Send documents to Reader, look after your DC-1, and move files and copies between it and your Mac. Plug it in once, and from then on it works over Wi-Fi.
Daylight for Mac 1.0.0 · updated 13 October 2026 · official builds only
Daylight for Mac
Install this app on your Mac to send documents to Reader and use your DC-1 from your desk.
MAC DOWNLOAD
Step 1
Click Download above, then open the .dmg file.
Step 2 Drag Daylight for Mac into your Applications folder. If you open it straight from the disk image or from Downloads, it offers to move itself there: click Move to Applications.
Step 3 Double-click Daylight for Mac in Applications. macOS asks whether to open an app downloaded from the internet: click Open.
What you need
- A Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple Silicon or Intel
- A Daylight DC-1 and a USB-C cable that carries data
- A Daylight account (the one your tablet is signed in to)
- The new Reader on your DC-1 (2026.09.24 or later), to see what you send. It reaches customer tablets in a later tablet update; everything else works on every DC-1 today.
First-time setup
The first time you open the app, a short welcome walks you through these steps. You can see it again any time from Help › Show Welcome.
- Sign in with your Daylight account: the same email and password your tablet uses. No account yet? Open the Passport app on your DC-1 and use its Sign up tab.
- Get Android's tools if the app asks for them first. It needs a small set of free tools from Google to talk to the tablet. Click Get Android's tools…, then Agree and download (about 16 MB).
- Turn on USB debugging on your DC-1 (once per tablet): open Settings › About tablet, scroll to the very bottom and tap Build number seven times. Then go to Settings › System › Developer options and turn on USB debugging.
- Plug in your DC-1 with a USB-C cable and unlock it. When it asks "Allow USB debugging?", tick Always allow from this computer and tap Allow. This lets this Mac read and change files and settings on your DC-1, so only allow Macs you own.
After that it can work over Wi-Fi: when the tablet asks "Allow wireless debugging on this network?", tick Always allow on this network and tap Allow. Once the app says you can unplug the cable, unplug it.
When macOS asks whether Daylight for Mac may find devices on your local network, click Allow, or Wi-Fi can't find your DC-1.
The app has its own window and a ☀️ sun in the menu bar near the clock. Closing the window keeps the sun, so the most common controls are always one click away.
What it does
Send to Reader and the Library
Drop a PDF, a Markdown or a text file on Send to Reader (⌘3), or paste a web address into Web page and click Clip to keep just the article. Click Send to Reader and it appears in Reader on every Daylight signed in to your account, usually within half a minute.
Library (⌘2) shows everything in your Reader library: search, pin, tag, rename and archive. "I have 10 / 20 / 45 minutes" picks what fits the time you have.
Your Daylight from the desk
Devices (⌘1) shows your DC-1 with its battery, warmth and brightness. Set Warmth and Brightness, Wake or Sleep the screen, and Take a screenshot (⇧⌘S): it lands in Pictures › Daylight › Screenshots.
Below that are the tablet settings a Mac is allowed to change, such as automatic brightness and how long the screen stays on. The ☀️ menu-bar sun has the same warmth slider.
Wi-Fi without the cable
Plug in once while the app is open and you are signed in, and from then on your DC-1 connects over Wi-Fi on the same network. It reconnects by itself after a drop or a restart; wake the tablet if it was asleep.
If your tablet asks for a pairing code instead, click Pair with a code. On the tablet open Settings › System › Developer options › Wireless debugging › Pair device with pairing code, then type the six digits it shows and click Pair. Use Wi-Fi on networks you trust.
Files
Files (⌘5) shows your tablet's storage the way Finder shows a drive. Drag files in and out, click Add files…, make folders, rename, and press Space for Quick Look. If a name is taken, you choose Keep both, Replace or Skip.
Reading folder: choose a folder on your Mac (Settings › Reading folder › Choose folder…) and whatever you put in it is copied to Documents › From Mac on your DC-1 and kept up to date while the app is open and your DC-1 is connected (cable or Wi-Fi). It never overwrites a change you made on the tablet.
Clipboard
Turn on the shared clipboard in Clipboard (⌘6) to copy on your Mac and paste on your DC-1, and back. It is off until you turn it on, and carries plain text only. Password-manager copies are never sent.
Every copy that went across is kept in a list, also after you quit, with Copy to use it again (or Copy to this Mac and Copy to your Daylight while the shared clipboard is off). Clear empties the list.
Go outside, Go to bed, Restore the light
Two one-click buttons on Overview, in the menu-bar sun and in the Daylight menu. Go outside turns the backlight off so the screen reads by daylight. Go to bed sets the backlight to 25% and the warmth to full amber.
Both turn automatic brightness off first, so the light sensor can't undo them. Restore the light puts everything back exactly as it was, automatic brightness included. Nothing else on the tablet changes.
Mark up
Drop a PDF on Mark up (⌘4) and it opens on your DC-1. Write on it with the pen and tap Done: the marked-up copy comes back to your Mac, and your original PDF is never changed. For a longer PDF, click Next Page on the Mac to carry on.
Every copy that came back is listed under Came back from your Daylight, with Save to Downloads.
Mirror your Mac
Mirror your Mac to your Daylight (on Overview, Devices and in the menu-bar sun) opens Daylight Link, our separate app that shows your Mac's screen on your DC-1. Then open View on the tablet to connect.
If Daylight Link is not installed, the button says Get Daylight Link for mirroring. See Download Daylight Link.
From anywhere on the Mac
You do not have to open the window first. Drop files on the Dock icon, or right-click a file and choose Open With › Daylight for Mac or Services › Send to Daylight. A small window asks: Send to Reader, or Copy to your Daylight.
Selected text or a link in any app can go too: Services › Send to Reader, or Services › Paste on Daylight to put it on the tablet's clipboard.
Updates and Help
The app keeps itself up to date: when a new version is out, it shows what changed and offers Install Update, Remind Me Later or Skip This Version. To check now, choose Daylight for Mac › Check for Updates….
Help is always in the Help menu (⌘?), and you can search it.
Removing the app
Settings › About › Remove Daylight for Mac… lists everything it will remove before anything happens. It signs you out, forgets your Wi-Fi tablets, and deletes the app's settings and files on this Mac (and on a DC-1 connected at the time). Then drag the app to the Trash.
Your mark-ups, screenshots and anything you copied from the tablet are never touched, and your library stays in your Daylight account.
Troubleshooting
Need help?
Email us at hello@daylightcomputer.com. It helps to include the app's diagnostics: open Settings › About and click Copy diagnostics, then paste it into your email (Email Daylight, next to it, does both). Diagnostics never include passwords, documents or clipboard text.