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MonarchDocs

Getting started

Installation, first launch and answers to common questions — in plain words.

Download for Windows

Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit · 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended · installs without administrator rights

Installation

  1. Download Monarch-Setup from this site or from GitHub Release.
  2. Run the installer. No administrator rights needed — Monarch installs for your account.
  3. If SmartScreen shows a warning, click “More info” → “Run anyway”. Check the SHA-256 first.

First launch

  1. The first setup asks for your language, theme and where Oscar thinks: on your computer, through MAX or both.
  2. For work on your computer Monarch suggests a model for your hardware — install it now or later. The download runs in the background and resumes after a restart.
  3. For MAX, pick a service, paste the key and agree to the data transfer — separately for every service.
  4. If automatic model installation fails, the window has step-by-step instructions with the exact files.

Permissions

  1. Choose an autonomy mode in settings: “Always ask”, “On its own in the project” or “On its own on the device”.
  2. Web search and cloud services ask for consent separately.
  3. Dangerous actions are always forbidden — that isn’t a setting.

Updates

  1. Monarch checks the signed stable channel itself and offers a one-click update.
  2. Chats, settings, models and the Safe are kept.
  3. If the new version fails to start, Monarch returns to the previous one.

If something goes wrong

Edge blocks the download

Use another browser or the GitHub Release page. Check the SHA-256 after downloading.

Answers are slow

Pick a smaller model in settings. Pro 27B is noticeably slower than the Basic models and needs about 30 GB of memory.

Not enough disk space

Models take gigabytes. You can remove them, or download them later in settings.

The short version

Yes — the main work, from chat and code to tasks and models, happens on your computer. The internet is needed to check for updates, and for search and cloud services that only turn on with your consent.

Only what the access mode you chose allows. Sensitive actions need a separate confirmation, and dangerous ones — like deleting a drive root or touching the Safe — are forbidden outright.

The installer doesn’t have an Authenticode certificate yet, so it has no SmartScreen “reputation”. The update channel is signed with Ed25519, and you can verify the file itself by its SHA-256.

Monarch is free. The only thing you may pay for is a cloud service — and only if you connect it yourself in MAX. The service sets its own prices.

On your drive. Models, chats and files stay on your computer. Something leaves only if you turn on search or a cloud service yourself.

Yes. The plan and the current step are visible right in the chat, and you can stop a task at any moment — including window control in Computer Use.

If MAX doesn’t answer and work on your computer is allowed, your computer’s model replies — the chat labels it. The paid request is not repeated. You can turn this safety net off in the MAX settings.

Yes. In Settings → Models → “Your models”, add a model file or a Hugging Face link. Monarch shows which variant fits in memory. Your own models work in the ordinary chat.

No. Monarch downloads and works without signing up.

Chats, settings, models and the Safe are kept. The update is installed next to the old version and rolls back if the new one fails to start.