Support

A person reads every message and replies within 2 business days.

Get help

Copy diagnostics. Right-click the Desktop Crew icon in the tray (bottom right, by the clock; it may be under the ^ arrow), then More > Copy diagnostics (for support). The crew says "Copied!" when it's on your clipboard.
Read it, then paste it into your email to support@desktopcrew.app. Nothing is sent automatically. It holds technical details and recent errors, never your key, name, town or window titles.
Say what you expected and what happened, and roughly when.
Attach a crew photo or clip if it helps (tray > Photos and clips). They show only the crew, never your windows.

License key questions: license key help. Refunds: the refund policy.

Support never asks for payment details or remote access to your PC. If a message claiming to be us does, it isn't us.

What it runs on

Windows 11, 64-bit (x64): tested.
Mac and Linux: no.

Known issues

The installer isn't code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen warns about it, and PCs with Smart App Control on can't run it. See the SmartScreen question below.
While some screen-sharing and streaming apps run, the crew goes quiet but stays on screen, so people watching your share can see it.

Common questions

The crew disappeared when I started a game or a video.

That's on purpose. The crew hides during games and anything full screen, and comes back when it closes. To hide them for another program too: tray > "Also hide while these run".

How do I hide the crew or stop the comments quickly?

Ctrl + Alt + Shift + H: hide or show the crew (clicking the tray icon does the same).
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + M: comments about your screen off or on.
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + C: record a 10-second crew clip.

Everything else is in the tray menu.

Windows says "Windows protected your PC" (SmartScreen).

Expected for now: Desktop Crew isn't code-signed yet. If you downloaded it from this site, click More info, then Run anyway.

Smart App Control blocks unsigned apps, so Desktop Crew can't run on PCs that have it on yet. If you bought it and can't run it, ask for a refund: the refund policy.

I can't see the monthly build.

It stands behind your windows while you work. Tray > Photos and clips > "Peek at this month's build" brings it in front for 15 seconds. It also comes in front when you've been away a while. The crew builds from 8 am to 10 pm.

Does the world cover my desktop icons?

They always show: the month's world is your wallpaper, under your icons, and the crew never paints over your desktop. Without the world as your wallpaper the house stands on its own and is left out wherever it would cover an icon.

Wallpaper mode says "not available".

It refuses to start when your wallpaper is a slideshow, Windows Spotlight, or a tiled or spanned picture, because those can't be put back exactly. The tray item shows the reason. Switch to a single picture with Fill, Fit, Stretch or Center, then try again. PCs managed by work, and wallpaper apps like Wallpaper Engine or Lively, may not cooperate.

The trial ended and most of the crew left.

After 14 days, three crewmates (your adopted one first) and the AI agent bots stay for free. Tray > "Bring the whole crew back…" lets you buy or enter a key. Everyone comes back with all their progress.

The crew starts with Windows. How do I stop that?

Tray > More > untick "Start with Windows". It's on by default for the installed direct edition.

The crew never mentions the weather.

Pick a town in tray > More > "Make it yours…", and check that tray > More > "Weather from …" is ticked. The app asks MET Norway every 30 minutes.

Where your crew's data lives

What	Where
Settings, profile, memories, progress, license, error log, wallpaper backups	`%APPDATA%\desktop-crew` (tray > More > "Open the crew's data folder")
Backups of the crew (made every week, the newest four kept, plus any you make)	`Documents\Desktop Crew\Backups` (tray > More > "Back up the crew now")
Photos, clips, crew cards, the lock-screen picture	`Pictures\Desktop Crew` (tray > Photos and clips > "Open the photo folder")

The privacy policy lists every file.

Updating

Download the new installer and run it. Quitting the crew first is safest. It installs over the old version, and your crew, their progress and your settings stay. The app doesn't update itself.

If we ever stop selling Desktop Crew, your copy keeps working. It never checks with a server. The last installer stays downloadable for at least 12 months after sales stop.

Moving to a new PC

The easy way: Desktop Crew keeps a backup of the crew every week in Documents\Desktop Crew\Backups. If your Documents folder is in OneDrive, the backups are already on the new PC. Otherwise copy that folder over (a USB stick is fine). Install Desktop Crew on the new PC and start it: on its first start it finds the backup and asks "Welcome back! We found your crew." Choose "Bring my crew back", then paste your key from your key email. Already started a new crew there? Use tray > More > "Restore the crew from a backup…".

If the old PC died: the same works from any copy of that folder (OneDrive, Windows Backup or a stick). Without a backup, your key still works; only the crew's memories start over.

The whole folder: or quit Desktop Crew, copy the %APPDATA%\desktop-crew folder to the same place on the new PC, then install and start it. Your license key is in that folder, so it comes along.

Uninstalling and removing everything

Uninstall from Settings > Apps > Installed apps: find Desktop Crew, select More (the … button) and choose Uninstall. The uninstaller puts your wallpaper back (if wallpaper mode was on), removes the Start with Windows entry and removes the program. It keeps %APPDATA%\desktop-crew, Documents\Desktop Crew and Pictures\Desktop Crew on purpose, so a reinstall picks up your crew. Delete those three folders to remove everything.

Putting your wallpaper back by hand

The app puts your wallpaper back by itself when wallpaper mode is turned off, when it quits, at the next start after a crash, and when it's uninstalled. If none of that happened (for example the program folder was deleted by hand):

Open %APPDATA%\desktop-crew. Your backup is in wallpaper-backup or a folder named wallpaper-backup kept <date and time>. Each holds state.json (which picture was on which monitor, and the fit) and a copy of each of your original pictures.
Open Settings > Personalization > Background.
Set Personalize your background to Picture, click Browse photos, and pick your original picture from the backup folder. With two or more monitors, right-click the picture under Recent images and choose Set for monitor 1 (or 2, and so on).
Under Choose a fit for your desktop image, pick the fit you had before (shown as position in state.json; if unsure, try Fill).
When your wallpaper looks right, you can delete the backup folders and wallpaper-active.json.