Installation
WinStars 3 is free software to use: every feature is available to everyone, with no purchase, no paid option and no advertising. The Licence and usage rights page summarises your rights.
System requirements
Windows
Windows 10 or 11, 64 bits. A 64-bit machine is required: there is no 32-bit version any more.
3D graphics card compatible with OpenGL 4.1 or higher.
4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended).
1 GB of free disk space.
Android
Android 6 or later (Android 8 or later recommended), on a device compatible with OpenGL ES 3.2 or higher.
Space needed depends on the device: the published APK files weigh between 42 and 50 MB, and modules, the star catalogue and the DSS cache are added afterwards.
GNU/Linux
A recent 64-bit (x86_64) distribution. WinStars is released as an AppImage, which carries its own libraries: no system dependency has to be installed.
3D graphics card compatible with OpenGL 4.1 or higher.
Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi 4, 5 or 400 running Raspberry Pi OS 64 bits (Bookworm). See Installing on a Raspberry Pi.
Abandoned platforms
WinStars 3 is no longer available for macOS or iOS. Apple’s abandonment of x86 processors makes it impossible to build the project any more; the versions published in the past are no longer maintained.
Internet connection
A connection is needed at first launch on Windows (the installer downloads the current package), for downloading modules, for the second and third parts of the star catalogue and for the DSS feature. The program then works offline for the basic sky.
Downloading
All files are on the WinStars 3 download page. That page shows, for every file, the version number, the weight and the date read directly from the server: trust it rather than an article, because the figures change at every release.
Verifying what you downloaded
Every file has a SHA-256 fingerprint, shown in the tooltip of the link on the download page and in the manifest file. After downloading, compute your own value and compare:
sha256sum file-name
The two fingerprints must be identical. On Windows, the equivalent command is
certutil -hashfile file-name SHA256.
Installation
Windows
Double-click the installation file
winstars_installer.exe(64 bits).Follow the instructions. At first run the installer connects to the server and downloads the current package: that package determines the version that is really installed.
Android
WinStars 3 is no longer offered on Google Play. Two methods:
Through F-Droid (recommended): add the official repository
https://franckrichard01.github.io/WinStars3-FDroid/repo/in the F-Droid application, then install WinStars 3. Updates follow your processor architecture automatically.Direct download: get the APK matching your device architecture (
x86_64,x86,armeabi-v7aorarm64-v8a) from the download page, then open it. Installing from an unknown source must be allowed for that application.
GNU/Linux
WinStars 3 runs without being installed: see Installing on Linux.
Raspberry Pi
See Installing on a Raspberry Pi.
Updating and uninstalling
On Windows, run MaintenanceTools.exe, located in the installation directory, and choose “update”.
The same dialog box uninstalls WinStars cleanly: see Maintenance.
On GNU/Linux, updating means downloading the next AppImage file and running it; the old file is deleted.
Troubleshooting
At startup, WinStars 3 writes diagnostic messages to a log file. If you are using the Windows version, this winstars3.log file can be found in the C:\users\your_user_name\WinStars3 directory.
This file contains important information about what does not work with your configuration. Use the send a bug report function to send this file and get help.
It is also possible to use the bugtracker or the forum to submit a problem you have observed.