WATCHTOWER / RELEASES
A small download. A clearer picture.
Watchtower invited alpha releases for macOS 26 or later on Apple Silicon.
CURRENT INVITED ALPHA / 5 November 2026
0.1.0-alpha.5
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon only
Free of charge during the build’s validity period. Future alpha builds expire 30 days after their signed UTC release date; the release notes give the exact expiration.
6.4 MB · Hosted on GitHub Releases
Before updating
Read the release notes for changes, signing information, expiration and any deferred manual checks.
After expiration, new recordings and Reader results stop. Existing records, deterministic views, verification, export and delete remain available under normal retention. Install a newer alpha or 1.0 to resume recording. A license, reinstall or data deletion cannot extend an alpha.
Previously shipped binaries retain their original behavior. Watchtower continues to observe only; monitored traffic and tool calls pass unchanged.
0.1.0-alpha.5 / PUBLISHED 5 November 2026
Release notes
Watchtower 0.1.0-alpha.5
Build 233. Requires macOS 26 or later on Apple Silicon.
What changed
The free-alpha reminder now has a close button. Dismiss it for the current app session; it returns when Watchtower next launches. The expiration date remains in Settings. There are no timed reminders during a session, and the expired-build warning stays visible when recording has stopped.
Install and update
Download the DMG, drag Watchtower to Applications and launch it there. Existing alpha users can use Check for Updates in Watchtower once the signed update feed is published. Keep existing records when moving between versions.
This alpha is free of charge for 30 UTC calendar days from its signed release date, not from installation. This build's signed release date is 5 November 2026; it expires at 00:00 UTC on 5 December 2026. Update to a newer alpha or 1.0 before expiration. Installing a license, reinstalling or deleting data does not extend this build.
At expiration, new recordings and new readings stop. Existing records and deterministic views, export, delete, updates and uninstall remain available, subject to normal retention. Monitored traffic and tool calls continue unchanged.
Testing status
Package tests and unsigned Debug/Release builds passed. The production app and DMG are Developer ID signed, accepted by Apple notarization, stapled and accepted by Gatekeeper. These artifact checks do not establish signed-device behavior. Dismissal, pane changes, Settings details, relaunch, light/dark appearances and accessibility labels were inspected using a disposable synthetic store. Window reopening, minimum-width layout and keyboard/VoiceOver interaction remain unverified.
Release-specific signed app/filter checklists, clean-Mac installation/extension activation/uninstall, and signed expiration/device checks remain unperformed. The founder explicitly accepted these deferrals for alpha.5 and owns the remaining manual coverage. They are not claimed as passed.
Source availability
The application source is private. GitHub's automatically generated source archives for this public release repository contain release metadata, not Watchtower application source.
Before you install.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon only.
Drag Watchtower into Applications, launch it there, and approve the network extension in System Settings. Follow the alpha brief to configure agent integrations. A download alone does not configure every sensor.
On-device model readings need Apple Intelligence to be available. Watchtower’s observation boundaries and visibility gaps still apply.
Installation and help →Previous releases stay findable.
Release notes and versioned DMGs are hosted in the public Watchtower releases repository. Update checks use its GitHub Pages appcast. These pages do not relocate the release files.
Browse the release archive ↗