Install Guide

Windows

Download jAER_windows-x64_*.exe and run it. Current builds are Authenticode-signed (publisher Tobias Delbruck).

• SmartScreen may still say Windows protected your PC until the signature has enough downloads. Use More info → Run anyway.
• If Smart App Control blocks the launcher, allow the app or turn that feature off.
• winget can install the signed build even while SmartScreen still warns.

USB cameras

• If jAER reports LIBUSB_ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED, bind WinUSB with Zadig (not libusb-win32).
• Prophesee EVK4 can use Prophesee wdi-simple.

macOS

Pick the DMG that matches the Mac, not the browser. Safari often cannot report Apple Silicon vs Intel.

• Apple menu → About This Mac: Chip Apple M1–M4 → jAER_macos_aarch64_*.dmg.
• Processor Intel → jAER_macos_*.dmg (no aarch64 in the name).
• Terminal: uname -m is arm64 or x86_64.

An Apple Silicon DMG on an Intel Mac fails with You can’t open the application “jAER … Installer” because this application is not supported on this Mac. Download the Intel DMG instead.

Install

1. Double-click the .dmg (it mounts a disk).
2. In the Finder window, double-click jAER … Installer.
3. Prefer a user folder (~/Applications or ~/jaer) unless you want an admin install into /Applications.

Current DMGs are signed with Apple Developer ID and notarized (identified developer Tobias Delbruck). A notarized GitHub DMG should open normally. An older unsigned DMG needs right-click → Open or Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

USB cameras (Apple Silicon)

Live USB cameras need Homebrew libusb:

brew install libusb

If the dylib is missing, jAER shows a how-to and quits so the next launch can load it. File playback does not need libusb.

Startup logs

If the splash closes with no window, attach $TMPDIR/jaer/jAER-0.log. $TMPDIR is not /tmp; it looks like /var/folders/…/T/. Absence of hs_err_pid*.log or Console crash reports usually means a normal Java exit, not a native crash.

Linux

Download jAER_unix_*.sh. Installers are x64 only.

chmod +x jAER_unix_*.sh
sh jAER_unix_*.sh

Start jAER from the install directory or the desktop / GNOME entry the installer created. There is no official apt / .deb (USB cameras need an unsandboxed install).

If USB udev rules are missing for a plugged-in jAER device, jAER shows the exact shell command to add the rule(s).

After install

• Installers can download sample recordings (off by default, about 1 GB). You can fetch them later from Help → Sample data. Skipping that download does not roll back the install.
• After this version is GitHub Latest, Help → Check for release updates… → Download and install can self-update.
• Video: installing and updating jAER (also covers git clone and rebuild from master).

Uninstall

Quit jAER first. Use the install4j uninstaller — do not only delete the folder. It removes the program, Start menu / desktop entries, file associations, and jaer/sampleData in the install folder (including extra files you copied there). It does not delete jaerSampleData in your home folder, Java preferences, USB driver changes, or udev rules you added by hand. If files remain in the install folder, that folder may open so you can inspect them.

Windows

Settings → Apps → Installed apps → search jAER → Uninstall. Or run uninstall.exe in the install folder (often C:\Program Files\jAER). A Zadig WinUSB binding is left as-is.

macOS

In the folder you chose at install (~/Applications/jAER, ~/jaer, or /Applications/jAER), double-click the Uninstall jAER app. Homebrew libusb is not removed.

Linux

From the install directory:

./uninstall

Or use the Uninstall desktop / GNOME entry if the installer created one. sudo is needed only if you installed under /opt (or another root-owned path).

A git clone has no uninstaller: delete that clone.