Install on Windows

Sternway for Windows (x64, Windows 10 and 11) comes in two forms, both from sternway.dev/download:

File	What it is
Sternway-Setup-<version>-x64.exe	The installer. It installs for your user only, into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Sternway, and asks for no administrator rights.
Sternway-<version>-x64.zip	The same app as a folder. Unzip it anywhere and run Sternway.exe; nothing is installed.

There is no build for Windows on ARM yet.

Note

The Windows app has been installed, started and driven by test scripts on Windows 11, on a desktop that was not shown on a screen. Using it by hand on a real screen (native file dialogs, drag and drop from Explorer, several monitors) has not been checked yet.

Check the download

Each release has a SHA256SUMS file next to its downloads. In PowerShell, in the folder with the download:

Get-FileHash .\Sternway-Setup-*-x64.exe -Algorithm SHA256

Compare the hash with the line for that file in SHA256SUMS.

Run the installer

1. Run Sternway-Setup-<version>-x64.exe from your normal account.
2. The app is not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen says it protected your PC. Choose More info, check that the file is the one you downloaded, then choose Run anyway.
3. The installer adds Sternway to the Start menu and starts it. It adds no desktop shortcut.

Starting Sternway again while it runs brings the open window to the front.

To update, run the newer installer. Your hosts and settings are kept, and Sternway writes a snapshot of them before the new version first opens them.

Remove it

Uninstall Sternway from Settings › Apps in Windows. That removes the program folder, the Start-menu entry and the uninstall entry. Your data stays in %APPDATA%\@sternway\desktop (hosts, keys, settings and logs); delete that folder to remove it too.

What works differently on Windows

• Local terminals open PowerShell by default (PowerShell 7 when it is installed). Command Prompt, Git Bash and each WSL distribution are offered too; choose the default in Settings › Terminal.
• SSH agent: the system choice is the OpenSSH agent’s pipe, \\.\pipe\openssh-ssh-agent, which 1Password and Bitwarden also serve. See Use an SSH agent.
• Security keys are reached through Windows’ own WebAuthn dialog, which asks for the PIN and the touch. See Log in with a hardware security key.
• Mosh has no native Windows client, so Mosh sessions are not available; use SSH. See Use Mosh.
• PuTTY sessions can be imported straight from the registry. See Import hosts.