# Install

> Download the plugin from GIMLabs, install it from a zip, and let it keep itself up to date.

The plugin is distributed through GIMLabs rather than the public QGIS plugin
repository. You download a zip once, and after that it updates itself.

## Install

<Steps>

<Step title="Download the zip">

Sign in to GIMLabs and open the dashboard. The **GIMLabs for QGIS** card sits
alongside Calc, in the same place as the other desktop downloads. Click
**Download plugin** to get the current release.

<Callout type="note">
The card and the download are available on Pro and Legacy plans. The plugin
needs an API key to do anything, and Go plans cannot create one.
</Callout>

</Step>

<Step title="Install it in QGIS">

In QGIS, go to **Plugins > Manage and Install Plugins > Install from ZIP**,
choose the file you downloaded, and install.

</Step>

<Step title="Enable it">

Under **Installed**, make sure **GIMLabs for QGIS** is ticked.

You should now have a GIMLabs button on the toolbar, and a
**Web > GIMLabs for QGIS** menu.

</Step>

<Step title="Add your API key">

The plugin does nothing until it has a key. Open
**Web > GIMLabs for QGIS > Settings** and follow
[API keys](/qgis/api-key).

</Step>

</Steps>

## Updates

Once a key is saved, the plugin **registers its own update repository** with
QGIS. New releases then arrive through **Plugins > Manage and Install Plugins**
like any other plugin update, and nobody has to add a URL by hand or build an
authentication configuration to go with it.

The dialog tells you when it adds the entry rather than doing it silently.

A few things worth knowing:

- The repository URL follows whatever base URL is configured, so a staging
  setup does not poll production.
- **Forget stored key** removes the repository as well as the key. One that
  authenticates with a credential that no longer exists would fail every time
  the plugin manager opened.
- Registration is best-effort. A plugin that could not register still works,
  it just will not update itself.

## Which QGIS versions

Minimum **3.40**, maximum declared as 4.99, so the plugin is listed and
installable on QGIS 4 as well as 3.x. One codebase serves both.

<Callout type="tip">
If the plugin does not appear in your plugin manager at all, check your QGIS
version first. Anything older than 3.40 will not list it.
</Callout>