Desktop app

The AT-1 desktop app compresses and queries your data entirely on your machine— your files never leave it. It's a native app (Tauri) with the compression engine bundled as a sidecar, so there's no Python and nothing to configure. Two modes: a one-step Standard flow for everyone, and an Advanced mode exposing every codec, query, bundle, decompress, integrity, and Living-Database feature.

Download

One self-contained installer per OS — the engine is bundled, so there's no setup. Grab it from the download page:

  • Windows — self-contained installer (.exe).
  • macOS — Apple Silicon build (.dmg); unsigned for now, so right-click → Open the first time.
  • Linux — portable AppImage or a .deb package.

Standard mode

The default. Drag a file onto the dropzone (or click to pick one) and the app auto-selects a codec, encodes it through the verification gate, and writes a verified-lossless .at1 next to the source with an embedded SHA-256 trailer. Creating archives requires a free connected account (no card); reading, querying and decompressing never do. The dropzone biases auto-select toward the queryable codec, so the result is ready to query and to export as a Living Database.

Advanced mode

Toggle to Advanced for the full surface area:

  • Compress — pick the codec and backend, with --keep-queryable, bloom filters, integrity, and row-group size.
  • Query — open a queryable archive and run free-form SELECT … WHERE … with pushdown (only the touched blocks are read).
  • Decompress & verify — restore byte-for-byte; the decoder re-checks the embedded SHA-256.
  • Bundle several files into one .at1, and migrate a whole folder.
  • Living Database — export a self-contained, searchable .html (see the Living Database guide).

Connect your account

Reading, querying and decompressing are free and need no account. To create archives (compress/encode) you connect a free account so usage can be metered — open the Connect account panel on first run and paste an API key from your dashboard (under API Keys). The app runs at1 login in the bundled engine, which stores the key in ~/.at1/config.json; every subsequent compress/query is then metered against that account, exactly like the CLI. The free tier covers a one-time 100 GB-compressedtrial (free account, no card) — once it's used (or on an unpaid account) compression is blocked until you add a card or settle up, and a friendly banner explains why. Decoding existing .at1 files is always free. See free tier & limits.

Automatic updates

The app checks for updates on launch. If a newer signedrelease is published, a banner offers to install and restart; one click downloads, installs, and relaunches into the new version. The check is non-blocking and safe offline — if there's nothing new, or you're offline, the app just continues. Updates are served from signed GitHub Releases and verified against the app's public key before anything is applied, so an update can never be silently substituted.

A first run, end to end

1. Drag a CSV onto the dropzone   ->  auto codec + verified-lossless .at1
2. Open the archive (Advanced)    ->  SELECT … WHERE … runs in place
3. Export Living Database         ->  a self-contained, searchable .html

Drag a CSV onto the Standard dropzone to get a verified-lossless .at1. Switch to Advanced, open that archive, and run a SELECT … WHERE … to confirm the data queries in place. Then export a Living Database — a single .html you can email or drop on a USB stick that opens as a searchable database on any device, nothing uploaded.

Next: the Living Database guide, the Query guide, or download the app.