Guide sections

Installation

Download Campaign Familiar for your platform, install it, and check the first-launch setup before creating a campaign.

Campaign Familiar is a local-first, privacy-first desktop app for D&D Dungeon Masters that stores your entire campaign in a local database on your own machine.

System requirements

RequirementMinimum
OSWindows 10+, macOS 10.15+, Ubuntu 20.04+
RAM4 GB
Storage500 MB for app, more for campaigns
InternetRequired for AI features, optional for core functionality

Download

Get Campaign Familiar from the official website:

campaignfamiliar.com/download

Choose your platform:

  • Windows - .exe installer
  • macOS - .dmg disk image
  • Linux - .AppImage or .deb package

Windows installation

Step 1: run the installer

  1. Download Campaign.Familiar_x.x.x_x64-setup.exe
  2. Double-click to run
  3. If Windows SmartScreen appears, click More info -> Run anyway
  4. Follow the installation wizard

Step 2: launch

  • Find Campaign Familiar in your Start menu
  • Or use the desktop shortcut (if you created one)

Windows data location

Your campaigns are stored in:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\campaign-familiar

This is typically C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\campaign-familiar

macOS installation

Step 1: mount the disk image

  1. Download Campaign.Familiar_x.x.x_aarch64.dmg
  2. Double-click to open
  3. Drag Campaign Familiar to your Applications folder

Step 2: first launch

  1. Open Applications and double-click Campaign Familiar
  2. If you see “Campaign Familiar cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer”:
    • Go to System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General
    • Click Open Anyway
    • Or: Right-click the app -> Open -> Open

macOS data location

Your campaigns are stored in:

~/Library/Application Support/campaign-familiar

To access this folder: Finder -> Go -> Go to Folder -> paste the path above.

Linux installation

  1. Download Campaign.Familiar_x.x.x_amd64.AppImage
  2. Make it executable: 
    chmod +x Campaign.Familiar_x.x.x_amd64.AppImage
  3. Run it: 
    ./Campaign.Familiar_x.x.x_amd64.AppImage

Option b: debian package

  1. Download Campaign.Familiar_x.x.x_amd64.deb
  2. Install: 
    sudo dpkg -i Campaign.Familiar_x.x.x_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get install -f  # If there are dependency issues
  3. Launch from your application menu or run campaign-familiar

Linux data location

Your campaigns are stored in:

~/.local/share/campaign-familiar

First launch

When you first open Campaign Familiar:

1. account setup

You own the full app once it’s installed - no subscription is required to use it. Account setup only matters if you want AI features:

  • Sign In - If you have an account (and an optional AI subscription), sign in to activate AI.
  • Continue without AI - Use the complete app with no account. Every non-AI feature works.

2. optional: add AI

AI generation is an optional monthly add-on on top of the app you already own:

  • AI Companion - $7.99/month, 100 AI generations/month
  • AI Power - $14.99/month, 300 AI generations/month

Beta testers get full Power-level AI at no charge. You can add or change an AI subscription anytime. See Subscription tiers for details.

3. create or import a campaign

  • Create New - Start fresh
  • Import - Bring in content from Fantasy Grounds or other sources

Updating Campaign Familiar

Campaign Familiar checks for updates automatically:

  1. When an update is available, you’ll see a notification
  2. Click to download and install
  3. Restart the app to apply

Or check manually: Settings -> About -> Check for Updates

Data ownership

Your data stays on your computer:

  • Campaigns are stored locally in the paths above
  • Campaign Familiar runs no server of its own - your campaigns are never uploaded. When you use an AI feature, your prompt is sent directly to the engine provider (Anthropic) to generate a response; nothing is stored on a Campaign Familiar server.
  • You can back up by copying the data folder
  • Export to JSON, Markdown, or CSV anytime

You own your data. Campaign Familiar is a tool, not a platform that holds your content hostage.

Troubleshooting installation

Windows: smartscreen warning

This appears because Campaign Familiar is new and hasn’t accumulated enough installations for Windows to recognize it. It’s safe to proceed:

  1. Click More info
  2. Click Run anyway

macOS: “cannot be opened” error

macOS Gatekeeper blocks apps from unidentified developers:

Option 1: Right-click -> Open -> Open

Option 2: System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General -> Open Anyway

Linux: missing dependencies

If the AppImage won’t run, you may need:

sudo apt-get install libfuse2

For other dependency issues with the .deb package:

sudo apt-get install -f

App won’t start

  1. Try restarting your computer
  2. Reinstall the app
  3. Check if antivirus is blocking it
  4. See Troubleshooting for more options

Next steps

After installation:

  1. Activate your license - Set up your account and subscription
  2. Create your first campaign - Start building your world
  3. Learn the interface - Get familiar with Campaign Familiar