Windows Installation

Use the Windows x64 standalone ZIP from Releases. It contains its own runtime; Node.js is unnecessary. Source-checkout users should follow Source installation.

Download and verify

Download the ZIP and its matching .sha256 file. In PowerShell, calculate the archive hash and compare it with the downloaded checksum before extracting:

Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 .\GearBeacon-v1.2.0-windows-x64.zip
Get-Content .\GearBeacon-v1.2.0-windows-x64.zip.sha256

Use the exact asset name and version shown on the release. Checksums detect altered or incomplete bytes; they are not a native code signature. The release also provides an SPDX SBOM and GitHub artifact provenance. The executable is currently unsigned.

Run on one computer

Extract the entire ZIP into an application folder and run GearBeacon.exe. Open http://localhost:8787. Keep the console/process running; stopping it stops monitoring. Portable data normally lives in %LOCALAPPDATA%\GearBeacon, outside the extracted application directory.

Start automatically

Close any portable instance first. From an elevated PowerShell window in the extracted standalone package, run:

.\install-windows-service.ps1

Despite the script name, Windows automatic startup uses a Scheduled Task named GearBeacon, not a Windows Service Control Manager service. It runs at startup as NT AUTHORITY\LOCAL SERVICE, with private mode and a 0.0.0.0 bind as its initial defaults.

Component	Default
Application	%ProgramFiles%\GearBeacon
Data, backups, encryption key	%ProgramData%\GearBeacon
Log	%ProgramData%\GearBeacon\gearbeacon.log
Startup task	GearBeacon

Application files are administrator-owned; the task identity gets application read/execute access and data-directory write access. This data directory differs from a portable installation. Use the recovery/migration guide to transfer existing data deliberately.

Read the setup token locally from the log, then finish first run. Private mode requires an owner password. Restrict network access to a trusted LAN/VPN or configure HTTPS.

Manage the task

Run administrative task commands in an elevated PowerShell window:

Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName GearBeacon
Stop-ScheduledTask -TaskName GearBeacon
Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName GearBeacon
Get-Content "$env:ProgramData\GearBeacon\gearbeacon.log" -Tail 50

Logs may contain the one-time setup token or local addresses. Use GearBeacon's redacted support bundle when requesting help.

The installer accepts -InstallDir and -DataDir for custom locations. Give a secondary backup destination access for the task identity, not only your signed-in Windows account. A mapped drive in an interactive session may not be available to the task; confirm the destination in Operations and test recovery.

Update or uninstall

Follow Updates and rollback before running update-windows.ps1. It manages the installed task and verifies the release checksum; it is not the portable-update procedure.

Run the package's uninstall-windows-service.ps1 from elevated PowerShell to remove automatic startup and installed application files. Data is preserved by default. Its explicit -RemoveData option deletes saved application data; use it only when intentionally removing the installation's records.

Implementation: Windows installer, uninstaller, updater.