Install

What you need

Operating system	macOS 13 (Ventura) or later
Machine	Intel Macs and Apple silicon Macs both
Screen	A second monitor or a projector (you can use the app without one)

There are two buttons on the download page. Apple silicon and Intel ship separately, so take the one that matches your Mac. If you are not sure which you have, look under the Apple menu → About This Mac.

Install

1. Double-click the .dmg file you downloaded.
2. When the window opens, drag the LayerCue icon onto the Applications folder on the right.
3. Close the window, then open LayerCue from your Applications folder.

Note

Do not run LayerCue straight from the DMG window. Copy it first and open it from the Applications folder — that is how automatic updates and permissions attach correctly.

The first time you open it

The first time, macOS asks you a few things. Choose Allow for all of them, or the app will not work properly.

• Screen Recording — used to send the picture to the second screen
• Local Network — used to talk to the gear in the room

If a prompt went by without asking, you can turn these on yourself in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

Then LayerCue opens with a folder called READ ME, holding seven slides on what the app does. Click one and it goes out, the same as any other slide — that is the point of them. Delete the folder when you are done; nothing depends on it.

When a new version is out

LayerCue checks quietly, once a day. If there is a new version, an orange Update marker appears in the bar at the bottom of the window. That is all it does; nothing happens unless you press it.

Press it and it shows you what changed. Press Get it and LayerCue downloads the new version, checks its signature, and opens the disk image. From there it is the same as the first install — drag it onto your Applications folder and open it again.

Is it safe to press while output is on

The marker stays visible during output, and nothing happens unless you press it. The last button, Open and quit, does end the program and take the screen down — that window says so in red.

If you are on 0.9.2

This notice arrived in 0.9.3. Version 0.9.2 cannot tell you about a new version, so you will need to fetch one by hand that first time.

So it never closes by accident

⌘Q and the red button on the window ask before they close. If output is on, it warns you first, in red: You are on air — quitting will black out the screen.

When it will not open

If you see “unidentified developer”, the file was damaged while downloading. Try downloading it again. LayerCue is notarized by Apple, so that warning does not appear under normal conditions.

If you see “not supported on this version”, your macOS is 12 or older. You need to update to 13 or later.