Desktop app for Windows and Mac
PIP on your desktop
PIP, the Skydex gull, can live on your computer. He walks along the bottom of the screen, naps when you leave him alone and flies off into the game when you take off. Free with a Skydex account; without one you get the plain Chick.
Download
Not out yet. The first builds go to testers, and the download buttons appear here on the day PIP opens to everyone.
What he does
Lives on his own
He walks and flies along the bottom of the screen, sits, plays and falls asleep when nobody touches him. When he gets bored he hops to your other monitor or chases the mouse until you click him.
Flies into the game
Take off in Skydex and he leaves the desktop to fly beside you as your wingman. Pause, land or close the tab, and he comes back.
Or stays with you
Turn on «Stay on the desktop during flights» in his menu and he keeps you company instead. Your catches show over his head as +1 and points, and H in the game sends him a heart.
Brings the news
New rows in your Skydex bell pop up as a bubble in your language. A rare aircraft over your antenna opens the live map right on that aircraft.
Knows when to be quiet
Four modes: Active, Calm, Focus and Sleep. When an app goes fullscreen (a film, a game, a call) he switches to Focus by himself and keeps his bubbles until you are back.
One click away
His icon sits in the menu bar on a Mac and in the tray on Windows. From there, or with a right click on him, you show or hide him, change the mode and link your account.
Link your Skydex account
- Open his menu (right click on PIP, or his icon in the menu bar or tray) and choose Link to Skydex.
- A short code appears and the site opens on skydex.online/my/pet. Sign in there and confirm the code.
- PIP takes your gull’s look: colours, gear and stage. All your computers are listed on /my/pet, and you can unlink any of them there.
System requirements
- Mac: macOS 12 Monterey or newer.
- Windows: Windows 10 (version 21H1) or Windows 11, 64-bit, with a DirectX 11 graphics card.
- He is light. On a Mac at rest he takes about 0.6% of the processor and 140 MB of memory, and half that processor time while he sleeps.
What he sends
- A key for this computer, made when you link it. It lets PIP read your gull’s look and your bell, and nothing else. You can revoke it on /my/pet at any time.
- Anonymous usage stats once an hour: a random install id, the version, the system, the mode, the number of clicks on him and the minutes he was awake. No account, no names, no places. «Send usage stats» in his menu turns them off.
- He does not read your screen. To notice a fullscreen app he looks only at the size and position of windows, never at their titles or what is in them, and he asks for no screen recording permission.
Questions
Is PIP free?
Yes. The desktop PIP is free with a Skydex account, and Skydex itself is free. Without an account he still lives on your desktop as the plain Chick.
Do I need a Skydex account?
Only for your own gull. Linked, he wears your PIP’s colours and gear, follows you into the game and shows your bell. Unlinked, he walks, naps and plays all the same.
Will my Mac let me open him?
Yes. The Mac app is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other app: drag PIP to Applications and start him. He has no Dock icon; look for the bird in the menu bar.
Why does Windows warn me about the zip?
SmartScreen warns about apps it has not seen often. The Microsoft Store version is signed by Microsoft and never shows this warning, so take that one if you can. For the zip, choose More info, then Run anyway.
Will he slow my computer down?
No. Measured on a Mac at rest he uses about 0.6% of the processor and 140 MB of memory, and about 0.3% while he sleeps. Over a fullscreen game or film he keeps still.
Can he see what is on my screen?
No. He knows only where windows are and how big they are, to step aside over a fullscreen app. He never reads window titles or their contents and needs no screen recording permission.
How does he update?
The Store version updates itself. The Mac and zip versions check once a day: when a new version is out, PIP tells you in a bubble and «Update» appears in his menu, which opens this page.
Which languages does he speak?
The same twelve as the site: English, Ukrainian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Japanese and Arabic. Once linked, he uses the language you picked on Skydex.
How do I remove him?
Choose Unlink this computer in his menu, then quit him and delete the app (on a Mac, drag it from Applications to the Bin; on Windows, uninstall it from Settings or delete the folder). You can also unlink a computer on /my/pet.