Installing Rookparcel

Installing Rookparcel

This page lists the downloads for each platform, how to install and start each one the first time, and how to remove Rookparcel again. After the first start, see First start and the Setup Guide.

Where to download

Every release is on the Releases page. The latest published release is 1.1.40. Each release has notes with the first-run steps per platform, and a SHA256SUMS file with the checksum of every download.

Platform	File	What is inside
Windows 10 / 11, x64, installer	rookparcel-<version>-windows-x64-setup.exe	rookparcel.exe (the window) and rookparcel-nox.exe (the headless daemon), installed with a Start menu entry and an uninstaller
Windows 10 / 11, x64, portable	rookparcel-<version>-windows-x64.zip	the same two programs; nothing to install
Linux desktop, x86_64 or aarch64	Rookparcel-<version>-<arch>.AppImage	the GTK 4 window with its libraries bundled (needs glibc 2.39 or newer: Ubuntu 24.04, Fedora 40, Debian 13 or later)
Linux desktop, Flatpak	Rookparcel-<version>-<arch>.flatpak	the GTK 4 window on the GNOME 51 runtime from Flathub
Linux, plain binaries	rookparcel-<version>-linux-<arch>.tar.gz	rookparcel-gtk, rookparcel-nox, the desktop entry and the systemd units; they use the system's GTK 4 (4.12 or newer) and OpenSSL 3
Linux server, headless	rookparcel-nox-<version>-<arch>.AppImage	rookparcel-nox with OpenSSL bundled
macOS, Apple silicon or Intel	Rookparcel-<version>-macos.dmg	Rookparcel.app, the native macOS window, one app for both kinds of Mac (macOS 11 Big Sur or newer)
macOS, headless	rookparcel-nox-<version>-macos-<arch>.tar.gz	rookparcel-nox for Apple silicon (arm64, macOS 11 or newer) and Intel (x86_64, macOS 10.14 or newer)

The window on Linux and the BSDs is the GTK version; on macOS it is a native Mac app. Both work like the Windows version; where they differ, the wiki pages say so. For running the headless daemon, see Running rookparcel-nox.

The native macOS app is not in a published release yet. Earlier releases have Rookparcel-<version>-arm64.dmg instead: the GTK window bundled for Apple silicon, macOS 15 or newer.

Windows

Installer or zip

• The installer puts Rookparcel in your Start menu, can associate it with .torrent files and magnet: links, adds an entry under Settings > Apps for uninstalling, and lets Rookparcel update itself (see Updating Rookparcel).
• The zip needs no installation: unzip it anywhere and start rookparcel.exe. It can run in portable mode, with its settings and torrents kept in its own folder (see Where Rookparcel keeps its files). It does not update itself; a newer version is a new zip.

Both are the same programs. Rookparcel needs 64-bit Windows 10 or later. Windows 11 on Arm runs the x64 build.

Running the installer

1. Run rookparcel-<version>-windows-x64-setup.exe.
2. Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC", because the setup is not code-signed. Click More info, then Run anyway.
3. Pick the setup's language, read the welcome page and accept the licence (the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0).
4. Choose Users:
   • Install just for me (the default) needs no administrator rights. Rookparcel goes into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Rookparcel.
   • Install for anyone using this computer installs into C:\Program Files\Rookparcel. Windows asks for administrator rights, and the prompt says "Unknown publisher". If you decline it, you are back on this page.
5. Components: Rookparcel itself, Desktop shortcut, Associate with .torrent files and Associate with magnet: links. The last three are ticked on a new installation.
6. Pick the folder, or keep the one shown, and let it install.
7. On the last page, leave "Run Rookparcel" ticked to start it.

The associations are written for the user who runs the setup. Other users of an installation for everyone can turn them on in Options > Preferences > General.

The setup refuses a folder that holds a rookparcel.ini file: that folder is a portable Rookparcel. Choose another folder.

Installing over an older version

Run the newer setup. It finds the installed Rookparcel, skips the users and folder pages and installs over it in the same folder. Your settings and torrents stay where they are. On an upgrade the association boxes start unticked, which leaves the associations as they are.

If Rookparcel is running, the setup asks you to exit it (File > Exit) and click Retry. If rookparcel-nox.exe from the same folder is running, for example as the Rookparcel nox service, it asks you to stop it first. From an administrator prompt:

sc stop RookparcelNox

Start the service again after the upgrade. An installed copy can also do all of this by itself: see Updating Rookparcel.

Silent installation

The setup takes these switches, for scripts and administrators:

Switch	Effect
/S	silent: no pages, nothing started at the end
/D=<folder>	the installation folder; must be the last argument, without quotes
/CURRENTUSER, /ALLUSERS	for me or for everyone, without the users page. /ALLUSERS without administrator rights asks through the Windows prompt, also when silent
/DESKTOPSHORTCUT	make the desktop shortcut (a silent installation makes none otherwise)
/ASSOCIATE=torrent,magnet	the associations: torrent, magnet or both

For example, from an administrator prompt:

rookparcel-1.1.40-windows-x64-setup.exe /S /ALLUSERS /ASSOCIATE=torrent,magnet

The zip

1. Unzip rookparcel-<version>-windows-x64.zip into any folder you can write to.
2. Start rookparcel.exe. SmartScreen warns the first time, as above: More info, then Run anyway.

Settings and torrents go to %APPDATA%\Rookparcel, the same place an installed copy uses. To keep them in the zip's folder instead, put an empty file named rookparcel.ini beside rookparcel.exe before the first start. See Portable mode.

To open .torrent files and magnet: links with the zip copy, tick the associations in Options > Preferences > General. They then name this copy's rookparcel.exe, so they stop working if you move or delete its folder.

Checking a download

Each release's SHA256SUMS lists the SHA-256 of every file. In PowerShell:

Get-FileHash .\rookparcel-1.1.40-windows-x64-setup.exe -Algorithm SHA256

The hash should match the file's line in SHA256SUMS.

Linux

AppImage

1. Download Rookparcel-<version>-x86_64.AppImage (or -aarch64 on ARM).

2. Make it executable and start it:

   chmod +x Rookparcel-1.1.40-x86_64.AppImage
   ./Rookparcel-1.1.40-x86_64.AppImage

3. Without FUSE 2 on the system, start it with --appimage-extract-and-run added.

The AppImage needs glibc 2.39 or newer (Ubuntu 24.04, Fedora 40, Debian 13 or later). Settings go to ~/.config/rookparcel/gtk, torrents to ~/.local/share/rookparcel/gtk. A rookparcel.ini file beside the .AppImage makes it portable instead (new in 1.1.49; not in a published release yet).

Flatpak

The bundle holds the application; the runtime comes from Flathub. Add Flathub once, then install the bundle:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists --user flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install --user Rookparcel-1.1.40-x86_64.flatpak
flatpak run io.github.balls0fsteel.Rookparcel

After that it is in your applications menu. The Flatpak has no update check of its own and no portable mode. Its .torrent and magnet: associations are the desktop's choice: pick Rookparcel as the default program in your desktop's settings.

Plain binaries (tar.gz)

rookparcel-<version>-linux-<arch>.tar.gz holds rookparcel-gtk, rookparcel-nox, the desktop entry and the systemd units (systemd/system, systemd/user). The binaries use the system's GTK 4 (4.12 or newer) and OpenSSL 3, as Ubuntu 24.04 has them, so they run on distributions about that age or newer.

Unpack it and start rookparcel-gtk. A rookparcel.ini file beside the binary makes it portable (new in 1.1.49; not in a published release yet). For the systemd units, see Running rookparcel-nox.

Headless server

rookparcel-nox-<version>-<arch>.AppImage is the daemon alone, with OpenSSL bundled; it stays out of the menus. See Running rookparcel-nox.

macOS

1. Open Rookparcel-<version>-macos.dmg and drag Rookparcel.app to Applications.

2. The app is ad-hoc signed and not notarised, so Gatekeeper refuses it the first time. Right-click (or Control-click) the app, choose Open, then click Open. If macOS offers no Open button, open System Settings > Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway there.

3. Or remove the quarantine flag in Terminal:

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

The app runs on macOS 11 Big Sur or newer, on Apple silicon and Intel Macs alike: the one Rookparcel.app holds both. Settings and torrents go to ~/Library/Application Support/Rookparcel/mac.

Upgrading from the GTK version

Earlier releases had a GTK version of Rookparcel.app for Apple silicon. Replace it with the new Rookparcel.app in Applications. At its first start, the new app renames the old app's gtk folder in ~/Library/Application Support/Rookparcel to mac, and each profile's too, so your settings, torrents and profiles carry over. This happens once, and only while no mac folder is there yet. Quit the old app first: while it runs, the new one says "Another Rookparcel is already using this folder" and closes. See Where Rookparcel keeps its files.

A "Start Rookparcel on system startup" entry the old app made keeps working. A portable folder is used as it is.

For the headless daemon, unpack rookparcel-nox-<version>-macos-<arch>.tar.gz and run rookparcel-nox from Terminal (Running rookparcel-nox).

Uninstalling

Windows installer

1. Exit Rookparcel (File > Exit).
2. Open Settings > Apps, find Rookparcel and choose Uninstall.
3. The uninstaller has one option, Settings and torrent list, unticked by default. Tick it to also remove what Rookparcel keeps in %APPDATA%\Rookparcel: the settings, the torrent list and its progress, RSS feeds, remote connections, the default IP filter, nox's files and the profiles.

The uninstaller removes the associations, the Default apps entry and the "Start Rookparcel on system startup" entry that name this installation's rookparcel.exe. Those of another copy, a portable one for example, stay. It never touches your downloaded files.

If the Rookparcel nox service runs from the installation folder, the uninstaller asks you to remove it first. From an administrator prompt:

"%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Rookparcel\rookparcel-nox.exe" service uninstall --all

(use your own installation folder). A silent uninstall: "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Rookparcel\uninstall.exe" /S.

The settings belong to each Windows user. Uninstalling an installation for everyone cleans them up for the user who runs the uninstaller only.

Windows zip

1. If you ticked associations or "Start Rookparcel on system startup", untick them in Options > Preferences > General first.
2. Exit Rookparcel and delete its folder.
3. Delete %APPDATA%\Rookparcel too, unless the copy was portable (then everything was in its folder).

Linux and macOS

• AppImage or tar.gz: delete the file or folder. To remove the settings and the torrent list, delete ~/.config/rookparcel and ~/.local/share/rookparcel.
• Flatpak: flatpak uninstall --user io.github.balls0fsteel.Rookparcel.
• macOS: drag Rookparcel.app to the Trash. The settings and torrent list are in ~/Library/Application Support/Rookparcel.

Downloaded files stay where they are in every case. For the full list of folders, see Where Rookparcel keeps its files.