SideCord

Discord, one edge away.
A focused, edge-native Discord sidebar for macOS and Windows.

Install SideCord  ·  Features  ·  Build from source

SideCord keeps Discord close without dedicating a permanent window to it. Move the pointer to your chosen display edge or press a global shortcut: your same Discord session slides into view, then stays alive when the sidebar retracts.

Install SideCord

Choose the installer for your computer from the latest GitHub Release:

	macOS	Windows
Download	SideCord-macOS-universal-<version>.dmg	SideCord-Setup-<version>-x64.exe
Requires	macOS 26 or newer	Windows 10 version 1809 or newer (x64)
Built with	Native Swift, AppKit, SwiftUI, and WebKit	Electron, Chromium, and a native Windows shell

🍎 macOS

1. Open the latest release and download the file ending in .dmg.
2. Open the downloaded disk image, then drag SideCord onto the Applications shortcut.
3. Open SideCord from Applications.
4. Follow the welcome screen, sign in to Discord, and choose your edge.

The macOS installer is universal: the same download works on Apple silicon and Intel Macs. If macOS blocks the first launch, try opening SideCord once, then follow Apple's current instructions: open System Settings → Privacy & Security, find the SideCord message under Security, choose Open Anyway, and confirm Open.

🪟 Windows

1. Open the latest release and download the file ending in -x64.exe.
2. Double-click the downloaded setup file.
3. If Microsoft Defender SmartScreen appears, choose More info, verify that you downloaded the file from this repository's Releases page, then choose Run anyway.
4. Complete the installer and open SideCord from the Start Menu or the optional desktop shortcut.

Windows may not offer Run anyway on a managed computer or when Smart App Control is enforcing signed apps. In that case, do not disable your computer's security controls; SideCord will need a code-signed release.

Important

Current community installers are not code-signed, and the macOS build is not notarized. Gatekeeper or SmartScreen may therefore ask for the confirmation described above. Only download SideCord from this repository's GitHub Releases page.

Verify your download (optional)

Every release includes SHA256SUMS.txt. This is not an installer; it contains checksums that let you confirm your download has not changed.

On macOS, run shasum -a 256 SideCord-macOS-universal-<version>.dmg. On Windows, run Get-FileHash .\SideCord-Setup-<version>-x64.exe -Algorithm SHA256 in PowerShell. The result should match the corresponding line in SHA256SUMS.txt.

What you get

• Persistent Discord session that survives sidebar retraction
• Left or right placement, multi-display geometry, pinning, and maximize/restore
• Edge-hover reveal and configurable global shortcuts
• Full, Focus, Reader, and Custom Discord layouts
• Optional detached server rail with selection, unread, and mention state
• Theme-aware edge glow for Discord activity
• Discord-integrated SideCord settings instead of a separate settings window
• Mica, Discord, OLED, and Soft themes with configurable accents
• Local custom CSS with remote-resource primitives rejected
• Strict Discord navigation, OAuth popup, permission, and external-link policies
• No SideCord analytics or telemetry

Mica uses the Windows 11 22H2 system backdrop material on Windows and falls back to an opaque matching palette where DWM Mica is unavailable. OLED always keeps the detached Windows rail opaque pure black.

Platform notes

The two implementations intentionally share the product behavior while using the strongest native integration available on each operating system.

• macOS: native nonactivating panels, Spaces support, WebKit, Reduce Motion and Reduce Transparency integration, incoming-call controls, and declarative plugins with isolated web panels.
• Windows: native Mica, a system tray menu, launch-at-login integration, Windows global accelerators, an isolated Electron preload, and a separate always-on-top server rail window.

See MacOS/README.md and Windows/README.md for platform-specific development notes.

Repository layout

SideCord/
├── MacOS/          Native Swift implementation, Xcode project, and tests
├── Windows/        Electron implementation, Node tests, and NSIS packaging
├── docs/           Shared documentation and product artwork
├── scripts/        Shared plugin-catalog tooling
├── README.md       Cross-platform product and build guide
├── CONTRIBUTING.md Development workflow and security boundaries
├── LICENSE         PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 terms
└── PRIVACY.md      Cross-platform privacy policy

Build from source

macOS

Requirements: macOS 26, Xcode 26, and XcodeGen when regenerating the project.

cd MacOS
xcodebuild -project SideCord.xcodeproj -scheme SideCord \
  -destination 'platform=macOS' build
xcodebuild -project SideCord.xcodeproj -scheme SideCord \
  -destination 'platform=macOS' test

After changing MacOS/project.yml, regenerate and commit the checked-in project:

cd MacOS
xcodegen generate

Build the unsigned universal macOS drag-to-Applications disk image:

MacOS/scripts/build-installer.sh

Windows

Requirements: Node.js 22 or newer. Development works on macOS, Windows, and Linux; the final NSIS installer is built on Windows.

cd Windows
npm ci
npm test
npm start
npm run dist

Pushing a version tag runs both installer builds on GitHub-hosted macOS 26 and Windows runners, verifies the platform tests, and publishes the installers and SHA256SUMS.txt to a GitHub Release.

Privacy, plugins, and contributions

SideCord does not inspect Discord credentials or tokens and has no analytics. Read PRIVACY.md for platform-specific storage, permission, rail, call, and plugin details.

macOS plugins are declarative JSON packages rather than executable extensions. They can contribute validated styles, layouts, commands, and isolated web panels. See docs/PLUGINS.md for the format and marketplace security model.

Bug fixes, selector updates, accessibility improvements, platform parity work, and documentation contributions are welcome. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

SideCord is source-available under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0. Noncommercial forks and modified copies are permitted, but every redistributed copy must include the license and required notice. Commercial use, monetization, and monetized distribution require separate written permission from the creator.

If SideCord saves you time, you can tip the creator on Ko-fi.

_{SideCord is independent software and is not affiliated with Discord Inc.}