Desktop Deployment

MQTT Explorer is available as a native desktop application built with Electron. This provides the best performance and native OS integration for development and production use.

Download Options

Official Releases

Download pre-built installers for Windows, macOS, and Linux from the official website

GitHub Releases

Access all releases, including beta versions and release notes

Supported Platforms

The desktop application is available for all major operating systems:

Windows - Installer (.exe), Portable, Microsoft Store (.appx)
macOS - DMG installer (Intel and Apple Silicon)
Linux - AppImage, Snap, Debian package (.deb)

Installation

Windows
macOS
Linux

Windows Installation

Download Installer

Download the latest .exe installer from mqtt-explorer.com or GitHub Releases.

Run Installer

Double-click the downloaded .exe file and follow the installation wizard. The application will be installed to C:\Program Files\MQTT Explorer by default.

Launch Application

Launch MQTT Explorer from the Start Menu or Desktop shortcut.

Alternative: Portable Version

Download the portable .exe file and run it directly without installation. Settings are stored in the same directory as the executable.

Alternative: Microsoft Store

Install from the Microsoft Store by searching for “MQTT Explorer” or using the store page link.

macOS Installation

Download DMG

Download the latest .dmg file from mqtt-explorer.com. The download includes universal binaries for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Install Application

Open the .dmg file and drag MQTT Explorer to your Applications folder.

First Launch

Open MQTT Explorer from Applications. On first launch, you may see a security warning because the app is not from the App Store.

Grant Permissions

If you see “MQTT Explorer cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified”:

Go to System Preferences → Security & Privacy
Click Open Anyway at the bottom of the window
Confirm by clicking Open in the dialog

macOS builds are notarized by Apple for security. If you encounter issues, see the macOS notarization documentation.

Linux Installation

MQTT Explorer is available in multiple formats for Linux distributions.

AppImage (Universal)

Download AppImage

Download the latest .AppImage file from the releases page.

Make Executable

chmod +x MQTT-Explorer-*.AppImage

Run Application

./MQTT-Explorer-*.AppImage

Snap Package

Install from the Snap Store:

sudo snap install mqtt-explorer

The snap runs with Wayland disabled (DISABLE_WAYLAND=1) for compatibility.

Debian/Ubuntu (.deb)

# Download the .deb package
wget https://github.com/thomasnordquist/MQTT-Explorer/releases/download/v0.4.0/mqtt-explorer_0.4.0_amd64.deb

# Install with dpkg
sudo dpkg -i mqtt-explorer_0.4.0_amd64.deb

# Install dependencies if needed
sudo apt-get install -f

Building from Source

For developers who want to build the desktop application from source:

Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/thomasnordquist/MQTT-Explorer.git
cd MQTT-Explorer

Install Dependencies

MQTT Explorer requires Node.js 20 or higher and Yarn.

npm install -g yarn
yarn install

Build Application

yarn build

Run Application

yarn start

Development Mode

Run the application in development mode with hot reload:

yarn dev

This launches both the Electron main process and the React dev server with automatic reloading.

Building Installers

Create platform-specific installers:

yarn package

Built installers will be available in the build/ directory.

The build process uses electron-builder and requires platform-specific tools:

Windows: Requires Windows or Wine on Linux/macOS
macOS: Requires macOS with Xcode Command Line Tools
Linux: Can build on any platform

Data Storage

The desktop application stores user data in platform-specific locations:

Platform	Data Location
Windows	`%APPDATA%\MQTT-Explorer\`
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/MQTT-Explorer/`
Linux	`~/.config/MQTT-Explorer/`

Stored data includes:

Connection profiles and history
Application settings and preferences
SSL/TLS certificates
Window size and position

Features

Desktop-Specific Features

The desktop application includes features not available in browser mode:

Auto-Updates - Automatic update checks and installation
System Tray - Minimize to system tray for background operation
Native File Dialogs - OS-native file selection for certificates
Native Notifications - System notifications for connection events
Multiple Windows - Open multiple instances simultaneously

Performance

Native Performance - Full access to system resources
No Network Overhead - All data stays local
Direct MQTT Connection - No proxy or WebSocket translation

Updates

Automatic Updates
Manual Updates

The desktop application checks for updates automatically on launch:

Update Check

On startup, MQTT Explorer checks GitHub releases for newer versions.

Download

If an update is available, you’ll be prompted to download and install it.

Installation

The update is downloaded in the background and installed on next restart.

Auto-updates use electron-updater and work on all platforms. macOS updates are automatically notarized.

Troubleshooting

Application won't start

Windows:

Check if antivirus software is blocking the application
Run as administrator to test permissions
Check Windows Event Viewer for errors

macOS:

Reset permissions: Go to Security & Privacy and click “Open Anyway”
Check Console.app for crash logs
Try removing and reinstalling the app

Linux:

Ensure all dependencies are installed: ldd MQTT-Explorer
Check if X11 or Wayland is running
Try running from terminal to see error messages

Connection issues

Verify MQTT broker is reachable:
```
telnet mqtt.example.com 1883
```
Check firewall rules allow outbound connections
Verify SSL/TLS certificates if using secure connections
Test with a public MQTT broker first (e.g., test.mosquitto.org)

Reset application settings

Delete the application data directory:Windows:

Remove-Item -Recurse "$env:APPDATA\MQTT-Explorer"

macOS:

rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/MQTT-Explorer

Linux:

rm -rf ~/.config/MQTT-Explorer

This will delete all saved connections and settings.

SSL/TLS certificate errors

Ensure certificate files are in PEM format
Verify certificate paths are correct
Check certificate expiration dates
For self-signed certificates, ensure CA certificate is included

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

OS: Windows 10+, macOS 10.13+, or modern Linux distribution
RAM: 512 MB available memory
Disk: 200 MB available space
Display: 1024x768 minimum resolution

Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Learn how to connect to your first MQTT broker

Browser Mode

Deploy MQTT Explorer as a web application

Get Started

Deployment

Features

Guides

Advanced

Download Options

Official Releases

GitHub Releases

Supported Platforms

Installation

Windows Installation

Alternative: Portable Version

Alternative: Microsoft Store

macOS Installation

Linux Installation

AppImage (Universal)

Snap Package

Debian/Ubuntu (.deb)

Building from Source

Development Mode

Building Installers

Data Storage

Features

Desktop-Specific Features

Performance

Updates

Troubleshooting

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Recommended

Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Browser Mode

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Deployment

Features

Guides

Advanced

​Download Options

Official Releases

GitHub Releases

​Supported Platforms

​Installation

​Windows Installation

​Alternative: Portable Version

​Alternative: Microsoft Store

​macOS Installation

​Linux Installation

​AppImage (Universal)

​Snap Package

​Debian/Ubuntu (.deb)

​Building from Source

​Development Mode

​Building Installers

​Data Storage

​Features

​Desktop-Specific Features

​Performance

​Updates

​Troubleshooting

​System Requirements

​Minimum Requirements

​Recommended

​Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Browser Mode

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Download Options

Supported Platforms

Installation

Windows Installation

Alternative: Portable Version

Alternative: Microsoft Store

macOS Installation

Linux Installation

AppImage (Universal)

Snap Package

Debian/Ubuntu (.deb)

Building from Source

Development Mode

Building Installers

Data Storage

Features

Desktop-Specific Features

Performance

Updates

Troubleshooting

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Recommended

Next Steps