Recommended installation

Download the latest packaged release, extract it, and run the launcher for a currently released platform. Packaged releases include guided measurement and the native Automatic mode engine.

Download the latest release

Platform	Package and launcher	First-launch notes
Windows x64	Extract DecayCore_<version>_windows.7z, then run DecayCore_<version>.exe.	If SmartScreen appears, select More info → Run anyway. Allow private firewall access if asked.
Ubuntu / Debian (x86_64)	Extract DecayCore_<version>_linux.7z, run ./install.sh, then start with ./run.sh.	The installer adds the required host ALSA/Pulse client libraries.
Arch Linux (x86_64)	Extract DecayCore_<version>_linux.7z, run ./install.sh, then start with ./run.sh.	On an existing PipeWire audio system, the installer adds the matching ALSA/Pulse integration packages.
Raspberry Pi / Linux ARM64	Extract DecayCore_<version>_linux_arm64.7z, run ./install.sh, then start with ./run.sh.	Intended for Raspberry Pi 4/5 and other 64-bit ARM Linux systems. It does not support 32-bit Raspberry Pi OS.
macOS Apple Silicon	Extract DecayCore_<version>_macos_arm64.7z, then open Start_Decay.command.	If blocked, use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway. Allow microphone access if requested.

The Linux installer also adds xdg-utils, which opens the local interface in your default browser. Run ./install.sh --check to check the host audio libraries and browser launcher. A desktop session and an installed browser are needed for automatic browser opening; with --lan, you can use a browser on another computer.

For measurement audio on Linux releases, DecayCore packages a pinned PortAudio build with ALSA and PulseAudio host APIs. install.sh supplies the host audio libraries: libasound2t64 libpulse0 on current Debian/Ubuntu releases (libasound2 on older releases), or alsa-lib libpulse pipewire-alsa pipewire-pulse wireplumber on an Arch PipeWire audio system.

To print the packaged process’s PortAudio host APIs and raw device list without opening an audio stream, run ./run.sh --audio-diagnostics.

DecayCore normally opens its local browser interface automatically. If it does not, open http://127.0.0.1:8080. The interface runs on your computer; it is not a cloud service.

To use the interface from another computer on the same trusted network, start DecayCore with --lan (for example, ./run.sh --lan on Linux). Open one of the DecayCore LAN: addresses printed in the console, such as http://192.168.1.20:8080/. You can bookmark this address; no session code is needed. Anyone who can reach the server on the network can open the interface. LAN mode uses unencrypted HTTP and does not automatically open a local browser, so do not enable it on an untrusted or publicly exposed network. The host firewall may also need permission for TCP port 8080 on the private network.

See Measurement for current platform support and routing requirements.

Run from source

Use the source workflow for development or the public manual filtering engine. A source checkout supports Basic and Advanced modes. Guided measurement and the native Automatic mode decision engine are available only in packaged releases.

The documented Python baseline is 3.12.3. Current pinned dependencies are listed in requirements.txt.

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/VilhoValittu/DecayCore.git
cd DecayCore

2. Create an environment and install dependencies

Windows PowerShell

py -3 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

If PowerShell blocks activation, run Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned, then activate the environment again.

Ubuntu / Debian Linux

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git python3 python3-venv python3-pip
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

macOS

Install Python 3 and Git first, then run:

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Optional Rust DSP acceleration

Packaged releases already include the public decaycore-dsp extension. Source runs can use the pure-Python fallback, but the Rust extension speeds up manual filtering.

Install a Rust toolchain from rustup, activate the Python environment, and run:

python -m pip install ./decaycore-dsp

On Windows, Rust also needs the MSVC build tools offered by the rustup-init.exe installer. When the extension is unavailable, DecayCore logs a fallback warning and continues with Python DSP.

4. Start DecayCore

Windows PowerShell:

$env:PYTHONPATH = "src"
python -m decaycore

Linux and macOS:

PYTHONPATH=src python -m decaycore

Output location

Filter ZIP files are saved by default under:

Documents/DecayCore/filters/<version>/

If the directory is not writable, DecayCore chooses a writable application-data location and shows it on START / Results.

Browser notes

Use a current Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari release. If Vivaldi on Windows causes a NumPy MemoryError during a demanding run, close other tabs or repeat the run in another supported browser.