paw-paw.pet

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# Paw-Paw

> Paw-Paw is a free desktop pet for macOS that sits on your screen and reacts to your typing. Dozens of free Paw-Paws across two seasons, more than 100 free wearable items, no ads, no subscription, and accounts are optional. The cutest study buddy and typing companion for your Mac.

Paw-Paw runs natively on macOS (Apple silicon and Intel). Download it directly — no App Store, no sign-up required. A tiny animal lives on your desktop and animates as you type and click, a quiet little companion while you code, write, or study.

Key facts:
- Current version: 0.4.1 (October 12, 2026).
- Price: free. Both seasons, with all of their Paw-Paws and items, are included at no extra charge and unlock as you play. No ads or subscription.
- Optional extras: collections bought once inside the app: the Illustrain Collection (see below) for USD 2.99 and, until November 1, 2026, the Midnight Mischief Collection for Halloween for USD 0.99.
- Accounts: optional. Sign in only to buy a collection or keep progress in sync.
- Languages: the app speaks English, German, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. It follows the Mac's language, and the globe on Home picks another.
- Platform: macOS 13 or later (native, Apple silicon + Intel). Paw-Paw has a Dock icon whose menu matches the pet's right-click menu.
- Content: dozens of free Paw-Paws and more than 100 free wearable items across two seasons, with many new ones in Season 2. Every item works on every Paw-Paw.
- Updates: Paw-Paw updates itself. New versions download automatically in the background, and when one is ready, Restart to Update… appears in the Library sidebar and on Home; Paw-Paw restarts only when you click it. Check for Updates… stays in Settings › About, and progress carries over.
- Download: https://cdn.paw-paw.pet/download
- Status: updated regularly.

## Season 2

Season 2 adds many new Paw-Paws, starting with Sheep at level 1 and adding one every two levels, plus many new items. Each season has its own level track; Season 1 progress, items, and saved item placements carry forward. It also brings the Library (All your Paw-Paws, the Items page with categories, search, favorites and origin badges, Achievements, and a page for each season and collection), achievements to earn, secret Paw-Paw and item pairings to find, refreshed gifts (pick one of three gift balls, then Wear It or Add to Items), On Fire now worth 2x XP (shown by a rainbow strip and flame on the XP bar), speech bubbles in which your Paw-Paw cheers you on (click it to hear a line), and new desktop controls: Small, Medium or Large, Mirror Mode, Hide for 1 Hour, right-click and Dock menus with Opacity and Click-Through, and a Reset button in the item editor. Details: https://paw-paw.pet/changelog#season-2

## Illustrain Collection

Paw-Paw's first artist collection, with illustrations by Illustrain: a level track of its own with 5 Paw-Paws and 57 items. It is optional and costs USD 2.99 once, bought inside the app from the collection's page in the Library (card checkout via Stripe). Buying unlocks the track; its Paw-Paws and items are then earned by leveling it up.

## Midnight Mischief Collection

A Halloween collection made by the Paw-Paw team, on sale for a limited time until November 1, 2026: new Paw-Paws and items on a level track of their own. It costs USD 0.99 once, bought inside the app from its page in the Library, and buyers keep it after the offer ends. Its Paw-Paws and items are earned by leveling it up.

## Roadmap

The plan for the rest of 2026 (months are estimates and may shift): October delivered a Halloween special, new Paw-Paws and items, unique rewards for achievements and secrets, and Japanese, Korean, Chinese and German translations, with a community vote for a future Paw-Paw on r/PawPawPet still to come; November brings multiplayer and a new artist collection; December brings Season 3, a Windows version and a winter holiday special. Details: https://paw-paw.pet/#roadmap

## Main

- [Paw-Paw — Free Desktop Pet for Mac](https://paw-paw.pet): The home page. What Paw-Paw is, the characters, the wearable items, the Illustrain Collection, and the free download.
- [0.4.0 release notes](https://paw-paw.pet/changelog#v0-4-0): Achievement rarities (common, uncommon, rare, legendary) with rewards: rare achievements give special items and legendary ones mythical Paw-Paws that no gift brings; 30 new achievements and seven new secret pairings; the original look of a redrawn Paw-Paw stays selectable; the app in German; a napping Paw-Paw blows a nose bubble.
- [0.3.0 release notes](https://paw-paw.pet/changelog#v0-3-0): The Midnight Mischief Collection for Halloween, the app in Japanese, Korean and Chinese, a new Items page grouped by category with outlines of items still to find, gift capsules that pop open, facts behind every item and Paw-Paw, and a double-click on the pet to open the Library.
- [0.2.2 and 0.2.3 release notes](https://paw-paw.pet/changelog#v0-2-3): The Library opens on Home (progress, news and tips), a guided tour that starts beside your Paw-Paw on the desktop after setup, updates that download in the background, and progress on a new Mac in one step.
- [0.2.1 release notes](https://paw-paw.pet/changelog#v0-2-1): Choose which season or collection earns XP, more than 100 new free items, Open All for gifts, and progress that combines across Macs.
- [Season 2 release notes](https://paw-paw.pet/changelog#season-2): What is new in Season 2: many new Paw-Paws and items, the Library, and more.
- [About Paw-Paw](https://paw-paw.pet/about): Team, company, and privacy-first philosophy.
- [Changelog](https://paw-paw.pet/changelog): Human-readable release notes for Paw-Paw app updates, newest first.
- [Press kit](https://paw-paw.pet/press): Trailer, screenshots, fact sheet and the makers' story, for writers and reviewers.
- [Privacy Policy](https://paw-paw.pet/privacy): What data Paw-Paw does and doesn't collect.
- [Terms of Use](https://paw-paw.pet/terms): Terms for using the app and site.

## Guides

- [Install Paw-Paw on Your Mac](https://paw-paw.pet/install): Installation guide: download, first-launch approval, the Accessibility permission, updating to the latest version, and troubleshooting.
- [How Paw-Paw Works](https://paw-paw.pet/guide): Player guide: XP and levels, On Fire (2x XP), seasons and collections and choosing where XP goes, gifts, items, Paw-Paws, achievements, naps and speech bubbles, accounts and syncing.
- [Typing Pet for Mac](https://paw-paw.pet/typing-pet-for-mac): What a typing pet does on macOS: paws that tap as you type and click, naps, XP, gifts, On Fire (2x XP), speech bubbles, Pause XP for repeated input, and what Accessibility access lets it see (counts, never typed text).
- [Digital Body Double: Can a Tiny Companion Help You Focus?](https://paw-paw.pet/digital-body-double): What research says about body doubling, social facilitation, small encouragement, visible progress and cute images at work, where the limited, varied evidence stops, and how Paw-Paw's speech bubbles apply it (compared only with your own pace, never scolding, can be turned off).
- [How to Make Your Mac Desktop Cute](https://paw-paw.pet/cute-mac-desktop): Built-in macOS Tahoe settings (wallpaper, full-color widgets, accent and tinted icons, folder emoji, pointer color, Dock and menu bar) plus small apps: Paw-Paw, Klack, RunCat Neo.
- [Virtual Body Double for ADHD on Mac](https://paw-paw.pet/adhd-study-companion): An evidence-aware guide to digital body doubling, ambient pet companions, and how Paw-Paw offers low-pressure company without replacing human accountability or ADHD care.

## Comparisons & alternatives

- [Bongo Cat for Mac](https://paw-paw.pet/bongo-cat-for-mac): How to get the official Bongo Cat on a Mac through Steam, and what Paw-Paw offers without Steam.
- [Desktop Mate for Mac](https://paw-paw.pet/desktop-mate-for-mac): Desktop Mate’s Apple-silicon Mac beta has conflicting published macOS requirements; Paw-Paw also supports Intel Macs and keeps both of its seasons free.
- [Shimeji Alternative for Mac](https://paw-paw.pet/shimeji-alternative-mac): A native Shimeji-style desktop pet for macOS — no Java, no browser extensions.
- [Oneko for Mac](https://paw-paw.pet/oneko-for-mac): History of Neko/oneko (the public-domain cursor-chasing cat) and the open-source Mac ports that run in 2026, with notarization notes; Paw-Paw stays put and reacts to typing instead.
- [Tamagotchi for Mac](https://paw-paw.pet/tamagotchi-for-mac): A modern virtual-pet experience for the MacBook.
- [Best Desktop Pets for Mac in 2026](https://paw-paw.pet/best-desktop-pets-for-mac): Honest comparison of eight desktop pets that run on macOS.

## Background reading

- [Tiny Mac Utilities That Make Your Mac More Fun](https://paw-paw.pet/tiny-mac-utilities-that-make-your-mac-more-fun): Six small, delightful Mac apps, Paw-Paw among them.
- [Why Mac Users Love Tiny Utilities](https://paw-paw.pet/why-mac-users-love-tiny-utilities): The macOS culture of small, focused, single-purpose apps.
- [The History of Bongo Cat](https://paw-paw.pet/history-of-bongo-cat): How Bongo Cat went from a 2018 GIF to a genre, and why typing companions feel good.

## Optional

- [Full content bundle](https://paw-paw.pet/llms-full.txt): Every page's summary concatenated into one plain-text file for large-context AI tools.

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