relay works the moment you are signed in. It is worth knowing the choice exists before you start on anything confidential. See Two ways to reach your Mac.
Which app is which
Two Mac builds exist and they are different applications, not two versions of one. Ripul Host, with the teal icon, is the companion that runs your agents. Ripul, with the navy icon, is the full app on the Mac — the same interface as your phone, on a bigger screen. Most people want both.