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Install Boldbobbin

This page gets Boldbobbin running, either as a desktop app on your computer or as a web app in your browser. Both have the same editor and behave almost identically. Pick the desktop app if you like to keep project files on your computer (it lists your Recent Files and opens a project when you double-click it). Pick the web app to start straight away, or on a computer where you can't install software. See Desktop vs. web for the differences.

Desktop app​

Download Boldbobbin for your system from boldbobbin.com/download. The installer is named Boldbobbin.

Supported systems:

  • Windows (.exe installer).
  • macOS (.dmg disk image).
  • Linux: best-effort, not an official release target.

To install:

  1. Download the installer from boldbobbin.com/download.
  2. Windows: run the installer and follow the prompts. macOS: open the .dmg and drag Boldbobbin to your Applications folder.
  3. Launch Boldbobbin.
If Windows SmartScreen prompts you

The Windows installer is code-signed (publisher: Boldbobbin GmbH), but SmartScreen can still show a "Windows protected your PC" prompt for the first little while after a new release, before that release has built up download reputation. If it appears, click More info, then Run anyway. The prompt fades as more people download that version.

Once installed, double-clicking a .vemb project file opens it in the desktop app, and double-clicking a machine file (DST, PES, and the like) imports it. See Desktop vs. web.

The first time you open Boldbobbin, a short setup wizard asks your language, then walks you through units, your machine, and more. See Choose the right settings.

Updates​

Boldbobbin does not update silently in the background. When a newer version is available, the desktop app shows an "Update available: v…" pill on the home screen. Click it and Boldbobbin installs the update itself: you no longer have to go to the website and run an installer by hand. If you are offline or already up to date, no pill appears. See How do I update the desktop app?.

Updating from an old version

The in-app updater first shipped in v1.2.5, so it can only update builds from then on. If you are on something older, download the installer from boldbobbin.com/download once, and every update after that is one click.

Web app​

There's nothing to install: open app.boldbobbin.com in a modern browser and start designing.

For example, on a shared work laptop where you can't install anything, open app.boldbobbin.com and sign in: the designs you saved to the cloud from home are in My designs (the home screen's Browse Cloud).

The web app needs a browser with WebGPU for the Realistic render mode; everything else works without it. See Realistic mode is unavailable for browser support.

Do I need an account?​

Not to design. The whole design workspace (drawing, generating stitches, saving and opening local .vemb files) works without signing in. You need a free account to export a machine file (as of v1.3.1), and to save designs to the cloud. See Signing in.