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David Clamage edited this page Dec 22, 2024 · 20 revisions

Intallation Guide

SudokuSolver is a set of portable files which require no installation. You will need a rudimentary understanding of what zip files are and how to extract them to a memorable location.

Initial Setup

  1. Download the latest stable release of SudokuSolver (not recommended) for your platform or download the beta development build (recommended). If you download the development build, it comes with all platforms, so you'll need to extract it and then choose the correct zip file:
    win-x64: Almost all Windows users (including Windows 10/11 users) will want this file.
    win-arm64: This is for ARM-based Windows, such as Surface X tablets or the new "Copilot" laptops.
    osx-x64: All Apple OSX users should use this, including ARM-based OSX.
    osx-arm64: Intended for ARM-based Apple OSX users, but it does not work yet because it is not signed and notarized by Apple.
    linux-x64: For Linux users. Linux users may also consider building from source.
  2. Create a directory for the solver and extract all the files there.
  3. If your extracted folder looks like the "Incorrect Download" image below, then you did not download the correct thing. You downloaded the source code instead of the release. Please read the release notes at the above link to see exactly which file to download for your platform and OS. Expand the "Assets" dropdown under it for the list of files available to download.

Incorrect Download. This is the source code!
Source Code Folder

Correct Download
Correct Folder
Note: Different platforms and future releases may look slightly different from this, but you can see the obvious difference between these two download folders.

Using with f-puzzles

See Using f-puzzles.com Integration for instructions to integrate with f-puzzles. The instructions below are to run the solver in a standalone way without f-puzzles.

Running the Program (Windows)

SudokuSolver is a command-line application, and it is out of scope of this document to teach you how to use the command-line tools for your operating system. You will need a rudimentary understanding of what a command window or terminal is, how to change directories within it, and how to run programs which are the in the current directory with command-line options. If you only want to use the f-puzzles integration, see the section above.

  1. Open a command window by opening the start menu and typing cmd and pressing enter.
  2. Change directory to where you extracted the zip file.
  3. Type the following command:
SudokuSolverConsole
  1. You should see a help message appear.
    • NOTE: Double-clicking the exe from explorer will run the program, but it will also immediately close after finishing.

Running the Program (OSX / Linux)

  1. Open a terminal
  2. Change directory to where you extracted the zip / tar.gz file.
  3. Type the following command:
./SudokuSolverConsole
  1. You should see the a help message appear.
  2. If you get a "Permission denied" error, then type the following command and try again:
chmod +x SudokuSolverConsole

Updating

  1. To update to a new release, it is recommended to extract the files to a new directory. Once confirming the new release works for you, you can delete your old directory. (Unless, of course, you have file saved there that you'd like to keep).
    • NOTE: Extracting into the existing directory and replacing all files should work, but may cause issues if old files remain which are no longer used.
  2. If using the f-puzzles.com Integration, remember to update your user script as well.
  3. Join the Discord server to receive notifications about new releases.

Additional Note for Mac (OSX) Users

If you're using MacOS Catalina, you may encounter security warnings like the one pictured below when running SudokuSolverConsole for the first time.

MacOS security warning

To run SudokuSolverConsole:

  1. Press the Cancel button
  2. Open SystemPreferences
  3. Click on Security & Privacy.
  4. You should see a message like the following in the General tab.
MacOS SystemPreferences
  1. Click Allow Anyway.
  2. Re-run SudokuSolverConsole.
  3. You will see a warning message like before, but this time with an Open button.
MacOS security warning
  1. Click Open.
  2. You will see several more warning messages for each dylib used by SudokuSolverConsole, for which you'll have to repeat the steps above.

What next

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