// RUNNING KAPTAIN

Run Kaptain on Windows

Windows SmartScreen warns about programs it has not seen before. Kaptain is not yet code-signed, so you will get that warning on first run.

You will see: “Windows protected your PC.” SmartScreen shows this for any new publisher, based on how many times the file has been downloaded — not on anything found inside it.

Allow it to run

  1. Double-click kaptain-win.exe.
  2. On the blue SmartScreen dialog, click More info.
  3. Click Run anyway.

Kaptain starts and opens your browser. Windows remembers the choice, so you only do this once.

From the terminal

In PowerShell, from the folder you downloaded to:

.\kaptain-win.exe start

To run it from anywhere, move the file into a folder on your PATH, or add its folder to PATH under Settings → System → About → Advanced system settings → Environment Variables.

If nothing appears to happen: make sure you are launching it with start. Running the bare executable prints its command list and exits.

What happens on first run

  1. Kaptain opens at localhost:8810 in your browser.
  2. The setup wizard appears. Create your CHYNJ account or sign in — your free 3-day trial starts here, and no card is needed.
  3. Verify your email address. We send the link as soon as you sign up; the trial needs a verified address.
  4. Pick a model runtime. Kaptain detects Ollama, llama.cpp, and the Claude and Codex CLIs, and tells you how to install whichever you are missing.
  5. Choose your project folder and network settings, and you are done.

The trial is tied to this device, so reinstalling does not start a new one. Subscribing later keeps everything you set up here.

Stuck? [email protected].

The full picture: the Kaptain Setup Guide covers which build to pick for your machine, what each model runtime needs, and the whole first-run wizard.

// OTHER PLATFORMS

macOSLinuxTerminal install