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Install and update

Phoenix comes as one download per platform, with everything it needs inside, and keeps itself up to date.

System requirements

The links above always download the latest version. Earlier versions, pre-releases and the release notes for each version are on the releases page on GitHub.

Nothing else needs installing. Phoenix ships with its own copy of ffmpeg, which it uses to export MP4 and ProRes video and to import video, so those work straight away.

A graphics tablet is optional. When one is connected, the brushes respond to pen pressure and tilt, and turning the pen over to its eraser end switches to the Eraser.

Install on Windows

1. Download Phoenix-win-x64-Setup.exe, the installer from the latest release.
2. Run the installer. Phoenix installs into your user account, so it does not ask for administrator rights, and it starts when the installer finishes.
3. Phoenix adds itself to the Start menu. It also registers the .phx file type and adds itself to the Open with list for .fla files, without changing which app opens them by default.

To use Phoenix without installing it, download Phoenix-win-x64-Portable.zip instead, unpack it anywhere, and run Phoenix.exe. Keep the unpacked files together: ffmpeg.exe next to Phoenix.exe is what exports video. A portable copy does not update itself.

Install on macOS

1. Download Phoenix-osx-arm64-Setup.pkg, the installer from the latest release.
2. Open the package and follow the installer. It puts Phoenix.app in your Applications folder. The package is signed and notarized by Apple, so Gatekeeper opens it without a warning.
3. Start Phoenix from Launchpad or Applications. You can also drag a .fla or .phx file onto the Dock icon to open it.

Install on Linux

1. Download Phoenix-linux-x64.AppImage from the latest release, and keep it where you keep programs, such as ~/Applications.
2. Let it run: in a terminal, chmod +x Phoenix-linux-x64.AppImage, or tick Allow executing file as program in its properties in your file manager.
3. Open it. Phoenix runs straight from the file; nothing is installed, and it updates the file itself.

It runs on recent desktop Linux (Ubuntu 22.04 and later, Fedora, Debian 12 and the like) with X11 or Wayland. Some systems need FUSE to open an AppImage; on Ubuntu, sudo apt install libfuse2.

Updates

Help › Phoenix Help (F1) opens this guide in your browser.

An installed copy of Phoenix checks for a new version a few seconds after it starts. You can also check at any time with Help › Check for Updates... What changed in each version is in the changelog.

• When an update is found, Phoenix downloads it in the background and shows the progress in the status bar. Usually only the changed parts are downloaded, so updates are small.
• When the download finishes, Phoenix offers Restart Now or Later. If you choose Later, the update installs when you quit.
• Pre-release builds are not offered as updates. To try one, download it from the releases page.

The start screen

When you start Phoenix without a file, it opens the Welcome to Phoenix window. Pick a size under Create New to start a document, choose a file under Recent Files, or click Open... to browse. More Presets... opens the full New Document dialog.

It also comes back when you close your last document, unless Show at startup is off. You can bring it back at any time from Help › Start Screen...

Open a file

Phoenix opens Phoenix documents (.phx), FLA files (.fla), uncompressed XFL folders, older binary FLA files, and published SWF movies. You can open a file in several ways:

• File › Open... (Ctrl+O), or File › Open Recent.
• Drag the file onto the Phoenix window.
• Double-click a .phx file, or right-click a .fla file and choose Open with › Phoenix. To look at a file without editing it, choose Open with › Phoenix Viewer or View in Phoenix; see Phoenix Viewer and Open with.
• Name the file on the command line.

Each document you open gets a tab of its own above the stage; the tabs appear once more than one document is open. Click a tab to switch to it, drag tabs to reorder them, and click a tab's close button or press Ctrl+W (File › Close) to close it. Ctrl+Tab moves to the next tab. Opening a file that is already open switches to its tab, and an untouched new document is simply replaced by the next one you open.

Recovering after a crash

Phoenix saves a recovery copy of your work every two minutes while it has unsaved changes. If Phoenix closes unexpectedly, the next time it starts it opens Recover Unsaved Work, which lists every copy it kept, newest first, with the document's name and when it was saved. Hover over one to see where the document came from.

Recover

Opens the selected copy, back at its original location and marked unsaved. Save it to keep it. Double-clicking a copy does the same.

Discard

Deletes the selected copies. Select several with Ctrl or Shift.

Discard All

Deletes every copy, after asking.

Later

Keeps the copies and offers them again the next time Phoenix starts.

Copies you do not recover are offered again next time. See Auto-save and recovery to change how often Phoenix saves them.