Guide

Everything you need in about two minutes. meow is invite only right now, so the first thing to know is how getting in works.

1. Installation

Easy installation: press DOWNLOAD at the bottom of any page and choose Easy installation. Open "Terminal", paste the command and press return. It downloads meow, puts it in a folder named "Applications" on your Desktop, opens it, and closes Terminal.

Manual installation: create a folder named "Applications" on your Desktop. Open the .dmg you downloaded and drag meow into the new folder you just made. Open "Terminal", and run:

2. Sign in with Google

A tab opens in your browser. Pick the Google account that was added to the list. If you see "This app is in closed access at the moment. Try again later!", that address is not on the list yet.

3. Take the welcome tour

The first time you get in, a short welcome and a tour show you around. You can replay it any time from Settings, About.

4. Let the VPN turn on

When you sign in, a VPN turns on by itself. You do not need to do anything. Your pages open as soon as it is ready, which takes a moment.

5. Sign in to TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat

Do it once. TikTok opens on its login page until you are signed in. Your logins are saved to your meow account (encrypted), so they come back after a restart, a reinstall or on a new Mac.

6. Updates install themselves

Every time meow opens it checks for a newer version. When there is one it says "A new update is available!" and one click downloads it, installs it and restarts. There is nothing to download or drag.

Track your school

The first time you open meow 26.2 it asks you to set up School. Sign in to Gmail, Canvas and Genesis, each in a window that opens, the way you would in your browser. meow never sees your passwords, and everything it reads stays on your Mac. Home then shows Right now (your period, your room and the bell countdown), what is due with a quick hand-in, club meetings found in your email with an RSVP, your grades (press the sliders on the card to choose which courses show), your GPA and your tardies, with how close detention is. Reminders come as notifications. Settings, School has the same buttons, and which cards show.

Making Home yours

Press the pencil above the cards on Home. Every button holds still and the cards wobble: drag a card where you want it, press the − on a card to put it away, and the + next to Done to bring one back. Press Done when you are finished.

The vote

A new vote opens every Monday at 12:00 pm and closes on Friday at 12:00 pm, New Jersey time. To vote you log in with Google, and only an @nvnet.org account can vote. One vote each, every week. While voting is closed you can apply to be one of the options.

Ranks

The owner can give people a rank, with a name and a colour. A rank colours a name wherever it shows (in Messages, in groups, on Home), and resting the pointer on the name shows the rank. Some ranks can also do a little more than everyone else, like helping run the vote.

Closed access

meow is invite only. The list is checked every time you open the app, every time you sign in, and again every minute while it is open. If you are taken off the list while the app is open, it tells you straight away with a "Your permission has expired" message and a Refresh button, and Refresh shows the closed access page. If the app was closed, you see that page the next time you open it. Need an invite? See access.

The VPN

A VPN turns on automatically when you sign in, and stays on while meow is open. There is nothing to set up. If it cannot connect, you see a message and a Try again button. Free VPN servers are sometimes busy, so waiting a few minutes usually fixes it.

Questions

Will I stay logged in?

Yes. As long as you sign in to meow with the same Google account, your TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat logins come back after a restart, a reinstall or on a new Mac. Sign out of meow and this Mac forgets them until you sign back in.

Google says the app is blocked

Some school Google accounts stop third party sign-in. Use a personal Google account, and ask for that one to be added to the list.

The app says an update is available

Press Update now. meow downloads the newest version, installs it and restarts by itself. If macOS asks whether meow may access files in the folder it lives in, press Allow. If it cannot update itself (for instance when it is still running from the disk image), it opens the download instead, and you install the new version over the old one.

How does it know there is a newer version?

By date, not by version number. Every version carries the date and time it was built, and meow compares that with the newest one on this site.