Safeguard on Windows: desktop app, PowerShell CLI and browser

Safeguard on Windows comes in three parts: the desktop app 3.2.2, one per user installer for x64 and ARM on Windows 10 and 11; the Safeguard CLI in PowerShell; and the browser extension for Chrome, Edge and other Chromium browsers. Add the iOS or Android app to follow up away from your desk. One account covers all of them.

Switching to Safeguard does not mean dropping the AI you already pay for. Bring the Claude, ChatGPT or Codex plan you already pay for and use it inside the Safeguard CLI. Safeguard adds no extra charge for that usage; your plan's own usage limits and terms still apply. You can also connect Claude or ChatGPT to the Safeguard MCP server and use Safeguard from the chat you already have open.

This guide sets up the full Windows experience in the order most people use it: the desktop app, the CLI in PowerShell, the browser extension, and the phone. Every version number and install detail below comes from the Safeguard download page and the CLI docs, checked on 21 October 2026.

Safeguard on Windows at a glance

Each surface does a different job, and they all read from the same workspace. A scan you run in PowerShell shows up when you open the desktop app, and the same findings are there on your phone.

Two things are not on the download page, so do not go looking for them: there is no Microsoft Store listing and no WinGet package. Download from safeguard.sh/download.

Windows laptops from phone makers. A Samsung Galaxy Book or a Huawei MateBook running Windows is a Windows PC as far as Safeguard is concerned: use the Windows desktop app and the CLI exactly as described here.

How this compares with Claude and Codex on Windows

If you already use Anthropic or OpenAI tools on Windows, the shape is similar. Anthropic offers a Claude desktop app for Windows, and Claude Code installs natively from PowerShell, CMD or WinGet, or inside WSL. Its Windows binaries are signed by "Anthropic, PBC", which you can check with Get-AuthenticodeSignature. OpenAI's Codex runs on Windows through the ChatGPT desktop app, the CLI or the IDE extension, natively in PowerShell with a Windows sandbox or inside WSL. Safeguard adds a security platform behind the same kind of desktop, terminal and browser surfaces, and you can keep using your Claude, ChatGPT or Codex plan inside it. For a side by side of the two chat assistants, see Claude vs ChatGPT for coding.

Install the desktop app (3.2.2)

The desktop app puts the whole platform in its own window. You can ask about every CVE, component, project and control you have scanned, in plain English, and get answers without opening a terminal.

What the installer needs

• Windows 10 or Windows 11.
• An x64 or ARM machine. One installer covers both. Architecture specific x64 and arm64 installers are also listed if you prefer them.
• About 205 MB for the download.
• No administrator rights. The install is per user.

Step 1: download from the official page

Get Safeguard-3.2.2.exe from safeguard.sh/download. Do not use a copy someone forwarded in chat or a mirror; the checksum step below only protects you if the file and the published hash both come from the official page.

Step 2: verify the SHA-256

Because the build is not yet code-signed, the checksum is how you confirm the file is the one Safeguard published. The download page gives a certutil command. In PowerShell or CMD, from your Downloads folder:

cd $env:USERPROFILE\Downloads
certutil -hashfile Safeguard-3.2.2.exe SHA256

certutil -hashfile generates and displays a cryptographic hash over a file. PowerShell has its own cmdlet, Get-FileHash, which uses SHA256 by default. You can let it do the comparison for you:

$expected = "069f5fab80cd100ead36bbb8f881d62aa1db9a323b94ff875308d83f0e5578be"
(Get-FileHash .\Safeguard-3.2.2.exe -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLower() -eq $expected

True means the file matches. The value above is the one the download page listed for Safeguard-3.2.2.exe when we checked; always compare against the value on the page at the time you download. If you chose an architecture specific installer, compare against that file's own hash. If the result is False, delete the file and download it again. Do not run it.

Step 3: get past SmartScreen, the right way

When you start the installer, Windows may show "Windows protected your PC". The download page says this is expected while the builds are not yet code-signed, and is not a sign of a corrupt file.

Microsoft's documentation explains why. Microsoft Defender SmartScreen checks downloaded files against a list of files that are well known and downloaded frequently, and checks the digital signature used to sign a file. If a file or certificate has no established reputation, SmartScreen marks it as higher risk and shows a warning. A new, unsigned build will trip that check whether or not anything is wrong with it.

So the order matters:

1. Verify the SHA-256 (Step 2).
2. Only then, on the SmartScreen screen, choose More info.
3. Check the file name shown is Safeguard-3.2.2.exe.
4. Choose Run anyway.

If your device is managed and Run anyway is not offered, your IT team controls that setting. Ask them, or use the web interface or the cloud options described later, which need nothing installed.

Step 4: sign in and ask your first question

Open the app, sign in to your workspace, and ask something you would normally dig through a dashboard for. "Which projects have critical findings" is a good first question. The answers come from the same platform as the CLI and the phone apps.

Do the work properly with the Safeguard CLI in PowerShell

The desktop app is where you look across everything. The Safeguard CLI is where you do the work on one repository. It scans code, container images and SBOMs on your own machine, sends only the results to the platform, and includes an assistant that can fix what it finds. It writes code, not only scans it, and it is one static binary with no Node, Python or JVM to install.

Install

Open PowerShell (not CMD) and run:

irm https://cli.safeguard.sh/install.ps1 | iex

The installer detects your architecture, resolves the current release, verifies the download against published checksums, puts safeguard in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Safeguard\bin and adds that folder to your user PATH. One Windows difference to know: if checksums.txt is missing, the PowerShell installer still installs and prints a warning, where the macOS and Linux installer would stop. Treat that warning as a reason to verify by hand.

Then open a new PowerShell window, because existing windows do not see the PATH change, and check:

safeguard --version
Get-Command safeguard -All

On an ARM PC, the desktop app has a native ARM installer but the CLI does not. The installer warns and installs the x86_64 binary, which runs under emulation.

First session

cd C:\src\orders-service
safeguard

The first run finishes setup, including the scanners. Type /login to sign in through your browser, or run safeguard login --no-browser to get a URL and a short code you can approve from any device, including your phone. Then:

/scan .

While you are signed in, this uploads the SBOM and findings, not your source. Open the desktop app and the results are there.

Ask, fix and check, with your approval

Anything that does not start with / goes to the assistant. It has tools for your local files and for your Safeguard data, and picks whichever the question needs:

how many critical vulns do we have
fix the lodash CVE in this repo
what's the latest file in ~/Downloads

Tools that change things (writing a file, editing code, running a command) ask before they act. Approve the edit, ask it to run your tests, then /scan . again to confirm the finding is gone. Type @ to attach a file from the folder you started in.

Keep your Claude, ChatGPT or Codex plan

Bring the Claude, ChatGPT or Codex plan you already pay for and use it inside the Safeguard CLI. Safeguard adds no extra charge for that usage; your plan's own usage limits and terms still apply. /model shows or switches the model; see the CLI docs and the /model picker for connecting yours.

If your day starts in a chat app rather than PowerShell, connect that chat to Safeguard instead. This walkthrough connects Claude to the Safeguard MCP server with OAuth and lets you choose which tools Claude can use.

Click through it at your own pace, or open it full screen.

Approvals

/permissions sets the mode. Ask prompts before every action. Auto approves known actions and asks about anything new, and it is the default. Yolo approves everything. The current mode sits in the bar above the input, next to the runner state and your model.

CI with safeguard exec

On a Windows build agent, safeguard exec runs one non-interactive assistant turn:

safeguard exec --output-format json "summarise the critical findings in this repository"

It defaults to strict permissions, so anything your policy file has not pre-approved is denied and nothing is prompted. It needs a git checkout unless you pass --skip-git-repo-check. Policies and gates are evaluated in the platform, not by the CLI. For a deeper tour of the assistant, read using the Safeguard CLI as an AI assistant on your machine.

Add the browser extension

The browser extension, version 1.0.4, puts Griffin search in a side panel. It can read and change content on the sites you visit, so Griffin can carry out browser tasks you ask for.

Chrome, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera and Arc

Install it from the Chrome Web Store listing on the download page. Chromium browsers share that listing.

Microsoft Edge

Edge uses the same Chrome Web Store listing for now; the download page says Edge will get its own Add-ons listing later. To install from the Chrome Web Store in Edge, the "Allow extensions from other stores" setting must be on.

On a managed PC, your administrator may decide this. Microsoft's Edge policy documentation describes a policy that sets the default state of "Allow extensions from other stores", and a separate Extension Settings policy that can stop installs from other stores entirely. If the toggle is greyed out, that is why.

Firefox

Install from Firefox Add-ons, also linked from the download page.

Approvals in the browser

Browser tasks follow the same idea as the CLI: you choose how much the assistant may do. This walkthrough shows Search working in a browser tab you hand it, step by step, with the Safeguard Chrome extension. You set Ask, Auto or Yolo, it stops and asks before a risky step such as submitting a form (Allow once or Don't allow), and every step is kept on record. Browser control must be enabled for the workspace.

Click through it at your own pace, or open it full screen.

Follow up from your phone (and when you cannot install)

The phone apps give you the same answers on a phone, which is the point: you should not need to be at your Windows desk to see whether last night's scan turned up something new.

iPhone and iPad. Install from the App Store.

Android phones and tablets. Install from Google Play. For phones without Google Play, or for a company managed rollout, the download page also offers a direct APK, version 1.0.2, with a SHA-256 to check before you install. Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets install from Google Play like any other Android device.

A Windows day, end to end

• Morning, PowerShell. safeguard in the repository, /scan ., then ask the assistant to fix the critical finding. Approve the edit, run the tests, scan again, commit.
• Midday, desktop app. Ask which other projects use the same vulnerable package, and look across products without a terminal.
• Afternoon, Edge or Chrome. Use the side panel to search while you read an advisory or a vendor page.
• Evening, phone. Check whether the fix cleared, or whether anything new came in.

When you cannot install anything

Some Windows PCs are locked down. You still have options that need nothing installed:

• Web interface. The full platform in a browser tab at app.safeguard.sh.
• Cloud CLI. The CLI running on Safeguard's infrastructure, so a scan needs no local runner.
• Cloud computer. The full platform in your browser, hosted by Safeguard.
• Cloud sandbox. A hosted, isolated tenant against a seeded demo repo, free for seven days with no card.

Common mistakes on Windows

Clicking Run anyway before checking the hash. SmartScreen's warning is expected for an unsigned build, which is exactly why the checksum matters. Verify first, then run.

Comparing the wrong hash. The published SHA-256 belongs to a specific file. If you downloaded the arm64 or x64 specific installer, compare against that file's hash, not the one for the combined installer.

Looking for Safeguard in the Microsoft Store or WinGet. It is not listed there. Use the download page.

Running the CLI installer in CMD. irm and iex are PowerShell aliases. Open PowerShell and run the line again.

Testing the CLI in the window you installed from. The new PATH entry only reaches new windows. Close and reopen PowerShell before you run safeguard --version.

Expecting a native ARM CLI. The desktop app has an ARM installer; the CLI runs as x86_64 under emulation on ARM PCs.

Skipping the first interactive run. A new install has no scanners until you run safeguard once. If a scan returns nothing or exit code 2, do that, then safeguard update and safeguard doctor.

Pressing Enter for a new line in the CLI. Enter sends. Use ctrl+j, since alt+enter does not work in Windows consoles. Windows Terminal users can bind shift+enter with a sendInput action.

Leaving Yolo on. Yolo approves everything, including commands. Use Auto for daily work and Ask in unfamiliar repositories.

Assuming the extension works in Edge without the store setting. If installing from the Chrome Web Store fails in Edge, check "Allow extensions from other stores", or ask IT whether policy blocks it.

FAQ

Do I need admin rights to install Safeguard on Windows?

Not for the desktop app: the installer is per user and needs no administrator rights. The CLI installs into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Safeguard\bin and changes your user PATH by default.

Why does Windows say "Windows protected your PC"?

The desktop builds are not yet code-signed, and SmartScreen warns about files without an established reputation. Verify the SHA-256 against the download page, then choose More info and Run anyway.

Does Safeguard run on Windows on ARM?

Yes. The desktop installer covers x64 and ARM, and there is an arm64 specific installer too. The CLI has no native ARM build for Windows; the installer puts the x86_64 binary in place and it runs under emulation.

Can I keep my Claude, ChatGPT or Codex plan?

Yes. Bring the Claude, ChatGPT or Codex plan you already pay for and use it inside the Safeguard CLI. Safeguard adds no extra charge for that usage; your plan's own usage limits and terms still apply. You can also connect Claude or ChatGPT to the Safeguard MCP server and use Safeguard from that chat. See the CLI docs or /model for connecting a model.

Is there an Edge extension?

Edge installs the extension from the Chrome Web Store listing today. The download page says Edge will get its own Add-ons listing later.

Does my source code leave my PC?

When the local runner runs platform scan jobs, your source code stays on your machine and only SBOMs and findings are uploaded. Scanning with /scan . while signed in works the same way.

Is Safeguard in the Microsoft Store?

No. The Microsoft Store is not listed on the download page. Get the Windows installer and the CLI from safeguard.sh/download.

What if my work PC blocks unsigned apps?

Ask IT, or use the web interface, Cloud CLI, cloud computer or the seven day cloud sandbox, none of which need a local install. You can also keep checking findings from your phone.

Try it yourself

This walkthrough covers the CLI side of the Windows setup: set up the runner on your own machine, pick the platform, start it, approve it with its device code, then use the same CLI to scan from the terminal.

Click through it at your own pace, or open it full screen.

Ready to set up your own PC? Get the desktop app and the CLI from safeguard.sh/download, and keep the CLI docs open for the reference. If you already work with other coding agents, our guide to checking coding agent changes with the Safeguard CLI shows how to scan what they changed before you merge.

Quick check

Sources

• Safeguard downloads
• Safeguard CLI overview
• Safeguard CLI installation
• Safeguard CLI interactive terminal
• Safeguard CLI usage guide
• Safeguard CLI troubleshooting
• Microsoft Defender SmartScreen overview
• Microsoft: Get-FileHash
• Microsoft: certutil
• Microsoft Edge policy: Allow extensions from other stores
• Claude Code advanced setup
• Codex on Windows

Last reviewed: 21 October 2026.