Install and use Hoard Desktop

This guide walks through Hoard Desktop from download to first sync. It is written for people who do not want to use the command line and do not need to understand the technical details. Hoard Desktop opens TCGplayer in its own controlled browser, downloads your inventory and order reports, sends them to Hoard, and can upload price updates back to TCGplayer. If you’re here to scan and review a stack of cards, you may not need this at all: for supported games, a browser upload processes in the cloud with nothing installed. For other games, Hoard Desktop needs to be running before the scan can process.

During a sync, let Hoard’s browser windows do their work. Do not close them. Do not click around in them. Do not minimize them while a step is running. Closing a browser window will usually make the sync fail, and minimizing a browser window mid-step can make the browser stop responding.

Before you start

You need:

A Hoard account
A TCGplayer seller account
A computer you can leave Hoard Desktop running on

You do not need to install a separate browser extension. Hoard Desktop handles everything for you.

You don’t need to babysit sleep settings. While Hoard Desktop is running, it holds your computer awake (caffeinate on Mac, the equivalent power-management call on Windows) so it doesn’t drop out mid-sync. It only blocks system sleep, not your screen turning off, so it isn’t burning battery to keep a display lit. If the computer does go offline some other way (closed without power, forced shutdown), nothing is lost. Hoard just picks up the next time it’s back online.

1. Download Hoard Desktop

Use the download for your computer:

Computer	Download
Mac (Apple Silicon or Intel)	Signed Mac installer (beta)
Windows	Hoard download page

The Mac installer is one download for both chip types.

2. Open Hoard Desktop

Open the file you downloaded.

Mac

Download the signed Mac installer (beta). It works on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. The signed installer is currently in beta; the public download page may still offer an older standalone file.

Open the downloaded DMG.
Drag Hoard Desktop into Applications.
Open Hoard Desktop from Applications, then eject the disk image.
Follow the setup screen to connect your Hoard account.

The app is signed with Hoard Technologies Inc.’s Developer ID and notarized by Apple. No Terminal commands or security-setting changes are needed. macOS may ask you to confirm that you want to open an app downloaded from the internet; choose Open. Hoard appears in the menu bar. On a fresh setup, Launch at Login turns on automatically. You can turn it off from the Hoard menu; updates preserve your choice. If syncing was running, it resumes automatically when Hoard opens after login. If the internet is not ready yet, Hoard retries automatically. Choosing Pause Agent keeps syncing paused across restarts until you choose Resume Agent in the app or Start Agent in the tray menu.

Windows

Open the Windows download. If SmartScreen appears, follow the Windows instructions. On Windows only, Hoard may open in a small terminal-looking window like the one below. That is normal. The signed Mac app runs from the menu bar without a Terminal window.

This window means Hoard Desktop is running. It may say things like:

Hoard Desktop v...
Hoard is running in your tray
Update available
Updated to v...

You do not need to type anything in this window.

Do not close this window unless you mean to quit Hoard Desktop. If you close Hoard Desktop, syncs stop.

3. Find the Hoard icon

Hoard Desktop runs in your tray or menu bar. On Windows, the icon may be inside the small up-arrow menu near the clock.

Hovering over the icon shows whether Hoard is running and what local port it is using.

Windows taskbar preview showing Hoard is running

Click the Hoard icon to open the menu.

Hoard tray menu opened from the tray icon

The most important items are:

Menu item	What it does
Open Agent Logs	Opens the local Hoard Agent page on your computer. This is where you see logs and sync status.
Desktop Settings	Opens local settings.
Open Hoard Dashboard	Opens your normal Hoard dashboard at tryhoard.com.
Start Agent	Starts the background agent. It starts automatically on launch, so you rarely need this.
Restart Agent	Stops and restarts the agent. Use this for sync problems. It clears stale browser locks and does not delete data.
Pause Agent	Stops the agent until you click Start Agent again.
Launch at Login	Starts Hoard automatically when you log into your computer. Turns on by default the first time you open Hoard Desktop — turn it off here if you don’t want this computer to auto-start Hoard.
Restart Hoard Desktop	Restarts Hoard Desktop itself. Rarely needed. Use Restart Agent for sync problems.
Check for Updates	Checks for a new Hoard Desktop version.
Quit	Fully stops Hoard Desktop. Syncs will not run while it is quit.

Click Open Agent Logs.

5. Understand the Hoard Agent page

The Hoard Agent page opens in your normal browser at an address like 127.0.0.1:1993. This page is local to your computer.

Hoard Agent local page showing running status, session ok, and logs

At the top you will see a status bar.

Hoard Agent status bar with running state, pid, uptime, last sync, session, version, and action buttons

Here is what each part means:

Label	What it means
green dot	Hoard is running.
running	Hoard is turned on and waiting for work.
starting	Hoard is starting. Wait a moment.
stopped	The agent is not running. If the logs say it is retrying, it will start automatically when ready. If you paused it, click Resume Agent to continue.
error	Hoard stopped repeatedly or hit a problem. Check the logs or click Restart Agent.
pid	A technical process number. You can ignore it.
up	How long Hoard has been running since it last started.
last	When the last sync finished. Green means success, amber means partial, red means failed. During a sync it may say `syncing...`.
session: ok	Hoard is logged into TCGplayer successfully.
session: failed — check logs	Hoard could not log into TCGplayer. You probably need to log in again in Hoard’s TCGplayer browser.
session: sign in to TCGplayer	Hoard is waiting for you to sign in. A TCGplayer login window should be open. Click Reconnect to TCGplayer if you do not see one.
session: retrying…	Hoard failed and is waiting before trying again.
session: API unreachable	Hoard cannot reach the server. Check internet connection or try again later.
v…	The Hoard Desktop version shown by the local page.
connected	Your browser is connected to the live log stream.
disconnected — reconnecting…	The page lost the live log stream. Usually it reconnects by itself. Refresh the page if it does not.

The buttons on the right are:

Button	What it does	When it is shown
Sync Now	Asks Hoard to run a sync as soon as it checks in. Use this when you want an immediate sync.	While Hoard is running
Restart Agent	Stops and starts Hoard. Useful after an update or if it seems stuck.	While Hoard is running or in error
Pause Agent	Stops Hoard and cancels startup retries. Scheduled syncs stay paused across restarts until you resume.	While running, starting, or waiting to retry
Resume Agent	Starts Hoard again.	While Hoard is stopped or paused
Reconnect to TCGplayer	Restarts Hoard and opens a fresh TCGplayer sign-in window.	When the session needs a login

Only the buttons that apply to the current state are visible, so you will not see all of them at once. The screenshot above may show a different set of buttons than your page does.

Seeing Waiting — no sync needed right now in the logs is normal. It means Hoard is healthy and the server has not asked it to sync at that moment.

6. Start your first sync

On the Hoard Agent page, click Sync Now. The button stays disabled while the request is in flight. It shows Requesting…, then Waiting for agent…, then Syncing… until the sync finishes. If it shows Request timed out, Hoard never picked the request up. Check that the status says running and try again. Once it starts, the logs will move quickly. You may see lines for inventory, orders, sales reports, pricing, and uploads.

After you click Sync Now, do not repeatedly press it. One request is enough. Wait for the current sync to finish.

7. Log into Hoard’s TCGplayer browser

The first time Hoard needs TCGplayer, it opens a special browser window. This browser belongs to Hoard. It may look different from your usual Chrome browser. It may show a message at the top saying Chrome is being controlled by automation, or it may not have the normal search/address bar you are used to.

TCGplayer browser window showing an automation controlled browser banner

Use only this Hoard browser to log into TCGplayer.

Click inside the TCGplayer login page that Hoard opened.
Log in with your TCGplayer seller account.
Complete any CAPTCHA, two-factor check, or security prompt if TCGplayer shows one.
Leave the browser open after you log in.

Do not log into TCGplayer in your regular browser for this step. Hoard needs the login inside the browser it opened. Logging in somewhere else does not give Hoard access.

8. Leave Hoard’s browsers alone during sync

During the sync, Hoard may open additional TCGplayer windows or tabs for different steps.

Two TCGplayer browser windows open while Hoard runs sync steps

This is normal. For example, Hoard may use different pages for:

Checking that you are logged in
Exporting inventory
Exporting orders
Exporting sales reports
Uploading price updates

The windows may move, change pages, download files, or sit still for a while. Let them work. Do not:

Close the windows
Minimize the windows while a step is running
Click buttons in TCGplayer unless Hoard is waiting for you to log in or complete a security check
Use Hoard’s browser for normal browsing
Type in Hoard’s browser after the login is done

If you need to keep working, use a different browser window that you opened yourself. Leave Hoard’s windows visible and untouched until the sync finishes.

9. Watch for a successful finish

When the sync finishes, the log shows a success line.

You may see:

Done (success)
Waiting — no sync needed right now

That means the current sync is finished and Hoard is waiting for the next scheduled sync or manual Sync Now request.

10. Check the Hoard dashboard

Open your normal Hoard dashboard from either:

The tray menu: Open Hoard Dashboard
The Hoard Agent page: Dashboard
Your browser: tryhoard.com

After a successful sync, your dashboard should show updated inventory, prices, orders, and sync activity. For a guided tour of the dashboard after syncing, read Your first sync - what just happened.

What Hoard does during a sync

A full sync can include several steps:

Check that the TCGplayer session is still logged in.
Export your current TCGplayer inventory.
Upload that inventory to Hoard.
Export recent orders.
Upload orders to Hoard.
Export sales or payment reports.
Run Hoard pricing rules.
Download price updates from the server.
Upload the price updates to TCGplayer.

Some steps may open a new browser page. Some steps may take longer than others. This is normal.

Review Mode and Full Sync

Some accounts run in Review Mode first. In Review Mode, Hoard can generate price update CSVs without automatically pushing them every time. The Agent page may show a REVIEW MODE badge and a list of recent exports. If price updates are ready, you may see buttons like:

Button	What it does
Push Once	Uploads the current price update one time.
Always Push	Switches to Full Sync so future syncs can automatically upload price updates after they are generated.

Uploading prices to TCGplayer requires a paid plan. On a free plan, both buttons are accepted, but no prices are uploaded. Always Push switches the account to Full Sync, which hides the REVIEW MODE badge and the recent exports list. Push Once leaves the account in Review Mode, so the badge and the list stay. Hoard still syncs your inventory, orders, and sales, but no price update file is saved for you to review.

If your account is already in Full Sync, you may not see the Review Mode badge. In Full Sync, Hoard can export, price, and upload updates as part of the normal sync flow.

What to do if something goes wrong

Hoard’s browser closed

Go back to the Hoard Agent page and click Restart Agent. Then click Sync Now again after Hoard is running. The TCGplayer session probably expired or the login was not completed in Hoard’s browser. Click Reconnect to TCGplayer, then log into TCGplayer in the browser window that Hoard opens. If that button is not shown, click Restart Agent, then Sync Now, and log in when Hoard opens the browser.

The page says stopped

If the logs say Hoard is retrying a startup connection, it will start automatically when ready. You can choose Pause Agent to cancel those retries. If you intentionally paused Hoard, click Resume Agent in the app or Start Agent from the tray menu. Use Restart Hoard Desktop only if the app itself is stuck.

The page says error

Click Restart Agent. If it returns to error, open the Logs page and look at the last few lines. The error usually says whether it is a login problem, internet problem, or browser problem.

The log says waiting

This is usually fine. Waiting — no sync needed right now means Hoard is connected and waiting for the server to ask it to sync.

The TCGplayer browser asks for a CAPTCHA or security check

Complete it in Hoard’s browser. After you finish, stop touching the browser and let Hoard continue.

Safe habits

Leave Hoard Desktop running while you want syncs to happen.
Keep Launch at Login checked if this computer should sync automatically.
Let Hoard’s TCGplayer windows stay open and visible while a sync is running.
Use Open Agent Logs to check status instead of guessing.
Use Restart Agent before trying anything complicated.
Use your normal browser for your own work, and leave Hoard’s browser for Hoard.

When you are done for the day

If you want Hoard to keep syncing later, leave Hoard Desktop running. If you quit Hoard Desktop, scheduled syncs will not run until you open it again. Nothing is deleted, but Hoard cannot sync while it is off.

Getting Started

What's New

AI Assistants (Claude, ChatGPT, Codex)

Inventory

Repricing

Market & Buying

Sales & Orders

Sharing

Guides

How-to

Troubleshooting

Install and use Hoard Desktop

Before you start

1. Download Hoard Desktop

2. Open Hoard Desktop