Skip to main content

Install and use the Image Tester GUI

The Image Tester GUI is a desktop application that puts every Image Tester capability behind a point-and-click interface. Nothing else to install — no Java, no terminal.

Double-click the installer for your OS, launch the app, and it opens in your browser.

Download​

Grab the installer for your machine from the latest release.

Your machineFile
WindowsImageTester-<version>-Windows.msi
macOS with Apple SiliconImageTester-<version>-macOS-AppleSilicon.dmg
macOS with IntelImageTester-<version>-macOS-Intel.dmg
Linux (Debian / Ubuntu)ImageTester-<version>-Linux.deb
Not sure which Mac you have?

Apple menu → About This Mac. If you see "Chip: Apple M…", choose the Apple Silicon build. If you see "Processor: Intel…", choose the Intel build.

Install​

Double-click the downloaded installer:

  • Windows — run the .msi and follow the installer.

  • macOS — open the .dmg and drag Image Tester to the Applications folder.

  • Linux (Debian / Ubuntu) — install the .deb with your package manager, for example:

    sudo dpkg -i ImageTester-<version>-Linux.deb

First launch​

Image Tester installers are not yet code-signed, so your operating system will warn you the first time you launch the app. Confirm the launch as follows:

  • Windows — Windows Defender shows "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway.
  • macOS — macOS blocks the first launch. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to the "ImageTester was blocked" message, click Open Anyway, and confirm.
  • macOS keychain prompt — macOS may also ask permission to access "confidential information stored in Applitools ImageTester in your keychain." This is the app reading back the API key it saved securely. Click Always Allow.

Signed builds are planned; when they ship, these warnings will go away.

Run your first test​

Once the app opens in your browser:

  1. Paste your Applitools API key into the API key field. Don't have one yet? Follow Retrieve your API key.
  2. Choose the file or folder to test. Point at a single PDF or image, or at a folder containing many.
  3. Click Run test. Progress rows stream in as each file or PDF page uploads, with thumbnail previews of what is being tested.
  4. Follow the View on dashboard link when the run completes to review results and accept or reject any diffs.

What's in the app​

Every option available from the CLI is also available in the GUI, organized into tabs that mirror the reference sections in these docs:

  • Setup — pick your source file or folder; toggle "Compare two documents" for a direct diff between two specific files.
  • Metadata — application name, OS, browser, viewport size, device name, custom properties.
  • Execution — thread counts, debug and SDK log toggles, filename regex filter.
  • Matching — match level, image resize, match timeout, cropping, capture region, accessibility validation, and auto-save behavior.
  • Batch & branch — batch name, sequence name, branch, parent branch, baseline branch, forced test name.
  • Regions — ignore, content, layout, and accessibility regions.
  • Connection — Applitools server URL, proxy, SSL settings.
  • PDF & documents — DPI, page selection, print-margin trim, PDF password, page-split mode, font normalization, watermark removal. See PDF options.

Automatic update checks​

The app checks GitHub for a newer release on each launch. When a newer version is available, it shows a banner with a one-click install button that downloads the installer to your Downloads folder, verifies it against the release's checksum, and starts it for you.

To disable the update check — useful in air-gapped environments — set the environment variable:

IMAGETESTER_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK=1

Launching the GUI from an existing JAR​

If you already have an Image Tester JAR downloaded (for example, on a build server), you can launch the same app directly from it:

java -jar ImageTester.jar --gui
Need extra help?

If you get stuck on this example, don't suffer in silence! Please reach out to us to get things working. We can also help you get Applitools running in your own project.