Install

Towertail needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later. It runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

Install the app

Homebrew

1. Install the cask:

   brew install --cask towertail/tap/towertail

2. Open Towertail from the Applications folder.

Zip file

1. Download Towertail.zip.
2. Open the zip file.
3. Move Towertail.app to the Applications folder.
4. Open Towertail from the Applications folder.

Towertail has no Dock icon and no main window. Look for the server-rack icon in the menu bar. Click the icon to open the popover.

At the first start, the popover shows one card: This Mac. To add servers, read Add hosts.

To open the settings, click the gear icon in the popover header.

Updates

Towertail updates itself from the GitHub releases. It checks for a new release 15 seconds after it starts, and then every 6 hours.

Towertail installs an update when you do not use the app. Then it starts the new version.

To change the update behavior, open the settings and select the General tab:

• Install updates automatically is on by default. When it is off, Towertail only tells you that a new version is available.
• Check for Updates checks now.

Note

The updater replaces the app in its folder. Keep Towertail.app in a folder that your user can write to, for example Applications.

Uninstall

Homebrew

To remove the app and keep your settings:

brew uninstall --cask towertail

To remove the app and all its data on this Mac:

brew uninstall --zap --cask towertail

The --zap option also removes these items:

• ~/.towertail
• ~/Library/Application Support/Towertail
• ~/Library/Caches/com.towertail.Towertail
• ~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.towertail.Towertail
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.towertail.Towertail.plist

Zip file

1. Quit Towertail. Click the power icon in the popover header.
2. Move Towertail.app to the Trash.
3. To remove your servers and settings too, delete ~/Library/Application Support/Towertail.

Towertail does not remove the sampler from your servers. To remove it, run this command on each server:

rm -rf ~/.towertail