Install CivicCast On Windows

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Release state: v1.0.0-rc18 is the published controlled beta and the approved Windows installer. v1.0.0-rc17 remains available as the rollback target.

Proof state: rc18 carries fixes for all sixteen findings from the 2026-07-21 stage gate and for the four Critical findings the 2026-07-22 gate then raised against rc18 itself. Its exact bytes have passed a clean-host install, launch, reinstall, uninstall and rc17→rc18 upgrade on a pristine Windows 11 guest, and an interactive installer walkthrough. Its stage-gate re-run returned no blocker or critical findings. Neither proof covered cold-reboot recovery or first-run station setup. The candidate verification document linked from the release states exactly what has and has not been proven.

This page explains the Windows test path for CivicCast beta builds. rc13 is withdrawn after a genuine clean-host bootstrap failure. v1.0.0-rc18 carries forward rc15's clean-machine installer repairs and rc16's UI/UX repairs, plus rc17's beta-blocker fixes and the sixteen stage-gate fixes.

Longmont Public Media beta: Use rc18 only, downloaded from its published GitHub release. Do not install rc13; follow the LPM handoff and use the matching rc18 proof bundle (the release's manifest, sidecar, and Sigstore files).

Beta status: The current public installer is v1.0.0-rc18, whose exact bytes passed a clean-host install, launch, reinstall, uninstall and rc17→rc18 upgrade on a pristine Windows 11 guest. v1.0.0-rc17 remains published as the rollback target, but it carries the sixteen findings the 2026-07-21 stage gate raised — including three it rated Critical — so it is not a recommended install. rc13 remains historical incident evidence, not an installation candidate.

Before You Run It

Run only the rc18 release-matched installer after matching it to the supplied manifest and checksum.

Windows will show a blue “Windows protected your PC” screen the first time you run it. This is expected on a brand-new signing certificate — CivicCast is signed (verified publisher Scott Converse). Choose More info → Run anyway. See the SmartScreen walkthrough for exactly what to click and why.

Read the Windows release trust and verification guide. If a release publishes checksums or signatures for your artifact, verify the download before running it.

What The Setup Path Does

Guides the local Windows helper setup CivicCast needs to run meeting tools on this computer.
Prepares local durable storage.
Starts CivicCast services.
Hands off to the operator console.
Guides first-admin setup and recovery-kit creation.

What You Should Not Need

A normal operator test should not require Git, GitHub CLI, Git LFS, Python commands, Ubuntu commands, or repository source files.

When To Ask For IT Help

Windows does not allow administrator approval.
The machine blocks the Windows helper or says a required Windows setting is turned off.
An endpoint or SmartScreen policy blocks the signed installer from running even after "More info → Run anyway".
CivicCast says a required setup step needs IT help.

Uninstalling — Removing Your Station Data

When you uninstall, the uninstaller shows a “Delete the application data” checkbox. Check it to remove everything, including the ~19 GB Windows helper (the CivicCast-Ubuntu-24.04 WSL distribution that holds the database and recordings). Leave it unchecked to keep your recordings and settings for a later reinstall; the uninstaller then tells you on screen exactly what was kept.

Note two things if you keep the data: a later reinstall makes previously published recordings public again without a new approval, and a command-line silent uninstall (/S) keeps the data by default (it never shows the checkbox). To remove kept data by hand later, run wsl --unregister CivicCast-Ubuntu-24.04 and delete %USERPROFILE%\.civiccast.

If Something Fails

Use the tester packet and bug report template. Do not paste passwords, recovery codes, provider secrets, private keys, resident data, or private meeting content into reports.

Open the tester packet