Construct 3 is also available as a desktop app based on NW.js. This is useful if you want to preview or debug your project with NW.js features active.
How to use it
Simply download the zip below, extract it to a folder, and run Construct3.exe. The first time you run it, you may need to approve a security prompt, or wait for an antivirus scan.
As with loading editor.construct.net in the browser, you must be online the first time you load Construct 3. From then on, it will work offline. You can use your account offline for up to 7 days, but you must go online at least once every 7 days to renew the account. This is all identical to how offline support and accounts work in the Chrome browser.
Features specific to the desktop build
The desktop app is more or less the same as what you get in the Chrome browser. The main reason to use it is if your project uses the NW.js plugin, its features can work in preview mode, which is useful for testing.
The NW.js desktop app also enables local file & folder saves. You can also use this in Chrome with beta C3 releases; the desktop app has it always enabled. There are some other minor differences, but our plan is to make the NW.js desktop app the same as you get in Chrome (still including local file & folder saves), so expect them to converge over time.
If you don't need to use NW.js features in preview mode, you may as well keep using Construct 3 from the web. You can still create a desktop icon and run without the address bar from Chrome using the "Add to desktop" feature. There's more information in the manual.
FAQ
Where do I download the desktop build?
The link is at the bottom of this post. We will be updating the website with download links later down the line.
How do I update Construct 3?
Currently the desktop build serves the same version of C3 that appears at editor.construct.net. It updates the same way as in the browser: you'll see a notification there's a new version available, and reloading C3 will use it. There's also a separate download if you want to use the latest beta release of C3 instead.
Where do I report issues?
The same place as any other C3 issues, on the GitHub tracker: https://github.com/Scirra/Construct-3-bugs/issues
There is a 'desktop' tag we'll apply to issues relating to the desktop app.
How does feature X work in the desktop app?
Our goal is to make the desktop app work identically to Construct 3 running in Chrome. It exists only for previewing/debugging with NW.js features active.
Here are the links to download. The stable channel version loads the latest stable release of C3, and the beta channel loads the latest beta release of C3. Last update: February 5th 2020
Stable channel: Download the Construct 3 Win64 desktop build Chromium 80 (stable channel)
Beta channel: Download the Construct 3 Win64 desktop build Chromium 80 (beta channel)
Updates:
Jan 15 2018: fixed issues with preview window positioning and previewing with AJAX plugin
Feb 12 2018: updated to Chrome 64; now includes dev tools
Feb 23 2018: added new download that loads beta channel of C3
Apr 20 2018: updated to Chrome 66
Jun 19 2018: updated to Chrome 67
Sept 07 2018: updated to Chrome 69
Sept 17 2018: updated to work around issue with Cloud Save not working
Sept 19 2018: updated to NW.js 0.33.3 to fix issue with gamepad input not working
Dec 5th 2018: updated to NW.js 0.35.0
Dec 11th 2018: updated to NW.js 0.35.1 to fix issue with saving local files and Cloud Save
March 15th 2019: updated to Chrome 73 (NW.js 0.37.0)
April 25th 2019: updated to Chrome 74 (NW.js 0.38.0)
June 13th 2019: updated to Chrome 75 (NW.js 0.39.0)
August 13th 2019: updated to Chrome 76 (NW.js 0.40.1)
September 12th 2019: updated to Chrome 77 (NW.js 0.41.0)
October 25th 2019: updated to Chrome 78 (NW.js 0.42.0)
December 16th 2019: updated to Chrome 79 (NW.js 0.43.1)
February 5th 2020: updated to Chrome 80 (NW.js 0.44.0)