Downloading Booked Solid again: one installer per computer (there are no zip files any more)

You are putting Booked Solid on a computer again, and you have gone looking for the files to install from. Most people ask for it the way one customer did: I need to update the downloadable zip files for a fresh installation. The hunt is shorter than you expect, because Booked Solid is not shipped as zip files any more. There is one installer per computer, you download it once, and from then on the app keeps itself up to date.

There are no zip files any more

Booked Solid is a single installer per operating system now: one .exe for Windows, one .dmg for Mac, one AppImage for Linux. There is nothing to unpack and nothing to assemble. You run the installer once on the computer you want the app on, and that is the whole download story for that machine.

Two things people try first, and neither one gets you there. Digging through your purchase email for a zip attachment will not find one, because zip files are not sent any more. Re-using a download link you saved months ago does give you a file, but it is whatever build was current back then rather than today's. Skip both and take a fresh copy from the download page, which serves the newest build for your computer every time.

Where do I download it again

Open booked.kivimedia.co/download on the computer you are installing on. The page works out what you are running and hands you the right file, so this is the one address worth remembering. If you would rather go straight at a specific build, the direct links are below.

Windows

1. Go to booked.kivimedia.co/download/win. You get a file called BookedSolid-pc.exe, normally saved into your Downloads folder.
2. Double-click the file to run it.
3. If a blue Windows protected your PC screen appears, click More info, then Run anyway. The More info link is small and sits just above the Don't run button, so it is easy to miss.

That blue screen comes from Microsoft SmartScreen and it is not a virus warning. It means Windows has not yet seen this particular file downloaded by enough people. If your browser blocks the download before you can even save the file, the full set of ways around that is in Install Booked Solid on Windows.

Mac

1. Go to booked.kivimedia.co/download/mac. You get BookedSolid-mac.dmg. The Mac build is signed and notarized by Apple.
2. Open the .dmg and drag Booked Solid into your Applications folder. If a copy is already there, choose Replace.
3. Eject the disk image, then open the app from Applications. On the first open macOS may ask you to confirm an app downloaded from the internet. Click Open.

Open it from Applications, never from the mounted disk image or from Downloads. An app left running from the disk image is exactly what makes the updater refuse to install later and ask you to move the app. The step by step version is in Install Booked Solid on a Mac.

Linux

booked.kivimedia.co/download/linux gives you the AppImage. Mark it executable and run it, and there is nothing further to install. If you would rather go through your package manager, a .deb and an .rpm are published with every release at github.com/kivimedia/booked-solid-releases/releases.

A reinstall replaces the app, not your work

This is the part worth being sure of before you start. The installer replaces the application itself and nothing else. It goes straight over an existing copy, and your Booking HQ folder, with your leads, gigs, notes, drafts and settings inside it, is left exactly as it was. A reinstall is not a reset.

When the new install opens, point it at the Booking HQ you already have and it picks up where you left off. If that folder is still on this computer, use Find my Booking HQ and select it. If your work lives on a different machine, copy the whole Booking HQ folder across first, and make sure it ends up in a plain local folder: a Booking HQ sitting inside OneDrive, Dropbox or a network drive silently blocks gig saves. The folder picker path is written out in Bring your work over from another computer.

Do I have to enter my license code again

No. If your account is already set up, you sign in on the new install with your username and password. The setup screen behind First time here? Enter your license key is only for brand new setups. The app says key and your license email says code, and they are the same thing.

1. On the account screen, click Already set up on another computer? Sign in.
2. Enter the username and password you chose when you first activated.

Pasting the code in again is the wrong turn, and the app will not explain itself kindly when you do. A code binds to your username the first time it is activated, so a second attempt comes back with That license code was not found or is already in use. Nothing is wrong with your code or your license when you see that. It only means the code has already done its one job. There is no device limit, nothing to buy a second time, and updates are included. Both messages are covered in Using Booked Solid OS on a second computer and That license code was not found or is already in use: the three causes.

Forgotten the password? Click Forgot your password on the sign-in screen, then on the Reset your password screen enter your username, not your email. A 6-digit code goes to the email saved on your account.

On a Mac, some connections may ask for their key once

After a fresh installation on a Mac, a connection on the Connections tab, such as Gmail, Stripe or Apollo, can come back asking to be reconnected with the message Your saved keys couldn't be unlocked on this machine; re-add them. Use Paste key on that card and paste the key in once. That is the entire fix.

Here is why it happens, so you do not go looking for a bigger problem. Your keys sit in an encrypted vault that is locked with this computer's own keychain, and macOS ties that lock to the signature of the app that saved them. The signature changed when Booked Solid moved to Kivi Media, so keys stored under the old one can no longer be unlocked. Nothing is broken, the services themselves are fine, and your Booking HQ is untouched. Full detail is in Your saved keys couldn't be unlocked on this machine.

You only download it once

Once the app is installed it looks after its own updates. It checks for a new version every time it launches, downloads it quietly in the background, and shows an Update ready badge in the top bar when a restart will bring you up to date. Click the badge, then Restart & install, and it takes a few seconds.

So there is no need to keep the installer file, bookmark a build, or come back to the download page every few weeks. The only reasons to download again are a new computer or a genuinely fresh installation. The states the update window can show are listed in How updates work: the update badge and Restart & install.

If it still does not work

If the download is blocked, or the app installs and will not open, or the new install cannot find your Booking HQ, submit a ticket from this help center and tell us three things: which operating system you are on and which version, which step above you reached, and the exact words on your screen. That is usually enough for us to solve it on the first reply.

Still stuck? Submit a ticket from this help center and we'll take it from there.