Installation

Tenon is a desktop application. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it needs Java 21 or later.

Get Java

Any JDK distribution works — your package manager, your OS vendor, or a build from openjdk.org. Check what you have:

java -version

If that reports 21 or higher, you are ready.

Download and run

Download the JAR for your platform from maplecam.ca/downloads and run it from the directory you saved it in:

java -jar tenon-alpha-<platform>.jar

On Windows, double-clicking the JAR also works once Java is installed.

Each JAR carries the JavaFX native libraries for its own platform, so take the one that matches your operating system and architecture — they are not interchangeable.

There is no server to start

Tenon is split into an application and a local server, the same way MapleCAM is, but you never launch the server yourself. On startup the app either attaches to one already answering on its API port or starts one inside its own process and stops it again on exit.

This matters for one reason: the same design you are editing is reachable over an HTTP API, so a script or an AI agent can drive it while you watch. If you want to point the app at a server running elsewhere, set TENON_API_URL before launching.

Cutting needs MapleCAM

Tenon produces parts and sheets. Turning those into toolpaths and G-code is MapleCAM's job. You do not need it installed to design — export writes plain SVGs that any CAM package can read — but the MapleCAM tab and the direct send only light up when MapleCAM is running. See Sending to MapleCAM.