# Release archives (/en/docs/install/binary)

Download the archive for your platform, verify its sha256 and run it directly; suited to Windows and to environments where the install script is inconvenient.

## Picking an archive [#picking-an-archive]

Download the archive for your platform from the [releases page](https://github.com/x-haose/imgyoung/releases). The version in file names has no `v` (e.g. `1.0.0`); the tag in download paths does (e.g. `v1.0.0`):

| OS | amd64 | arm64 |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | `imgyoung_<version>_linux_amd64.tar.gz` | `imgyoung_<version>_linux_arm64.tar.gz` |
| macOS | `imgyoung_<version>_darwin_amd64.tar.gz` (Intel) | `imgyoung_<version>_darwin_arm64.tar.gz` (Apple silicon) |
| Windows | `imgyoung_<version>_windows_amd64.zip` | `imgyoung_<version>_windows_arm64.zip` |

`checksums.txt` next to them lists the sha256 of every archive. Each archive contains:

<Files>
  <File name="imgyoung (imgyoung.exe on Windows)" />
  <File name="LICENSE" />
  <File name="README.md, README.en.md" />
  <Folder name="deploy" defaultOpen>
    <File name="compose.yaml" />
    <File name="Caddyfile" />
    <File name="nginx.conf" />
    <File name="imgyoung.service" />
  </Folder>
  <Folder name="web">
    <Folder name="licenses" />
  </Folder>
</Files>

`deploy/` holds sample configurations for Docker Compose, reverse proxies and systemd; `web/licenses/` holds the licenses of third-party code used by the admin console. The binary depends on none of the other files and can be copied on its own.

## Download and verify [#download-and-verify]

Using 1.0.0 as an example; substitute the version and architecture you want:

<Tabs items={['Linux', 'macOS', 'Windows']}>
<Tab value="Linux">

```bash title="Terminal"
VERSION=1.0.0
FILE=imgyoung_${VERSION}_linux_amd64.tar.gz
BASE=https://github.com/x-haose/imgyoung/releases/download/v${VERSION}
curl -fLO "$BASE/$FILE"
curl -fLO "$BASE/checksums.txt"
grep " $FILE\$" checksums.txt | sha256sum -c -
tar -xzf "$FILE"
```

</Tab>
<Tab value="macOS">

```bash title="Terminal"
VERSION=1.0.0
FILE=imgyoung_${VERSION}_darwin_arm64.tar.gz
BASE=https://github.com/x-haose/imgyoung/releases/download/v${VERSION}
curl -fLO "$BASE/$FILE"
curl -fLO "$BASE/checksums.txt"
grep " $FILE\$" checksums.txt | shasum -a 256 -c -
tar -xzf "$FILE"
```

The binary has no developer signature and is not notarized by Apple. Files downloaded with `curl` carry no quarantine attribute and run as is; if you downloaded the archive in a browser, remove the quarantine attribute after extracting, or macOS will block it:

```bash title="Terminal"
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine imgyoung
```

</Tab>
<Tab value="Windows">

```powershell title="PowerShell"
$Version = "1.0.0"
$File = "imgyoung_${Version}_windows_amd64.zip"
$Base = "https://github.com/x-haose/imgyoung/releases/download/v$Version"
Invoke-WebRequest "$Base/$File" -OutFile $File -UseBasicParsing
Invoke-WebRequest "$Base/checksums.txt" -OutFile checksums.txt -UseBasicParsing
$Expected = foreach ($Line in Get-Content checksums.txt) {
  $Hash, $Name = $Line -split '\s+'
  if ($Name -eq $File) { $Hash }
}
$Actual = (Get-FileHash $File -Algorithm SHA256).Hash
if (-not $Expected -or $Actual -ne $Expected) { throw "sha256 mismatch: expected $Expected, got $Actual" }
Expand-Archive $File -DestinationPath imgyoung
```

</Tab>
</Tabs>

On success Linux and macOS print `<file name>: OK` and PowerShell reports no error. On a mismatch, do not use the archive; download it again.

## Running it [#running-it]

<Tabs items={['Linux / macOS', 'Windows']}>
<Tab value="Linux / macOS">

```bash title="Terminal"
./imgyoung
```

</Tab>
<Tab value="Windows">

```powershell title="PowerShell"
cd imgyoung
.\imgyoung.exe
```

</Tab>
</Tabs>

Open `http://<host>:8721/` and sign in with `admin` / `imgyoung123`; the first sign-in asks you to change the password right away. `Ctrl+C` shuts it down gracefully.

- **Data directory**: by default `data/` under the **current directory at startup**, not the directory of the binary. Start it from somewhere else and you get a fresh, empty instance. Pin the location with `IMGYOUNG_DATA_DIR`:

  ```bash
  IMGYOUNG_DATA_DIR=/srv/imgyoung ./imgyoung
  ```

  ```powershell
  $env:IMGYOUNG_DATA_DIR = "D:\imgyoung-data"; .\imgyoung.exe
  ```

- **Listening address**: `:8721` by default, i.e. every interface; set `IMGYOUNG_LISTEN=127.0.0.1:8721` when only a local reverse proxy should reach it. Other environment variables are listed in [Configuration](../configuration.mdx).
- **Version**: `./imgyoung -version`. This is the only command-line flag; everything else is configured through environment variables and the console.

On Windows the firewall may ask whether `imgyoung.exe` may access the network on first run; for local-only use you can decline.

## Running under a process supervisor [#running-under-a-process-supervisor]

For long-running use, do not just leave it open in a terminal. A supervisor starts it on boot and restarts it after a crash. Also, "Restore" under "Settings → Backups & export" in the console makes the service exit cleanly and relies on the supervisor to start it again so the snapshot can be swapped in; without one, the restore only completes when you start it by hand. Configure the supervisor to **always restart the process when it exits**, including clean exits.

- **Linux**: use the systemd sample in the archive. The result is the same as `--service` of the [install script](./script.mdx), with data in `/var/lib/imgyoung`; that page also explains each setting:

  ```bash title="Terminal"
  sudo install -m 0755 imgyoung /usr/local/bin/imgyoung
  sudo install -m 0644 deploy/imgyoung.service /etc/systemd/system/imgyoung.service
  sudo systemctl daemon-reload
  sudo systemctl enable --now imgyoung
  ```

- **macOS**: write a launchd service, or use [Docker](./docker.mdx) instead.
- **Windows**: register `imgyoung.exe` as a Windows service with a tool such as WinSW or NSSM, set the working directory or `IMGYOUNG_DATA_DIR`, and configure it to restart on exit.

## Upgrading [#upgrading]

Download and verify the new archive, stop the service, replace the old binary with the new one, and start it again. Leave the data directory as is; the database schema is migrated automatically when the new version starts. Putting the old binary back is not a downgrade: the older version refuses to start on a database migrated by a newer one, so rolling back takes the older version plus a snapshot taken before the upgrade. Before upgrading, consider clicking "Back up now" under "Settings → Backups & export"; see [Upgrading](../operations/upgrade.mdx) for the rollback steps and more.