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Collate Desktop

Collate Desktop is a new Electron-based application for macOS and Windows that wraps the Collate AI web experience with native capabilities. It brings the full power of Collate AI Chat and the Collate catalog to your desktop, with deep OS integration that the browser cannot provide.

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Key Features

Collate Desktop registers the collate:// URI scheme on your operating system. Deep links let any app, notification, or chat message open a specific view in Collate Desktop with a single click. Supported deep-link actions include:
  • Chat prompts — collate://chat?prompt=<your-question> opens Collate AI Chat with a pre-filled question.
  • Asset FQNs — collate://asset?type=table&fqn=<fqn> opens the asset detail page for any data asset by its Fully Qualified Name.
  • Search — collate://search?query=<query> opens the Explore page with a pre-filled search term.
  • Notifications — collate://notify lets the web app send native desktop notifications with a deep link back to the relevant activity or task.
  • Auth callbacks — SSO redirects route through collate://auth-callback?url=<encoded-url> so browser-based SSO flows complete inside the app.

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Global Command Palette

Press Cmd+Shift+Space (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+Space (Windows) from anywhere on your desktop to open the Collate AI Chat command palette. You can type a question, paste an asset name, or enter a collate:// deep link — without switching windows or opening a browser tab.

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Native Menus and System Tray

Collate Desktop includes a native menu bar (macOS) and system tray icon (Windows and macOS) for quick access to common actions, recent searches, and notification summaries.

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File Associations

Collate Desktop registers as the default handler for the following file types:

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OTA (Over-the-Air) Updates

Collate Desktop checks for updates automatically in the background. When a new version is available, an in-app prompt appears at the bottom of the window. Click Install Update to apply the update and restart the app. Updates are silent and do not require re-authentication.

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Native Browser-Based SSO

Collate Desktop handles SSO by opening your organization’s login page in the system browser. After sign-in, the browser redirects to collate://auth-callback, which hands control back to the desktop app and stores the session securely.

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Installation

Download Collate Desktop from http://collate-desktop.getcollate.io/. Both macOS and Windows installers are available. macOS:
  1. Download the .dmg file.
  2. Open the .dmg and drag the Collate app to your Applications folder.
  3. Launch Collate from Applications or Spotlight.
Windows:
  1. Download the .exe installer.
  2. Run the installer and follow the prompts.
  3. Collate Desktop will appear in your Start Menu and system tray after installation.

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Connecting to Your Collate Instance

On first launch, Collate Desktop prompts you to enter your organization’s Collate workspace URL.
  1. Enter your workspace URL in the format https://<your-org>.getcollate.io.
  2. Click Connect.
  3. Sign in using your organization’s SSO provider. The login page opens inside the app.
  4. After successful authentication, you are taken to the Collate AI Chat home screen.
Your workspace URL and session are remembered across restarts. To switch workspaces, go to Settings > Workspace inside the app.

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Using the Command Palette

The global command palette is the fastest way to use Collate AI Chat from anywhere on your desktop.
  1. Press Cmd+Shift+Space (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+Space (Windows) from any application.
  2. The Collate AI Chat command palette appears in the foreground.
  3. Type a question (e.g., “What is the customers table used for?”), paste an asset name, or paste a collate:// deep link.
  4. Press Enter to submit.
The command palette does not require Collate Desktop to be the active window — it can be triggered while you are in any application, including your BI tool, SQL editor, or terminal. Use collate:// deep links to navigate directly to specific views in Collate Desktop from external sources such as Slack messages, emails, Jira tickets, or CI/CD notifications.

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Open a Collate URL

Opens any Collate URL inside the desktop app. The url parameter must be URL-encoded.

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Open a Chat with a Pre-Filled Prompt

Encodes the question as a URL query parameter. Spaces should be encoded as + or %20.

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Open an Asset by Fully Qualified Name

Use the asset’s type (e.g. table, dashboard, pipeline) and its Fully Qualified Name as query parameters.
Opens the Explore page with the search term pre-filled.

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Open Preferences

Opens the Settings screen inside the app. Equivalent to pressing Cmd+, on macOS.

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Auth Callback

Used internally by the SSO flow. You do not need to construct this URL manually — it is handled automatically by Collate Desktop during sign-in.