Gemini on the desktop: official options and a standalone app

Popular sites · October 18, 2026 · 6 min read

Google now ships Gemini as a Mac app, a Windows app, a website and a feature inside Chrome. A Pake app puts gemini.google.com in its own window, which helps mainly where the official apps do not fit, and Google's sign-in rules decide whether it works at all, so test the sign-in first.

What Google offers today

	Where to get it	What Google requires
Mac app	gemini.google/mac	macOS Sequoia 15 or later on Apple silicon (Mac help)
Windows app	gemini.google/desktop	Windows 10 or later (Windows help)
Website	gemini.google.com	Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera or Edge (computer help)
Gemini in Chrome	Ask Gemini at the top of Chrome	The latest Chrome, signed in, still rolling out (Chrome help)

The native apps do things a web window cannot. Google's Mac announcement describes opening Gemini with Option + Space and sharing a window or local files with it, and the Windows announcement describes Alt + Space over whatever you are working on. If your computer meets the requirements, start with those.

When a standalone window still helps

A Pake app fits the gaps. An Intel Mac, or a Mac still on macOS 14, cannot run Google's Mac app, while Pake's requirements are macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon or Intel. It also helps when you want the plain website in a window you size yourself, kept above your document with Always on top, or a second Google account in its own app.

It does not give you the global Option + Space or Alt + Space panel, file sharing from other apps or any other feature of the native apps. A Pake app only loads the website, so if you depend on those, the official app is the better choice.

Google's help page says signing in to Gemini needs a personal Google Account, a work account on a qualifying Workspace edition, or a school account whose administrator has turned the service on. It also says some features work without signing in, but chat history and file upload need an account. So a window you cannot sign in to is of limited use, and it is worth finding out in the first minute. Open the app, click the sign-in button and see whether Google lets you through. The section below says what to do if it does not.

Make it from the gallery

On the Create tab, type Gemini or paste https://gemini.google.com into Search apps or paste a web address. Gemini is in the gallery under AI; if the tile is missing, paste the address instead. The gallery entry has only the address, name and icon, so size and the rest are your choice. Turn on Always on top if the chat should stay visible, leave Incognito off so the sign-in is kept, and click Create App.

With the CLI, after the getting started setup:

pake https://gemini.google.com --name Gemini --always-on-top

Window settings that suit a chat

The default window is 1200 by 780. For a side-by-side layout with a document, a narrower Size (Window size on Windows) such as 900 by 1000 leaves room for the other window; resizing by hand afterwards is remembered, and editing Size clears that memory. Find in page adds Cmd F or Ctrl F for searching a long answer. Hide on close and Menu bar icon (Tray icon on Windows) keep it running in the background; A website in the menu bar or tray shows how they interact on each system. Leave User agent empty; it is not a way around Google's policy, as the next section explains.

For a global key to bring the window forward, use the CLI's --activation-shortcut, which is empty unless you set it. The CLI options list the accepted key names.

Google's OAuth policy does not allow its sign-in in embedded web views, and its error reference names WKWebView, the view Pake uses on Mac, as one that gets the disallowed_useragent error. Pake's own CLI FAQ says the same thing: this is provider policy, not a packaging bug, and enabling --new-window or --multi-window does not change it. If the sign-in page opens a pop-up that goes nowhere on Windows, turn on Open new windows in the app under Behavior and click Save Changes, which only keeps the pop-up inside the app. On a Mac, sign-in other than Sign in with Apple already runs in the app's own window, so the option does not change it.

If Google still refuses, use the official app or the website in a browser. Signing in there does not carry over to the Pake app, and a different User agent under Advanced does not lift the policy. The sign-in guide has more to check, and User agents in web apps explains why a string cannot fix a policy.

What a working window does underneath

The app is a native shell around the system web view, so Gemini runs in WKWebView on Mac and in Microsoft Edge WebView2 on Windows, not in Chrome. The site updates on the server, so new Gemini features show up when the page loads. Sign-in cookies live in the app's own storage, separate from your browser, which is why a browser sign-in does not carry over, and why Incognito, which keeps no sign-ins between sessions, would make you sign in on every launch.

Keep two Google accounts apart

Once one app stays signed in, open its ⋯ menu in My Apps and choose Add Another Account. Pake opens a copy of its settings and icon under a new name with no sign-in or site data, so you can name it Gemini Work, create it and sign in with the other account. Two accounts on one website explains the same pattern for any site. Creating it counts as a new app for your license.

When something goes wrong

The sign-in page shows a disallowed_useragent error, or a message that Google does not let you sign in from this browser. That is the policy above, and Google's sign-in help lists browsers embedded inside another app among the ones it blocks. Use Google's app or a browser.
You sign in but are asked again after a restart. Check that Incognito is off, then quit and reopen once to confirm.
A link from a Gemini answer opens in your browser, not the app. That is the default. Internal URL regex under Advanced controls which links stay in the app, and the CLI options show the pattern syntax.
The page seems stuck. Reload with Cmd R or Ctrl R.

FAQ

Is a Pake window the same as the Gemini Mac app?

No. Google's Mac app is a separate product with its own requirements and features. A Pake app loads gemini.google.com and nothing else.

Does it work with a Workspace or school account?

Google's help lists those account types for Gemini itself, but the embedded-view rule applies to every Google sign-in. Test with your account before relying on it.

Can I use it signed out?

Google says some features work without an account, while chat history and file upload need one.