Install

Download AETHER#

Both links always point at the current build. Sign in to aetheraio.com first. Signed out, a link takes you to the Download page to sign in or create an account. Your dashboard has the same two links. Installing needs no key. You need your licence key to get past the licence gate on first launch, and the app checks it with the licence server every time it opens.

Install on macOS#

AETHER needs an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or newer) with macOS 11 or later. An Intel Mac will not open it.

1. 1

   Unzip AETHER AIO.zip

   You get AETHER AIO.app. Move it into your Applications folder before you open it.
2. 2

   Double-click the app

   macOS refuses to open it the first time. Click Done, not Move to Trash.
3. 3

   Allow it in System Settings

   Open System Settings and go to Privacy & Security. Next to the message about AETHER AIO, click Open Anyway, then confirm. macOS asks only once.
4. 4

   Wait for the first launch to finish

   It does more work than later launches. See First launch below.

A plain double-click does not work the first time. The app has no Apple Developer ID and is not notarised, so Gatekeeper refuses to open it. Steps 2 and 3 are for macOS 15 or later. On macOS 14 or earlier, you can instead right-click the app, choose Open and confirm.

Install on Windows#

AETHER is 64-bit only.

1. 1

   Run AETHER AIO Setup.exe

   It is one file, with nothing to unpack.
2. 2

   Click through SmartScreen

   Windows shows "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway.
3. 3

   Finish Setup

   Setup installs for your user only, so there is no admin prompt and it works on a locked-down machine. Create a Desktop shortcut is already ticked. Untick it if you do not want one.
4. 4

   Start AETHER

   Setup offers to start it for you. After that, use the AETHER AIO entry in the Start menu or the desktop shortcut.

• The installer is unsigned, so SmartScreen shows that warning. No setting in AETHER removes it.
• Setup also runs Microsoft's WebView2 runtime installer once, silently. The app window needs it. Client editions of Windows 10 and 11 already have it. Windows Server and stripped or LTSC images do not, so Setup includes it.

First launch#

The window opens straight away on a startup screen, and AETHER runs its updater behind it. On a fresh install the updater first copies the version that came with the installer into your data folder. That needs no download. It then checks for a newer version and downloads it only if one is offered. If your installer is older than the current build, that download makes the first start slower.

AETHER starts a server on your computer and shows the app in its own window. The server uses local port 7777. You do not need to keep a browser tab open or run anything in a terminal.

The first screen is the licence gate. It covers the whole app until a key is accepted. To get past it, see Activate your licence.

Your data folder#

AETHER keeps everything in one folder. On macOS it is ~/.aether. On Windows it is %USERPROFILE%\.aether, with the same contents.

You can run either installer again over an existing install. It replaces the program files and leaves this folder alone. Uninstalling on Windows leaves it alone too, so a reinstall picks up your accounts, proxies and pools where they were.

If AETHER does not start#

• Read aether.log in your data folder: ~/.aether/aether.log on macOS, %USERPROFILE%\.aether\aether.log on Windows. The launcher and the server both write to it, so the reason is almost always in the last few lines.
• On Windows, if the bundled node.exe cannot run or the program files are missing, AETHER writes %USERPROFILE%\.aether\aether-start-failed.txt instead and opens it in Notepad. It names what failed.
• On Windows, the most common cause is antivirus quarantining the bundled node.exe. The next most common is an install that did not finish.
• Once the app is running, open Settings. The Diagnostics section has an Export button for backend logs. Send that export when you ask for help.