Download Scratch for PC

Scratch is a block-based coding environment from the Scratch Foundation, started in the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. Projects are built by snapping colored blocks together, so sprites move, talk, play sounds, and react to key presses or the webcam. Costume and backdrop editors, a sound recorder, and hardware extensions for micro:bit and LEGO kits sit inside the same window. On a computer the practical setup is the Scratch app from the Microsoft Store or the Mac App Store for offline work, with the editor at scratch.mit.edu open when you want to sign in and publish.

What a keyboard, a mouse, and a file system add to Scratch

Snapping blocks is a precision job. A mouse pointer drops a repeat block inside a forever loop on the first try, where a fingertip on a tablet often lands one slot off. A full monitor also shows the block palette, the script area, and the stage at once, so you can watch a sprite react while you edit the script that drives it.

Keyboard input is the second gain, and it is a real one. Half of what beginners make in Scratch uses when space key pressed or arrow keys to steer a sprite. Those projects cannot be tested properly on a tablet, because there are no keys to press. A computer also makes typing fast for variable names, say text, list contents, and comments.

Third, projects become ordinary files. The desktop app saves a project as an .sb3 file into any folder you choose, so a teacher can keep one folder per student, hand work back on a USB stick, or drop it on a shared drive. On Android and ChromeOS the app keeps projects inside itself instead. Uploading your own artwork and audio is easier too, since Upload Sprite and Upload Sound can reach the pictures and recordings already stored on the machine.

Finally, physical computing lives on desktops. Scratch Link, the helper program that connects Scratch to micro:bit and LEGO robotics kits over Bluetooth, is published for Windows and macOS only. Clubs that use those kits need a Windows or Mac computer somewhere in the room.

Scratch app, the scratch.mit.edu editor, or the Android build

Two of these are genuinely supported on a computer, and one is not worth the trouble.

• The Scratch app. The Scratch Foundation publishes it for Windows through the Microsoft Store, where it is listed as Scratch 3, and for macOS through the Mac App Store. A direct macOS download is offered on the Scratch download page for people who cannot reach an app store, and a direct Windows installer appears there when the Foundation has it available. Pick this if the network is filtered, slow, or absent.
• The browser editor at scratch.mit.edu. Nothing to install, nothing for an IT policy to block, and it is the only route that lets you sign in. Accounts bring the backpack, cloud variables, the My Stuff project list, and the Share button. Pick this for community work and for locked-down school laptops.
• The Android package in an emulator. There is no case for it. The Android build is aimed at tablets and Chromebooks, keeps projects inside the app rather than in your folders, and offers nothing the Windows and macOS builds lack. A Chromebook is the one machine where the Android app is the intended choice, installed from Google Play.

Scratch does not ship a Linux build; Linux users run the browser editor.

What the Scratch app keeps and what it drops

The editor itself is the same one you get in a browser: same block categories, same paint editor, same sound tools, same Add Extension button in the bottom-left corner for Pen, Video Sensing, Text to Speech, and the hardware extensions. Offline creation is the difference that works in your favor. Once installed, the app opens with no connection at all, which is why it turns up on classroom carts and on trips.

What it drops follows from one fact: there is no sign-in screen in the app. No account means no cloud variables, no backpack for carrying sprites between projects, and no project page with comments or remixes. Publishing is a two-step job. You export the .sb3 file from the app, then sign in on the website, load that file into the online editor, and share it from there. The app cannot push a project to the community by itself.

There is also no sync. Nothing you make in the app appears under My Stuff on the website, and a project you start on a phone or tablet does not show up on the computer. Moving work between devices means moving the .sb3 file, by cloud drive, email, or a memory stick. Teams that want one shared copy should stay in the browser editor and sign in.

What Scratch needs from your machine

The Scratch Foundation lists the app's requirements as Windows 10 or later, macOS 10.13 or later, ChromeOS, and Android 6.0 or later. Note that the Mac App Store listing for Scratch states macOS 12.0 or later, so check that page before you install from the store; the direct download is the fallback for older Macs. No official RAM or disk-space figures are published for the app.

For the browser editor, Scratch lists supported desktop browsers as Chrome 63 or later, Edge 15 or later, Firefox 57 or later, and Safari 11 or later. Internet Explorer is not supported.

Scratch Link, needed for micro:bit and LEGO extensions, is a separate install from the Microsoft Store or the Mac App Store and needs a Bluetooth adapter the computer can use. Its Windows version depends on the Windows App Runtime and installs that component itself when it can.

When Scratch stalls, and what to do

The Share button is missing in the app. It is not there by design. Use File then Save to your computer, sign in at scratch.mit.edu, open a new project, choose File then Load from your computer, and share the project from the website.

Work vanishes when the app closes. The desktop app does not keep a project library for you. Save deliberately to a named folder before quitting, and reopen work with Load from your computer rather than expecting a recent-projects list.

Cloud variables and the backpack are greyed out or absent. Both need a signed-in account, which only the website provides. Rebuild that part of the project in the browser editor.

micro:bit or LEGO will not connect. Scratch Link has to be running, not just installed; look for its icon in the Windows taskbar or the macOS menu bar. Switch Bluetooth on, and for micro:bit install the Scratch HEX file onto the board first, following the setup page at scratch.mit.edu/microbit.

Installation is blocked on a school or work computer. Managed Windows machines often refuse installers outright. The Microsoft Store copy sometimes passes where a downloaded file does not; if neither works, the browser editor needs no install rights at all.

FAQ

Is there an official Scratch program for Windows and Mac?

Yes. The Scratch Foundation publishes the Scratch app for Windows through the Microsoft Store and for macOS through the Mac App Store, with a direct download offered on the Scratch download page for people who cannot use an app store.

Can I share a project straight from the Scratch app?

No. Save the project to your computer as an .sb3 file, sign in on scratch.mit.edu, load the file into the online editor, and share it from there.

Does the Scratch app work without internet?

Yes, that is its purpose. After installation you can create, edit, and save projects with no connection. Signing in, cloud variables, the backpack, and the community pages all need the website.

Do projects sync between the phone app and the computer?

No. The app has no account login, so nothing syncs. Copy the .sb3 file between devices, or work in the browser editor while signed in.

Should I run the Scratch Android file in an emulator on a PC?

There is no need. Native Windows and macOS builds exist, and they handle keyboard input, local files, and Scratch Link hardware better than an Android build in an emulator.