Getting started

Implementation notes and historical checks. Open the visual guide →.

ReShiki is a desktop workspace for editable chemical drawings. Molecule processing runs locally with RDKit. The optional assistant uses your Codex connection when you send a request.

Install

Download a package for your computer from GitHub Releases. If no release is listed yet, use the source instructions below. The release workflow builds these packages:

Computer	Package	Open
Apple Silicon Mac	macos-arm64.zip	ReShiki.app
Windows x64	windows-x64.zip	reshiki.exe
Windows ARM	windows-arm64.zip	reshiki.exe
Linux x64	linux-x64.tar.gz	./reshiki
Linux ARM	linux-arm64.tar.gz	./reshiki

Extract the archive before opening the app, and keep its contents together. On macOS, move the included app to Applications. Install uv before opening ReShiki. ReShiki uses it to create a local Python/RDKit environment on first chemistry use; a separate Python installation is unnecessary. macOS release builds target Apple Silicon with macOS 14 or later; Intel Macs are unsupported. Linux packages target Ubuntu 22.04+ on x64 and 24.04+ on ARM, with a desktop session and compatible graphics libraries. Windows x64 targets Windows 10/11. Windows ARM requires Windows 11; the app is native ARM64 and its local chemistry worker uses built-in x64 emulation.

Tagged macOS releases require Developer ID signing and Apple notarization. Windows and Linux packages do not currently have publisher signatures. Manual workflow builds may be unsigned and are intended for testing. Packaging smoke tests check local dependency setup and offline chemistry reuse; they do not establish feature parity or full graphical compatibility on every operating system. Native clipboard and printing support Windows and macOS; see the Windows guide for workflows and verification limits.

Install uv

Follow the official uv installation instructions, or use a package manager:

# macOS with Homebrew
brew install uv

# Windows with WinGet
winget install --id astral-sh.uv -e

# Linux (also supported on macOS)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Restart your terminal after installation and run uv --version to verify it. Then open ReShiki. The app also searches uv’s standard installation directory when launched from Finder or a desktop shortcut.

On first chemistry use, ReShiki runs uv in the background to install Python 3.12 and the exact chemistry dependencies from the release’s lockfile. Allow an internet connection for this setup. The drawing canvas remains responsive; failed setup reports an actionable error and you can retry the chemistry operation. Once installed, the local packages support offline use.

The environment is stored in ReShiki’s per-user cache, outside the application bundle. Different dependency sets receive separate environments. Advanced overrides: RESHIKI_UV selects a uv executable, RESHIKI_RUNTIME_DIR selects an absolute cache directory, and RESHIKI_PYTHON selects an already prepared external Python environment.

Draw your first molecule

1. Choose the single-bond tool, then click the canvas to begin a carbon chain.
2. Click an endpoint to extend it, or drag to choose a direction.
3. Hover an atom and press O or N to change its element.
4. Use Templates to preview and attach a ring or another fragment.
5. Select a molecule before using Clean up. Review the preview and apply it when ready.
6. Save as .reshiki to retain the complete editable drawing.

New documents use JACS / ACS defaults: 10 pt Arial labels, 14.4 pt bonds, and 0.6 pt lines. Use Undo to reverse drawing edits. See bond tools, templates, and keyboard shortcuts.

Export and share

Use SVG or PDF for vector figures and PNG for an image. Editable copy and CDXML exchange preserve supported drawing objects; see clipboard support for platform and format limits. Use publication pages to prepare page layouts.

Run from source

Install Rust 1.95 or later and uv, then:

git clone https://github.com/Ameyanagi/ReShiki.git reshiki
cd reshiki
uv sync --locked --python 3.12
cargo run --locked

For development checks, hooks, and documentation previews, see development.