Xiaohongshu (RedNote) on the desktop

Popular sites · October 18, 2026 · 6 min read

On a computer, Xiaohongshu is a website for browsing plus a separate creator platform for posting, and its iPad app only installs on Apple silicon Macs. A Pake app gives each of the two a window of its own on Mac and Windows. You can also open both sites directly in your browser.

What Xiaohongshu offers on a computer

	Where	What it is for
Web	www.xiaohongshu.com	Browsing notes
Creator platform	creator.xiaohongshu.com	Publishing image posts and videos
Apple silicon Mac	The iPad app on the App Store	The phone and tablet app, run on a Mac

The creator platform calls itself 小红书创作服务平台 and has its own publish page, so posting happens at that address rather than on the main site. The two are different websites, which matters later when you sign in.

The App Store listing, published by 行吟信息科技（上海）有限公司, is marked as designed for iPad and requires macOS 12.0 or later on a Mac with an Apple M1 or later chip. That settles the choice for some people. On an M1 Mac, the iPad app is the version Xiaohongshu itself maintains, and if you like it, use it. On a Windows PC or an Intel Mac that listing does not apply, so the website is what is left, and a Pake app is a way to keep it out of your browser tabs. Pake supports Intel Macs on macOS 14 or later.

What a Pake window is, and why that matters here

A Pake app is a small program that opens one address in the system web view: WKWebView on a Mac, Microsoft Edge WebView2 on Windows. Nothing about Xiaohongshu is changed. The site sees a browser engine of the same family as Safari or Edge, and your cookies and site data are kept by the app itself, apart from your browser's.

That explains most of the behavior below. A sign-in lasts because the app keeps its cookies between launches. A separate app for the creator platform gives you a direct shortcut to its address and a separate sign-in. A link that points to another site opens in your regular browser, because Pake decides by domain which links stay inside the window. And Pake cannot fix anything on the website side, such as a page that is slow or a feature the site only offers in its phone app.

Make it from the gallery

Xiaohongshu is in the gallery under Social. On the Create tab, type its name into Search apps or paste a web address, or paste https://www.xiaohongshu.com/explore. If the tile is missing, paste the address instead. Its page does not show Window and options are tuned, so it starts from the defaults. Adjust the Size (Window size on Windows) if you like, then click Create App. Every option is described in Create an app.

Sign in with whichever method the page shows. Xiaohongshu decides what its sign-in page offers and can change it, so there is no fixed list to quote here. Pake is the window, not part of the sign-in.

To be remembered, the app needs to keep its cookies. Incognito starts every session clean, with no sign-ins or site data, and it is off by default for this site, so leave it off. The FAQ mentions that the gallery's WeChat app runs in Incognito, which is why WeChat asks for a scan each time; that does not apply to Xiaohongshu. After signing in, quit the app normally and open it again to confirm you are still signed in, rather than force-quitting it.

On a Mac, passkeys and Touch ID sign-in are not available in Pake apps, according to the Pake CLI FAQ, because the system only offers them to browsers and to apps tied to the site's domain. If an account is set up that way, use a password with a verification code.

If a link asks for a new window and nothing happens, turn on Open new windows in the app under Behavior.

The creator platform as a second app

The creator platform has its own address, so make it as a second app: paste https://creator.xiaohongshu.com on the Create tab, give it a Name such as Xiaohongshu Creator, and click Create App. It is a separate app with its own icon, window and sign-in, so sign in there once as well.

Posting means choosing photos or a video from your computer, which opens the system file picker. Try one upload with a small file before you rely on the app for a real post, and keep a copy of the draft text somewhere else until you have confirmed it works.

Add Another Account in My Apps is for something different: the same site with a second account. It copies an app's settings under a new name, such as Xiaohongshu 2, and starts signed out. See Two accounts on one website.

What can go wrong

If a page shows a login wall or a browser warning that the normal site does not, the first thing to compare is the user agent. The default is the Safari user agent on a Mac and the Chrome user agent on Windows, and you can change it under Advanced in User agent; the user agent guide explains when that helps and when it does not.

If sharing links or in-note links open in your browser when you wanted the app, that is the link rule at work. Internal URL regex under Advanced decides which addresses stay in the window, and anything else opens in the browser. Change it only for an address you trust.

If the app opens but looks wrong after you edit it, remember that changing the address clears the page the app last remembered. Editing in My Apps with Edit and Save Changes reinstalls the same app in place and keeps its sign-ins, per the manual.

When something else is the better choice

Use the iPad app on an Apple silicon Mac if you want the phone experience, including what the phone app offers and the website does not. Use your browser if you only read occasionally, since a separate app adds an icon and a second copy of your cookies for little gain. A Pake app is worth it when you open Xiaohongshu every day, want it in its own window with its own Dock or Start menu icon, and are not on a Mac that can run the iPad app.

Build it with the CLI

After setting up the CLI:

pake https://www.xiaohongshu.com/explore --name Xiaohongshu

For the creator platform, run it again with its address and another name, which gives the app its own identifier:

pake https://creator.xiaohongshu.com --name XiaohongshuCreator

The CLI also reopens a web app on the page you left it on, and --no-restore-last-url starts from the packaged address every time while keeping cookies and sign-in. See the CLI options for window size and the rest.

FAQ

Do I need two apps to browse and post?

Not necessarily. Two apps give you separate shortcuts and sign-ins, which is the setup described here. You can also use the creator platform in your browser.

Will I stay signed in after restarting my computer?

You should, as long as Incognito is off and you close the app normally. Open it once after a restart to check, since the site decides how long its own sign-in lasts.

Can I use the iPad app instead on my Intel Mac?

No. The App Store listing requires an Apple M1 or later chip.