Desktop App

Horn is available as a native desktop application built with Tauri. It provides a visual interface for validating PDFs without using the command line.

Install

macOS

curl -sL $(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/focusring/horn/releases/latest | grep browser_download_url | grep '.dmg"' | cut -d '"' -f 4) -o Horn.dmg && open Horn.dmg

Windows

irm ((irm https://api.github.com/repos/focusring/horn/releases/latest).assets | ? { $_.name -like '*.msi' }).browser_download_url -OutFile Horn.msi; Start-Process Horn.msi

Linux (deb)

curl -sL $(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/focusring/horn/releases/latest | grep browser_download_url | grep '.deb"' | cut -d '"' -f 4) -o horn.deb && sudo dpkg -i horn.deb

Linux (AppImage)

curl -sL $(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/focusring/horn/releases/latest | grep browser_download_url | grep '.AppImage"' | cut -d '"' -f 4) -o Horn.AppImage && chmod +x Horn.AppImage && ./Horn.AppImage

Features

• Drag-and-drop or file picker to select PDFs
• Visual validation results with findings breakdown
• No terminal or command-line knowledge required
• Works offline — all validation runs locally

How it differs from the CLI

The desktop app is ideal for occasional use or for users who prefer a graphical interface. For batch processing, CI/CD integration, or scripting, use the CLI instead.

	Desktop App	CLI
Interface	Graphical (native window)	Terminal
Batch processing	Single/few files	Hundreds per second
CI/CD integration	No	Yes
Output formats	Visual report	text, JSON, SARIF, JUnit
Parallel processing	No	Yes (Rayon)

Building from source

Requires Rust 1.85+ and the Tauri prerequisites.

cd horn-desktop
cargo tauri build

The built installer will be in horn-desktop/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.