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Installation

Install SnapByFace on macOS 12+ or Windows 10+: pick the right build, install the 300 MB package with bundled models, and clear Gatekeeper or SmartScreen warnings.

SnapByFace ships as a native desktop package. The download is about 300 MB because the face models (det_10g.onnx and w600k_r50.onnx) are bundled inside it — after installation SnapByFace never downloads a model.

1. Download the right build

PlatformBuild
macOS, Apple Silicon (M1–M4)SnapByFace-<version>-macOS-arm64.dmg
macOS, IntelSnapByFace-<version>-macOS-x64.dmg
Windows 10/11, 64-bitSnapByFace-<version>-Windows-x64-Setup.exe

:::tip Not sure which Mac you have? Apple menu → About This Mac shows the chip. The Apple Silicon build is noticeably faster on video. :::

2. Install on macOS

  1. Open the .dmg.
  2. Drag SnapByFace onto the Applications shortcut.
  3. Eject the disk image and launch SnapByFace from Applications or Spotlight.

Gatekeeper may refuse to open an app that is not notarized. SnapByFace is made by a solo developer — Apple’s notarization requires an expensive developer certificate that I have not obtained yet, so your system flags the download. The app is safe: verify the SHA-256 checksum on the download page, then clear the quarantine attribute in Terminal:

xattr -cr /Applications/SnapByFace.app

3. Install on Windows

  1. Run the installer and accept the default location.
  2. If SmartScreen shows “Windows protected your PC”, choose More info → Run anyway. SnapByFace is made by a solo developer and does not yet have a verified publisher certificate — that is why SmartScreen flags it. Verify the SHA-256 checksum on the download page to confirm the file is genuine.
  3. Launch SnapByFace from the Start menu.

4. First launch

The first-run wizard opens automatically and asks for your reference photos and media folders. See First-run Wizard.

At first launch SnapByFace also creates its working folder:

~/.snapbyface/     # macOS: /Users/<you>/.snapbyface   Windows: C:\Users\<you>\.snapbyface
├── snapbyface.db  # SQLite index: media, faces, embeddings, results
├── license.dat   # activation state
├── config.json   # your settings (threshold, video interval, language)
└── logs/         # snapbyface.log

:::note No network connection is required to run SnapByFace. Face detection, embeddings and search all run on your own CPU. The only outbound request is an optional device statistics ping (on by default; switch it off in Settings). A connection is also used for the purchase page if you decide to buy a license. :::

5. Updating and uninstalling

  • Updating: install the new build over the old one. The index in ~/.snapbyface/ is kept, so previously analyzed media is not re-analyzed.
  • Uninstalling: delete the app (/Applications/SnapByFace.app, or Apps & features on Windows). ~/.snapbyface/ is left in place — delete it manually if you want to remove all indexed data and activation state.

Next steps