Installing FlyBudget

There are three ways to run FlyBudget. They all run the same app; they differ in where your budget is stored and which devices can open it.

Option	Your budget lives…	Open it from…
Desktop app	in a file on your computer	that computer
Self-hosted server	on a server you run (home server, VPS)	any browser, including your phone
From source	in the project folder	the computer running it (for developers)

Not sure? Start with the desktop app. You can move to a server later: download a backup and restore it there.

Just looking?

Try the demo runs FlyBudget in your browser with a sample budget. There's nothing to install, and nothing you change is saved.

Desktop app

The download page picks the right file for your computer. FlyBudget runs on Windows 10 and 11, macOS 12 Monterey or later (Apple silicon and Intel), and 64-bit Linux (x86 and ARM).

FlyBudget isn't signed with a paid Microsoft or Apple certificate yet, so the first time you open it your system asks whether you trust it. Every release is signed another way, so you can check that your download is genuine (see Verifying your download).

Windows

1. Download FlyBudget-Windows-Setup.exe and run it.
2. If Windows says Windows protected your PC, choose More info, then Run anyway.
3. FlyBudget installs for your user account and opens. It's in the Start menu from then on.

macOS

1. Download the .dmg for your Mac: Apple silicon for Macs with an M1 chip or newer (2020 and later), Intel for older ones. Not sure? Apple menu → About This Mac shows "Chip: Apple M…" or "Processor: …Intel…".
2. Open the .dmg and drag FlyBudget into Applications.
3. Open FlyBudget from Applications. macOS says it can't check it for malicious software; choose Done. Then open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down to Security, and choose Open Anyway next to FlyBudget. Confirm with your password. You only do this once.

Linux

• Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS: download the .deb and open it with your software installer, or run sudo apt install ./FlyBudget-Linux-amd64.deb. FlyBudget appears in your applications menu.

• Other distributions: download the AppImage, make it executable and run it:

  chmod +x FlyBudget-Linux-x86_64.AppImage
  ./FlyBudget-Linux-x86_64.AppImage

  Ubuntu 24.04 and later block the sandbox Electron apps use when they run from an AppImage, so use the .deb there.

• ARM (Raspberry Pi 4 and 5, ARM laptops): the latest release also has an arm64 .deb and AppImage.

To keep your bank connections encrypted, Linux needs a keyring (GNOME Keyring or KWallet, which most desktops have). Without one, FlyBudget still works, but stores bank credentials unencrypted.

The first time you open it

FlyBudget asks how you'd like to add your accounts; continue with Getting started.

The desktop app keeps your budget in a single file, budget.db, in your user folder:

System	Folder
Windows	%APPDATA%\FlyBudget
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/FlyBudget
Linux	~/.config/FlyBudget

The same folder holds credentials.key, the key that encrypts your bank connections, itself protected by your operating system's keychain. You don't need to touch either file: use Settings → Data → Download Backup to back up your budget.

Updating

Download the new version from the download page and install it over the old one. Your budget stays where it is, and FlyBudget updates it for the new version when it starts.

Self-hosted server

Run FlyBudget in Docker on a home server, a NAS or a small cloud machine, and open it in any browser with a password you choose. This is how you use FlyBudget on your phone or share a budget with your household.

openssl rand -base64 32 > flybudget_data_key.txt   # the key that protects bank credentials
docker compose up -d                                # with docker-compose.yml from the repository

Then open http://<your-server>:3001, enter the setup code from docker logs flybudget, and choose your password. The self-hosting guide covers every step, HTTPS, backups and updates.

From source

For trying the latest changes or contributing. You need Node.js 24 (the version FlyBudget is built and tested with) and Git.

git clone https://github.com/dtymoszenko/FlyBudget.git
cd FlyBudget
npm ci && npm ci --prefix client && npm ci --prefix server
npm run dev   # opens on http://localhost:5173

Your budget is stored in server/budget.db. Bank credentials aren't encrypted in this mode, so use the desktop app or a server for your real budget. See Contributing for the rest.