Install guide

Install & activation

Get ChronAlert running on a Windows or Linux PC, view it on other screens, and activate a Pro license. The application itself is local and offline once installed. For how to use ChronAlert once it's running, see the full User Manual.

1. Install ChronAlert

Windows

  1. Download the installer from the download page.
  2. Run ChronAlert-Setup.exe and follow the prompts.
  3. Launch ChronAlert. It opens in your browser and starts serving on your PC.

Linux (x86-64)

  1. Download ChronAlert-x86_64.AppImage from the download page. There is nothing to install.
  2. Make it executable: chmod +x ChronAlert-x86_64.AppImage (or in your file manager: right-click → Properties → allow executing as a program).
  3. Run it: ./ChronAlert-x86_64.AppImage. It opens in your browser and starts serving on your PC. Add --kiosk for a full-screen display, or --no-browser to run it without opening a browser and view it from another screen.

Settings and your license are kept in ~/.terra. To use USB radios, add yourself to the right groups once, then log out and back in: sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER for Meshtastic / MeshCore, and sudo usermod -aG plugdev $USER for an RTL-SDR.

2. Set your location (QTH)

Open Settings (the gear icon, top right) and set your QTH by city search or latitude/longitude. This centers the local Area view, decides which weather alerts are near you, and seeds your first Watch Zone.

3. View it on another screen

ChronAlert serves on port 8420. From a TV, tablet, phone, Firestick or another PC on the same network, open a browser to:

http://YOUR-PC-ADDRESS:8420

Use the exact address shown in Settings → Watch on another screen - each PC has its own local address. On Windows, the installer opens the firewall for this automatically. On Linux, if a firewall is turned on, allow the port, for example sudo ufw allow 8420/tcp.

4. Activate ChronAlert Pro

If you purchased Pro, you received a license key on the confirmation page and by email. To activate:

  1. Open ChronAlert
  2. Go to Settings → License
  3. Paste your license key
  4. Click Activate

Your Pro features unlock immediately. The license is verified locally on your PC - nothing to renew and no server to reach.

5. Reinstalling or moving to a new PC

Your Pro license is a one-time, perpetual key. Keep your license email. After reinstalling or on a new PC, activate with the same key. Lost it? Use license recovery.

Free vs Pro

Free shows what is happening: all core feeds, radar, Feed Health, passive weather and emergency alerts, LAN viewing, 2 Panels and 1 Watch Zone. Pro reacts to it: automatic Situation Room takeover, Event Fusion, contextual escalation, incident timeline, 10 Panels, 10 Watch Zones, per-screen Displays, Command Center, Shortwave On Now, the radiation, grid, nuclear, wildfire and CDC feeds, local ADS-B, AIS and APRS, the QSO Map, unlimited ticker sources, the world clock bar, webcams, and Meshtastic + MeshCore radios.

Ready to explore everything ChronAlert can do? Read the full User Manual →