Your first Bex Desktop session

This walkthrough takes an installed Bex Desktop to a saved local edit. It was exercised with the macOS Apple Silicon artifact from bex-v1.20.0-bex.4.

Local file editing does not require a Bex platform login or an AI provider key. Account-backed collaboration, remote services, and agent integrations have separate setup requirements; this walkthrough does not depend on them. The platform's command line interface manages services and is separate from the editor's bundled file-opening launcher.

1. Prepare a small project​

Create a folder named bex-first-project in a location you own, then create hello.txt inside it with this content:

Hello from Bex Desktop.

You can use your file manager and a text editor. On macOS or Linux, the equivalent terminal commands are:

mkdir bex-first-project
printf 'Hello from Bex Desktop.\n' > bex-first-project/hello.txt

Use a new folder so there are no existing build scripts, credentials, or project settings to configure.

2. Open the project​

Launch Bex. On macOS choose File → Open…; on Windows/Linux choose File → Open Folder…. Select bex-first-project. If you already run Zed, follow the profile and coexistence instructions first.

The project name should appear in the window, and the project panel should list hello.txt. Open that file. You can also use Go → Go to File…, type hello.txt, and select it. These menu actions come from the released menu definitions.

3. Make and save an edit​

Add a second line so the file reads:

Hello from Bex Desktop.
My first local edit is saved.

Choose File → Save. On macOS the keyboard shortcut is Command-S; on Windows/Linux it is Ctrl-S. The editor should clear the tab's unsaved-change indicator.

Close the file tab and open hello.txt again from the project panel. Both lines should still be there. For an independent check, open the file in your file manager's text preview, or run the following from the folder's parent on macOS/Linux:

cat bex-first-project/hello.txt

The expected result is exactly the two lines above. This checks the file on disk, rather than only the editor buffer.

4. Continue with your own project​

Open a folder you already work in through the same File menu. Language servers and extensions may require additional downloads or language runtimes; a successful plain-text edit does not imply those tools are configured.

For platform deployments, use the Bex CLI guide. For problems opening the editor, selecting a build, or saving a file, use Desktop troubleshooting. Return to /download for the current installers and release notes.

Verification scope​

The checked session used a disposable profile and the released binary's ZED_STATELESS=1 test mode to avoid interrupting another running editor. Opening the project, editing, saving, and checking the file on disk succeeded without signing in. Profile restoration, Windows/Linux GUI sessions, and platform-connected authentication were not exercised. Normal installation does not require this test environment variable.