Installing the XNAT Desktop Client

The XNAT Desktop Client is available for use on modern Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems, though the installation methods and requirements differ for each system. 

Mac OS Installations

The XNAT Desktop Client for Mac OS includes an embedded Java Runtime Environment. There have been known issues accessing this bundled resource in virtualized Mac environments, so we strongly recommend only installing the client on a native Mac OS.

Installation is very straightforward. 

  1. Download the .DMG file from download.xnat.org/desktop-client
  2. Open the .DMG file and drag the app into your Applications folder
  3. Open the application for the first time
  4. If you get a security warning when trying to launch this application, open System Preferences > Security > General. You should see a message about this app and the option to "Open Anyway".

Opening the application for the first time will install file-handling support for all your browsers so that image session download requests from the XNAT web app will open in your desktop client. 


Windows Installations

The XNAT Desktop Client for Windows includes an embedded Java Runtime Environment. There have been known issues accessing this bundled resource in virtualized Windows environments, so we strongly recommend only installing the client on a native Windows OS. 

Installation is very straightforward. 

  1. Download the .exe file from download.xnat.org/desktop-client
  2. Open the .exe file , which launches the one-step installer

Installing the application will install file-handling support for all your browsers so that image session download requests from the XNAT web app will open in your desktop client. 


Linux Installations

Linux users must have a compatible JRE installed in order to use the XNAT Desktop Client.

The XNAT Desktop Client for Linux is distributed as an AppImage, which is an executable application that does not need a separate installation step. For more on working with AppImage files, see: https://docs.appimage.org/user-guide/faq.html#question-how-do-i-run-an-appimage 

  1. Download the .AppImage file from download.xnat.org/desktop-client
  2. Make the .AppImage file executable
  3. Run the .AppImage file

Running the application for the first time will install file-handling support for all your browsers so that image session download requests from the XNAT web app will open in your desktop client. 

XNAT is an open source project produced by NRG at the Washington University School of Medicine | NRG Home

Contributions to the XNAT Documentation site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Creative Commons License

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