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Install

Fathom runs on Linux and Windows today. Each download is self-contained: libmpv and the media codecs are bundled, so there is nothing else to install.

Grab the newest build from the Releases page.

Linux (AppImage)

Fathom ships two Linux AppImages. Pick the one matching your CPU:

  • Fathom-x86_64.AppImage for a normal PC (Intel / AMD).
  • Fathom-aarch64.AppImage for ARM64 machines (Asahi Linux on Apple silicon, Raspberry Pi, and similar).

Download it, make it executable, and run it:

chmod +x Fathom-x86_64.AppImage
./Fathom-x86_64.AppImage

Run it with ./, not .\

That is a forward slash. .\Fathom-x86_64.AppImage is Windows/PowerShell syntax and will fail in a Linux shell with command not found.

If it will not launch

An AppImage needs FUSE. On distributions that ship only fuse3 (Arch, for example), either install the compatibility library or run without FUSE:

sudo pacman -S fuse2                     # or your distro's equivalent
./Fathom-x86_64.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run

See Troubleshooting for the full list of launch fixes.

Once it runs, Fathom can keep itself up to date. See Updates and channels.

Windows

Two options, same build either way:

  • Fathom-Setup-x64.exe: a real installer with a Start Menu entry and uninstaller. Installs per-user (no admin prompt), so it stays fully compatible with Fathom's own in-app updater.
  • Fathom-windows-x64.zip: extract it and run fathom.exe directly, no install step at all.

Windows will likely warn that the app is from an unrecognized publisher the first time (it is not code-signed); choose "More info" then "Run anyway."

Nix

Fathom ships a flake, so on NixOS (or anywhere with Nix and flakes enabled) you can run it without downloading a release:

nix run github:Fathom-Media/fathom

Or build it and keep the result:

nix build github:Fathom-Media/fathom
./result/bin/fathom

It builds for x86_64-linux and aarch64-linux, pulls in mpv itself, and installs the desktop entry and icons like any other package. There is a dev shell too (nix develop) with the right Flutter and Dart for building from source.

Android

Download the APK from Releases (named like Fathom-0.12.0.apk) and open it. Android asks you to allow installing unknown apps the first time; grant it and confirm. Fathom runs on phones and tablets, and on Android TV, where the interface is D-pad friendly. Android TV support is experimental for now and still being refined.

After that, Fathom keeps itself up to date from Settings → Updates: it downloads the new APK and hands it to the system installer for you to confirm. Pick the Dev channel there if you want the pre-release test builds.

macOS and iOS

Not available yet. Building for either needs Mac hardware (and, for iOS, a paid Apple Developer account). If you would like to see Fathom on Apple platforms, a Ko-fi toward that hardware helps.

Build from source

You need the Flutter SDK. Then:

flutter pub get
flutter build linux --release      # or: flutter build windows --release

ffmpeg is recommended but optional: it merges YouTube's separate video and audio streams when you download in higher quality. Everything else works without it.

For the packaged, self-contained AppImage (libmpv bundled), see tool/build_appimage.sh and the Contributing guide.