Windows
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bitmoonlapse-0.10.0-windows-x64.zip
In PowerShell, or better, Windows Terminal, which draws it best:
curl.exe -fLO https://github.com/netcurse/moonlapse.net/releases/download/0.10.0/moonlapse-0.10.0-windows-x64.zip
tar -xf moonlapse-0.10.0-windows-x64.zip
cd moonlapse-0.10.0-windows-x64
.\moonlapse.exeNext time, just the last two lines. Or download it with the button, right-click the .zip, choose Extract All…, and double-click moonlapse.exe in the folder.
The client isn’t signed yet, so if you download it in your browser, SmartScreen may say Windows protected your PC the first time. Click More info, then Run anyway.
macOS
macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on an M-series Macmoonlapse-0.10.0-macos-arm64.tar.gz
In Terminal:
curl -fL https://github.com/netcurse/moonlapse.net/releases/download/0.10.0/moonlapse-0.10.0-macos-arm64.tar.gz | tar -xzf -
cd moonlapse-0.10.0-macos-arm64
./moonlapseNext time, just the last two lines.
The client isn’t signed yet. Downloaded with curl it runs as it is, but if you download it in your browser, macOS quarantines it, so unpack it in Finder and let it run:
cd ~/Downloads/moonlapse-0.10.0-macos-arm64
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine .
./moonlapseLinux
x64, glibc 2.38 or later, and ncursesmoonlapse-0.10.0-linux-x64.tar.gz
In a terminal:
curl -fL https://github.com/netcurse/moonlapse.net/releases/download/0.10.0/moonlapse-0.10.0-linux-x64.tar.gz | tar -xzf -
cd moonlapse-0.10.0-linux-x64
./moonlapseNext time, just the last two lines.
The client needs ncurses, which almost every distribution has already (on Debian or Ubuntu it’s libncursesw6). If it complains about GLIBC, your distribution’s glibc is older than the one it needs (above).
Browser
A desktop or laptop with a keyboardplay.moonlapse.net
Nothing to download: it’s the same client, running in your browser, in the same world, with the same account and characters. It’s updated with the server, so it’s always the latest version. Tick Stay signed in and that browser remembers you; Sign out forgets it.
The terminal is still the best way to play: it draws faster and feels snappier, and it’s your own terminal, font and colours. The browser is the quickest way in.
Good to know
What’s in the archive
The client, its game data (content/) and a config.toml that points it at the live server, play.moonlapse.net. There’s no installer: unpack the folder wherever you like and keep everything in it together.
Your account
You’ll sign in through your browser the first time you play, with an email, Google or Discord: no separate sign-up. Or choose Play as guest to play with no account at all, and register later to keep your character (playing as a guest). Your account page is where you change your password, link Google or Discord, or delete your account.
Passkeys
You can add a passkey on your account page and sign in with it instead of a password. Passkey Type starts on Resident Key, which the Passkey button on the sign-in page finds, with nothing to type. The red caution under it is about hardware keys such as a YubiKey, which hold only a few of these: a passkey kept by your password manager, phone or computer can ignore it. If your hardware key is nearly full, choose Default.
A Default passkey works too, but the Passkey button can’t find it: type your email address (and your password, if your account has one) and press Sign in, and you’ll be asked for the passkey. The sign-in page remembers your email address after the first time.
Passkeys added before 20 October 2026 started on Default. If the Passkey button can’t find yours, delete it on your account page, then add it again.
Staying signed in
Tick Stay signed in on the title screen and the client keeps your sign-in in session.toml, next to itself, so next time you can Continue as your email address. Sign out deletes it.
Updating
When a new version comes out, the title screen says update available. Download the new archive and replace the old folder: your characters live on the server, so there’s nothing to carry over. If you play as a guest, copy guest.toml across first: it’s your only way back to your guest.
Which terminal
Any modern terminal works, and the bigger the window, the more of the world you see. A font with good box-drawing characters looks best.
Playing on another server
config.toml holds the server’s address, or use --host and --port for one run. moonlapse --help lists the options.