Getting the software

Native installer publication remains disabled for the current release candidate.

Available release assets come from the download centre. The current native release workflow targets Linux x64 (Intel/AMD) only. Windows, macOS and Linux ARM native targets are disabled; platform-specific launcher code and reference instructions are not a promise of published installers.

At the 5 September 2026 review, the platform’s GitHub release list was empty. Check the download centre for the assets actually available to your deployment; the configured Linux target alone does not establish that a package is ready to download. If none is listed, contact the deployment team before planning an install.

Signing in without an account

There is no account and no password. You sign in with the administrator email address on your deployment, which we already hold and have verified.

1. Go to the download centre and enter the administrator email address on your deployment. Any other address gets the same “check your email” message, and no email arrives.
2. Follow the link we send. It works once and expires after 30 minutes.
3. You stay signed in for seven days, so an upgrade does not need a fresh email every morning.

Requests are rate limited.

During onboarding you do not need one

If you are still setting up, the invitation link from onboarding authorises installer downloads by itself. You do not have to fetch a download-centre link before you can install anything.

The download centre is for afterwards: upgrades, a second server, a rebuild.

What you will find

When a release has been published and made available to your deployment, the centre lists its assets by platform. Use that list and its release notes as the availability record. A filename example in this guide does not create a download.

Installers

A native package brings its own application runtime and database, registers a service and provides the setup panel. The currently configured Linux x64 target can produce the following formats when native packaging is enabled for a release. This is what installing it and the quick start walk through after an asset is available.

Linux x64 package format	Filename pattern, when published
Debian package	plugboard_<version>_amd64.deb
RPM package	plugboard-<version>.x86_64.rpm

Choose a listed asset compatible with your host and the release notes. Do not substitute a package for another operating system or architecture.

Portable archives

The same software without the installer around it: unpack it and run plugboard yourself. Nothing is registered as a service and nothing is configured for you, so you own the parts the installer would have handled.

Use an available archive when you manage service registration yourself. The configured release target is plugboard-linux-x64.tar.gz. Other names below are reference/source-build conventions, not current published targets. An absent installer does not imply that a portable archive exists for that platform.

Platform	Archive naming convention	Release configuration
Linux x64, Intel or AMD	plugboard-linux-x64.tar.gz	Enabled target; check for published assets
Windows x64	plugboard-win32-x64.zip	Disabled; reference/source builds only
Linux ARM64	plugboard-linux-arm64.tar.gz	Disabled; reference/source builds only
macOS, Apple silicon	plugboard-darwin-arm64.tar.gz	Disabled; reference/source builds only
macOS, Intel	plugboard-darwin-x64.tar.gz	Disabled; reference/source builds only

To register the service by hand afterwards, see running it as a service.

Older versions

Previously published assets may be listed for rollback. Do not assume an older version exists when no release assets are available.

Checking what you downloaded

Release packaging produces checksums beside its assets and a SHA256SUMS for the set. Use the checksum published with the exact file before installing or unpacking; if either the asset or its verification material is missing, ask the deployment team for it:

sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing

Or one file at a time:

sha256sum -c plugboard-linux-x64.tar.gz.sha256

From a Windows administration machine, to verify an available Linux archive:

Get-FileHash -LiteralPath '.\plugboard-linux-x64.tar.gz' -Algorithm SHA256

and compare it to the matching .sha256 file.

The automatic updater refuses any archive whose checksum does not match, so checking your first download by hand keeps the chain intact from the start.

If a download will not start

Symptom	Cause
The link says it has expired or been used	They are single use and last 30 minutes. Ask for another
No email arrives	The address is not the administrator address on your deployment. Check the one in your onboarding email
Signed in, but nothing is listed	No matching release asset is available. Check with the deployment team; disabled platforms are not promised a package
You were signed in and now you are not	Sessions last a week. Ask for a new link
Signed in, but downloads are refused	The customer record is not active. That is a billing conversation

A suspended account keeps its running deployment, because the licence decides that. What it loses is access to new builds.

How you hear about a new version

Your deployment tells you when a newer version is available.

Plugboard updates itself overnight by default, and you can turn that off. See updating.

You also get an email when a version is released, marked if it changes the database.

Managed hosting

You do not need any of this. We install and update your deployment. The download centre is for self-hosted deployments and for anyone running a second environment of their own.