Installation Guide

Chaterm offers multiple installation options to suit different development environments and user preferences. This guide outlines all available methods for setting up Chaterm on your system, whether you are a developer contributing to the project or an end user looking to use the application.

Requirements

Before installing Chaterm, make sure your system meets the following requirements:

Operating System:

• Windows 10/11
• macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later (Intel and Apple Silicon supported)
• Linux (Debian/Ubuntu based distributions and other distributions that support AppImage)

Hardware:

• Minimum 4GB RAM (8GB recommended)
• 1GB available storage space

Development Requirements (for developers only):

• Node.js 16.x or later
• npm 7.x or later

Download and Install

Chaterm is distributed in different formats depending on your operating system. Please select the appropriate method below.

Windows Installation

Windows users can install Chaterm using the NSIS installer:

1. Download the latest Chaterm-[version]-setup.exe from the official releases page

2. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions

3. Chaterm creates a desktop shortcut by default for easy access Source: electron-builder.yml#L37-L41

macOS Installation

macOS users have two installation options:

1. DMG Installation (Recommended):

• Download the appropriate chaterm-[version]-[architecture].dmg file for your architecture (x64 for Intel Macs, arm64 for Apple Silicon)

• Open the DMG file

• Drag the Chaterm application into your Applications folder

2. ZIP Installation:

• Download the chaterm-[version]-[architecture].zip file for your architecture
• Unzip the ZIP file
• Move the unzipped Chaterm application into your Applications folder

Linux Installation

Linux users have two installation options:

1. AppImage (Generic):

• Download the chaterm-[version]-[architecture].AppImage file
• Make it executable using the following command: chmod +x chaterm-[version]-[architecture].AppImage
• Run directly: ./chaterm-[version]-[architecture].AppImage

2. Debian/Ubuntu Package:

• Download the chaterm-[version]-[architecture].deb file
• Install using the following command: sudo dpkg -i chaterm-[version]-[architecture].deb or install via your package manager

Install from source

Setting up the environment

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/chaterm/Chaterm.git
cd Chaterm

2. Configure npm:

# Update npm registry
npm config set registry https://registry.npmmirror.com

# Edit npm configuration
npm config edit

# Add the following lines to the end of the file:
electron_mirror=https://cdn.npmmirror.com/binaries/electron/
electron_builder_binaries_mirror=https://npmmirror.com/mirrors/electron-builder-binaries/

3. Install dependencies:

node scripts/patch-package-lock.js
npm install

Source build

You can build Chaterm from source for any supported platform:

# For Windows
npm run build:win

# For macOS
npm run build:mac

# For Linux
npm run build:linux

# Unpacked build (for testing)
npm run build:unpack

Custom build

Advanced developers can modify electron-builder.yml file to customize the build process. This configuration controls:

• File inclusion/exclusion rules
• Application metadata
• Platform-specific settings
• Packaging format
• Resource handling

For example, you can customize:

• Change icon files by replacing resources/icon.ico and resources/icon.icns
• Application name and identifier
• File compression settings
• Target architecture for each platform