Introduction
============

The ownCloud Sync Client is a desktop program installed on a user’s computer.
It allows a user to specify one or more directories on the local machine to
sync to the ownCloud server.  It allows the user to always have the latest
files wherever they may be.  When a change is made to the file on the
computer, it will sync to the ownCloud server via the sync client.

The ownCloud Sync Client is available for Windows, MAC OS X, and various
Linux distributions.

Obtaining the Client
--------------------

The latest version of the Client can be obtained on the ownCloud web site.

ownCloud client for **Windows** is provided as a NSIS-based setup file for
machine-wide install. Installing the ownCloud client on **Mac OS** follows
the normal app bundle installation pattern:

1. Download the installation file: Click ``ownCloud-x.y.z.dmg``, a window with
   the ownCloud icon opens.
2. In that window, drag the ownCloud application into the ``Applications``
   folder.
3. On the right hand side From ``Applications``, choose ``ownCloud``.

The ownCloud client is also provided as in a convenient repository for a wide
range of popular **Linux distributions**.

Supported distributions are Fedora, openSUSE, Ubuntu and Debian.
To support other distributions, a is required, see :ref:`building-label`