Install Rookparcel

1 Download the setup and run it

Take rookparcel-…-windows-x64-setup.exe from the Download page and open it from your browser's downloads or the Downloads folder.

2 SmartScreen: More info

Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”. Click the small More info link under the text. If no such window appears, go on to the next step.

3 SmartScreen: Run anyway

The window now names the file and says “Unknown publisher”. Click Run anyway.

4 Choose who it is for

Pick the language and accept the licence. On Choose Users, Install just for me needs no administrator rights. Install for anyone using this computer makes Windows ask for permission; that prompt also says “Unknown publisher”. Click Yes.

5 Components, folder, Install

Leave the ticks as they are unless you do not want the desktop shortcut or the .torrent and magnet: associations. Keep the folder shown and click Install.

6 Finish

Leave Run Rookparcel ticked and click Finish. Rookparcel opens with its Setup Guide. Later versions install over this one: Rookparcel tells you in its status bar when one is out.

1 Download and unzip

Take rookparcel-…-windows-x64.zip from the Download page. Right-click it, choose Extract All… and pick a folder you can write to, such as Documents\Rookparcel. Do not start it from inside the zip.

2 Optional: keep everything in that folder

For portable mode, make an empty file named rookparcel.ini next to rookparcel.exe before the first start. Settings and torrents then stay in the folder; without it they go to %APPDATA%\Rookparcel.

3 Start rookparcel.exe

Double-click rookparcel.exe. Windows shows “Windows protected your PC” the first time: click More info, then Run anyway.

4 Optional: open torrents with it

Tick the .torrent and magnet: associations in Options > Preferences > General. They name this copy, so they stop working if you move the folder.

1 Download the AppImage

Take Rookparcel-…-x86_64.AppImage (or -aarch64) from the Download page. It needs glibc 2.39 or newer: Ubuntu 24.04, Fedora 40, Debian 13 or later.

2 Allow it to run

A downloaded file may not be run until you say so. In a terminal:

cd ~/Downloads
chmod +x Rookparcel-*.AppImage

Or in the file manager: right-click the file, Properties, Permissions, and tick the box that allows running it as a program.

3 Start it

Double-click the file, or:

./Rookparcel-*.AppImage

4 If it says it needs FUSE

Some systems no longer ship FUSE 2, and the AppImage then stops with “AppImages require FUSE to run”. Start it this way instead:

./Rookparcel-*.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run

1 Download the bundle

Take Rookparcel-…-x86_64.flatpak (or -aarch64) from the Download page. Your system needs flatpak itself; most desktops have it.

2 Add Flathub once

The bundle holds the application; its runtime comes from Flathub:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists --user flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

3 Install the bundle

cd ~/Downloads
flatpak install --user Rookparcel-*.flatpak

Answer y when it asks about the runtime.

4 Start it

Rookparcel is now in your applications menu, or:

flatpak run io.github.balls0fsteel.Rookparcel

It may write to your home folder. For downloads on another disk, see Good to know on the Download page.

1 Download the archive

Take rookparcel-…-linux-x86_64.tar.gz (or -aarch64) from the Download page. The programs use your system's GTK 4 (4.12 or newer) and OpenSSL 3, as Ubuntu 24.04 has them.

2 Unpack it

cd ~/Downloads
tar -xzf rookparcel-*-linux-*.tar.gz

3 Start the window

./rookparcel-*-linux-*/rookparcel-gtk

The folder also holds rookparcel-nox (the daemon), a desktop entry and systemd units.

1 Copy the app to Applications

Open Rookparcel-…-macos.dmg from the Download page and drag Rookparcel.app onto the Applications folder in its window. Start it from Applications, not from the disk image.

2 Try to open it, then click Done

Double-click Rookparcel in Applications. macOS says it could not verify the app. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

3 System Settings: Open Anyway

Open System Settings from the Apple menu and click Privacy & Security in the sidebar. Scroll down to Security and click Open Anyway next to the line about Rookparcel. The button is there for about an hour after step 2; if it is gone, repeat step 2.

4 Confirm

In the question that follows, click Open Anyway, then give your password or Touch ID. Rookparcel starts, and from now on opens with a double-click.

5 Local network

macOS may ask whether Rookparcel may find devices on your local network. Allow it for local peer discovery and for opening a port on your router; Rookparcel also works without.

1 Copy the app to Applications

Open Rookparcel-…-macos.dmg from the Download page and drag Rookparcel.app onto the Applications folder in its window.

2 Control-click, then Open

A double-click only shows a warning with no way on. Instead, in Applications, hold Control and click Rookparcel (or right-click it) and choose Open from the menu.

3 Open

This time the warning has an Open button. Click it. Rookparcel starts, and from now on opens with a double-click.

4 If there is no Open button

Open System Settings (System Preferences on macOS 11 and 12) > Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway, or use the Terminal.

1 Copy the app to Applications

Open Rookparcel-…-macos.dmg and drag Rookparcel.app onto the Applications folder in its window.

2 Remove the download mark

Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities), paste this line and press Return:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Rookparcel.app

It removes the “downloaded from the internet” mark from this one app. It prints nothing when it worked.

3 Open it

Double-click Rookparcel in Applications. It starts without a warning. “Rookparcel is damaged and can't be opened” is the same block in other words; this command clears it too.