Download

Download Shrike

Every release is published on GitHub with a SHA256SUMS file covering every artifact, signed with the release key.

Verifying takes a minute and is worth it: it checks that the file you downloaded is exactly the file that was published, and not something altered in transit or served by a site pretending to be this one. A wallet is a bad thing to take on trust. Do it before you run anything.

Not audited

Shrike has not been audited, and comes with no warranty of any kind. It is an unofficial fork and is not affiliated with the Sparrow project.

Latest release on GitHub Build from source

Which file to take

Artifact names carry the version, so pick the matching file from the latest release rather than a link that goes stale here.

Platform	File
Debian, Ubuntu (x86_64)	`shrike_<version>_amd64.deb`
Debian, Ubuntu (arm64)	`shrike_<version>_arm64.deb`
Linux tarball (x86_64)	`shrike-<version>-x86_64.tar.gz`
Linux tarball (aarch64)	`shrike-<version>-aarch64.tar.gz`
macOS (Apple silicon)	`Shrike-<version>-arm64-unsigned.dmg`
macOS (Intel)	`Shrike-<version>-x86_64-unsigned.dmg`
Windows	`Shrike-<version>.msi` or `Shrike-<version>.zip`

The shrikeserver- and shrikeserver_ artifacts are the headless server build, for running without a desktop.

Verify the download

Take SHA256SUMS, SHA256SUMS.asc and privkeyio-signing-key.asc from the same release, then:

gpg --import privkeyio-signing-key.asc
gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.asc SHA256SUMS
sha256sum --ignore-missing -c SHA256SUMS

Releases are signed by Kyle Santiago <kyle@privkey.io>, key fingerprint:

A47D 99B6 DB0D 715D 40C5  9A20 23AE 8A8E A7E2 4E38

Unsigned installers

The macOS builds are not notarized and the Windows installer is not Authenticode signed, so both are reported as untrusted on first launch. Verify SHA256SUMS first: clearing the macOS quarantine flag removes the check that would otherwise stop a tampered download.

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Shrike.app

What else you need

A node that follows the fork: Bitcoin Knots v29.4.1.knots20260508 or any later release, connected directly or behind your own Electrum server. Shrike ships with no public servers, because the ones it inherited from upstream do not follow the fork. For an Electrum server, use a Fulcrum build with BLAKE2b support or the StartOS package; stock Fulcrum stops at the activation height. See connecting a node.

If you would rather follow along, Bitcoin University has a walkthrough of installing Shrike and pointing it at a node, covering Start9 and Umbrel. It is a community recording made before the current release.

Installing next to Sparrow

Shrike uses its own home folder, packages, desktop entries and bundle identifier, so it installs alongside an existing Sparrow without sharing or overwriting any of its state. Wallet files are not shared between the two.