# Getting Started With the Desktop App

Install the MoodMonkey desktop app on Windows, connect it with your API key, and add your employees so the daily check-in pop-up starts working.

_Last updated: July 9, 2026_

This guide walks you through a complete MoodMonkey setup: from creating your first API key to the moment the daily check-in pop-up appears on your team's screens. Plan around ten minutes for the portal steps, plus a few minutes per computer.

## Before You Start

You need three things:

- A MoodMonkey administrator account on [app.moodmonkey.io](https://app.moodmonkey.io)
- One or more Windows computers (the desktop app is Windows-only for now)
- Administrator rights on those computers

> **Tip:** Rolling out MoodMonkey for a whole team? Ask your system administrator to handle steps 2 and 3. Installing the app and editing its configuration file require Windows administrator rights.

## Step 1: Create an API Key

The desktop app identifies your company with an API key. You create one in the web portal:

1. Log in to your administrator account on [app.moodmonkey.io](https://app.moodmonkey.io).
2. Go to the **Settings** page.
3. In the **API keys** section, press **Add key**.
4. Enter a name for the key, pick a validity date, and press **Save**.
5. Copy the generated key value and keep it somewhere safe. You paste it into the app in step 3.

![The API keys section on the Settings page](/docs-assets/getting-started/portal-settings-api-keys.png)

> **Important:** The key value is visible only once, right after you create it. If you lose it, create a new key.

![The dialog showing the generated API key value once](/docs-assets/getting-started/portal-api-key-created.png)

## Step 2: Install the App on Each Computer

1. In the portal, go to **Settings** and press the **Download app** button in the top right corner.
2. Save the MSI installer on the computer where MoodMonkey should run.
3. Run the installer. The app needs the .NET Desktop Runtime 8: if it is missing, the installer shows an extra dialog that lets you install it first.
4. Walk through the installation: allow the installer to make changes, pick a destination folder, and close the setup when it finishes.
5. Check that the app landed in the destination folder. By default that is `C:\Program Files\MoodMonkey BV\MoodMonkey`. In **Services** you should also see the **MoodMonkey Updater** service running. It keeps the app up to date automatically.

![The Download app button on the Settings page](/docs-assets/getting-started/portal-download-app.png)

> **Tip:** Installing on many computers? You can install silently with default settings from an elevated command prompt: `msiexec /i MoodMonkeySetup.msi REBOOT=R /q /norestart`

## Step 3: Connect the App With Your API Key

The app reads its configuration from the file `appsettings.json` in the installation folder. This is the step where most installations go wrong, so take it slowly.

**Open the installation folder.** Go to `C:\Program Files\MoodMonkey BV\MoodMonkey` in File Explorer and find `appsettings.json`.

![The appsettings.json file selected in the MoodMonkey installation folder](/docs-assets/getting-started/install-folder-appsettings.png)

**Make sure you can edit the file.** Right-click `appsettings.json`, choose **Properties**, and open the **Security** tab. Select your user or the Users group under "Group or user names" and check that **Write** is allowed.

![The Security tab of the appsettings.json properties dialog](/docs-assets/getting-started/appsettings-properties-security.png)

If Write is not allowed, press **Edit**, select the user or group, tick the **Allow** box next to **Write**, and confirm with **OK**.

![The permissions dialog with Write allowed for the Users group](/docs-assets/getting-started/appsettings-permissions-write.png)

**Paste your API key.** Open `appsettings.json` in Notepad and paste the key from step 1 between the quotes of the `ApiKey` field. Save the file.

![The appsettings.json file opened in Notepad with the ApiKey field highlighted](/docs-assets/getting-started/appsettings-apikey-notepad.png)

**Start the app.** Double-click `MoodMonkey.exe` in the installation folder. The app runs in the background; you can confirm it is running in Task Manager.

> **Important:** The app reads `appsettings.json` only when it starts. If you change the API key while the app is running, start `MoodMonkey.exe` again. The new instance automatically replaces the old one.

## Step 4: Add Your Employees

Every person who should receive the pop-up must be registered as an employee, and the employee **ID must exactly match their Windows login name**.

1. In the portal, go to the **Employees** page.
2. Press **New employee** and choose **Add manually**.
3. Fill in the form. In the **ID** field, enter the person's Windows login name.
4. Save the employee.

![The employee form with the ID field filled with a Windows login name](/docs-assets/getting-started/portal-employee-form.png)

Not sure what someone's Windows login name is? Open Command Prompt on their computer and run `whoami`. The part after the backslash is the login name:

```
C:\Users\anna> whoami
office-pc\anna
```

In this example the ID is `anna`.

> **Important:** Use the login name, not the person's display name. Windows may show someone as "Chris Prime" in menus while the actual login name is `chris`. When in doubt, run `whoami`.

> **Tip:** Adding a lot of people at once? Go to **Employees**, press **New employee**, and choose **Batch upload** to import a CSV file.

## Step 5: Check That It Works

With the app running and your employees registered, the check-in pop-up appears at the display time you configured on the **Settings** page.

A few things that are useful to know:

- The app checks for pending check-ins right after it starts and then every ten minutes, so configuration changes take effect within ten minutes.
- The app also schedules a check at the exact display time, so the pop-up appears on time even between polls.
- Responses show up in your dashboard right away.

If the pop-up does not appear, walk through the troubleshooting list below.

## Troubleshooting: The Pop-Up Does Not Appear

Work through these causes in order; the most common ones come first.

1. **The employee ID does not match the Windows login name.** Run `whoami` on the employee's computer and compare the part after the backslash with the ID in the portal. They must match exactly.
2. **No seats available.** Every registered employee needs an available seat in your subscription. Check the **Account & Billing** page: if your team outgrew your seats, the pop-up silently stops appearing for the overflow.
3. **The app started before you saved the API key.** The configuration file is read at startup only. Start `MoodMonkey.exe` again; it replaces the running instance.
4. **The app is not running.** Look for MoodMonkey in Task Manager. If it is missing, start `MoodMonkey.exe` from the installation folder.

The app writes log files to the `Logs` folder inside the installation folder. If you are still stuck, mail them to [hello@moodmonkey.io](mailto:hello@moodmonkey.io) and we will figure it out together.

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Canonical page: https://moodmonkey.io/docs/getting-started