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What you need

  • Rhino 8 with Grasshopper, on macOS or Windows.
  • An OpenRouter account for describing components and for the AI components (3D objects, textures, figures, trees). Everything else works without one, and the panel’s Help walks you through it. Or run a local model with Ollama.
  • An internet connection for the site map and the AI components.
  • Windows only: Rhino must run on .NET Core, which is Rhino 8’s default. Type SetDotNetRuntime in Rhino’s command line to check. If it says NETFramework, choose NETCore and restart Rhino.
This is an early build. 0.02-alpha is built and tested on Rhino 8 for macOS. The Windows installer and plugin are built the same way but haven’t been run on a Windows PC yet, so Windows testers are especially welcome. When something breaks, reply to your beta email with what you did and what you saw.

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Get the installer

Sign up at aliengh.com and we’ll email you the download link. The beta page has: One Alien.gha serves both platforms.

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Install

1

Quit Rhino

Press Cmd+Q. Closing its windows isn’t enough; check the Dock.
2

Open the package

Double-click Alien-0.02-alpha.pkg.
3

Allow it once

The package isn’t signed yet, so macOS may say it can’t verify the developer. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll to the message about Alien-0.02-alpha.pkg and click Open Anyway. On older macOS, right-click the package, choose Open, then Open.
4

Install

Click through Continue and Install. It installs for your user only and needs no password. If Rhino is still open, it asks you to quit it first.
Alien goes into Grasshopper’s Libraries folder: ~/Library/Application Support/McNeel/Rhinoceros/8.0/Plug-ins/Grasshopper (b45a29b1-…)/Libraries

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First run

  1. Start Rhino and type Grasshopper.
  2. Place an Alien component from the Alien tab, under Script.
  3. Click PANEL on it, or double-click it. The panel sits beside the Grasshopper window and moves with it.
  4. The first time, the panel opens on Help. Follow Connect OpenRouter to link your key.
Your components are kept in Documents/Alien scripts. To use another folder, right-click a component › Script repository. Then carry on with Get started.

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Update

Quit Rhino and run the installer for the new version. It replaces Alien.gha and keeps your scripts, settings and generated library. Ready-made components you haven’t edited are updated the next time the panel opens; any you edited or deleted are left alone.

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Uninstall

Quit Rhino and delete Alien.gha from Grasshopper’s Libraries folder (in Grasshopper: File › Special Folders › Components Folder). You can also delete ~/Library/Application Support/Alien. Your scripts folder is yours to keep or delete.

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Install by hand

The zip has Alien.gha and two install scripts, for machines where the installers can’t run.
Copy Alien.gha into the Libraries folder above, then clear the download quarantine:
Or run install-mac.command, which does both.
Something not working? See Troubleshooting.