Download and verify¶

Not sure how to get Helia? The Get Helia page lists the ways, including building from source. This page is for checking an installer you downloaded.

This page takes you from nothing to a program you have checked is the one the project published. It is the first of three: this one, then Installation for your system, then First launch.

A pre-release¶

Helia is at version 0.x, which the project calls a pre-release: the stacking, sharpening, colour and export described in this manual all work and are tested, but some things the roadmap promises are not there yet (drizzle is the biggest) and the interface and file notes can still change between releases. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere unless you ask: Helia has no telemetry. See the roadmap for what is planned.

Get the files¶

Installers are sold on 12hobbies.studio (coming soon). Each version comes with the files below. Download the one for your system and its checksum.

You have	Download	Checksum
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit	`helia-<version>-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc-setup.exe` (installer), or the `.zip`	`SHA256SUMS`, or the `.sha256` file beside it
Debian, Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi OS	`helia_<version>_amd64.deb` or `helia_<version>_arm64.deb`	`SHA256SUMS`
Fedora and other RPM systems	`helia-<version>-1.x86_64.rpm` or `...aarch64.rpm`	`SHA256SUMS`
Any Linux	`Helia-<version>-x86_64.AppImage` or `...-aarch64.AppImage`, or the `.tar.gz`	`SHA256SUMS`
macOS	coming: `Helia-<version>-macos.dmg`	`SHA256SUMS`
Windows on ARM	not published	build from source: Installation

Every file, the Windows ones included, has its line in SHA256SUMS. A version also comes with two *.cdx.json files, the lists of libraries inside each program (a software bill of materials). You do not need them to run Helia.

Check the download¶

A checksum is a short fingerprint of a file. If your copy gives the same fingerprint as the one the project published, the file arrived complete and unaltered. Do this before you run the program.

On Windows, in PowerShell, in the folder you downloaded to (the same works for the -setup.exe):

(Get-FileHash helia-0.2.0-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLower()
Get-Content helia-0.2.0-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip.sha256

The two lines must match. For version 0.2.0 both read:

27930fae6620307520ebdc4af51e472756934ba7f7d50986f4528bf2f2ac498b

(the second line also names the file after the hash). Use the version you downloaded, not this one.

On Linux, in the folder holding the file and SHA256SUMS (a .deb, .rpm, AppImage or archive):

sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing

helia-0.2.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz: OK

--ignore-missing skips the lines for archives you did not download. If you see FAILED, download the file again; if it fails a second time, do not run it, and tell the project (see Sending feedback).

The programs are not code-signed yet. Windows SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC" the first time you run the installer; choose More info, then Run anyway. The checksum above is how you know it is the file the project published. See Installation.

Next¶

Installation: the Windows installer, the .deb, .rpm and AppImage, uninstalling, Raspberry Pi notes, and the optional ffmpeg for MP4 files.
First launch: what you will see when you start it.