Windows installer

The Windows installer sets up the whole assistant on one PC: the Gateway (which also serves the Dashboard), the Sophon desktop app, and the CLI. Nothing else needs to be installed first. The .NET runtime is bundled.

Which file to downloadCopy Anchor Link

Both files install the same program. They differ in how much you choose.

The MSI's parts:

RequirementsCopy Anchor Link

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit (x64). There is no Arm64 build yet.
• An administrator account, or an administrator's approval when Windows asks (the program installs for all users in C:\Program Files\Sophon).
• Port 8470 free on this PC. The Gateway listens there.

InstallCopy Anchor Link

Get-FileHash .\Sophon-Setup-2.2.2-win-x64.exe -Algorithm SHA256

The desktop app shows a connect page until the Gateway answers (usually a few seconds), then opens the Dashboard. On the very first launch it plays a short intro first. The Dashboard's Setup Wizard then asks for your first model provider: continue with Configuration.

What the installer sets upCopy Anchor Link

How the Gateway runsCopy Anchor Link

The Gateway is not a Windows service. The installer registers a scheduled task, \Sophon\SophonGateway, for the user who is signed in while it installs, and starts it right away. After that it starts each time that user signs in, runs in the background with no window, and restarts itself up to three times if it stops with an error.

It runs as you, not as an administrator or as SYSTEM, so your data folder and the credential vault belong to your account. It listens on http://localhost:8470 and is reachable only from this PC.

Start, stop and restart the GatewayCopy Anchor Link

With the desktop app installed, right-click the Sophon icon in the system tray: it shows the Gateway's status and has Start Gateway, Restart Gateway and Stop Gateway. (The icon may be in the tray overflow; pin it if you use it often.)

From a terminal:

schtasks /Query /TN "Sophon\SophonGateway"   # status
schtasks /Run   /TN "Sophon\SophonGateway"   # start
schtasks /End   /TN "Sophon\SophonGateway"   # stop

To check that it is answering, open http://localhost:8470/api/health.

The CLICopy Anchor Link

The CLI is installed with the Gateway either way, in C:\Program Files\Sophon\gateway\cli\. On Windows its file is Sophon.CLI.exe, so the command is Sophon.CLI, not sophon:

• If you chose Add sophon CLI to PATH in the MSI, run Sophon.CLI from any new terminal.
• Otherwise run it by its full path: & "C:\Program Files\Sophon\gateway\cli\Sophon.CLI.exe".

Run from the install folder, it finds the local Gateway on port 8470 by itself. If you would rather type sophon, install the .NET global tool instead and point it at http://localhost:8470.

Unattended installCopy Anchor Link

The setup program accepts the standard switches:

.\Sophon-Setup-2.2.2-win-x64.exe /quiet /norestart /log "$env:TEMP\sophon-install.log"

Run it while signed in as the person who will use Sophon: the Gateway task is created for whoever is signed in at the console, and with /quiet nothing is launched at the end.

UpgradeCopy Anchor Link

Download the newer installer and run it over the old one. It replaces the program files and keeps %USERPROFILE%\.sophon, so your settings, memory and conversations carry over. Installing an older version over a newer one is refused.

UninstallCopy Anchor Link

Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find Sophon, and choose Uninstall. This stops the Gateway, removes the scheduled task, the program files, the Start menu shortcut and the PATH entry.

Your data in %USERPROFILE%\.sophon is kept, so a later install picks up where you left off. To remove it as well, delete that folder after uninstalling.

TroubleshootingCopy Anchor Link

The Dashboard doesn't open, or the desktop app keeps showing the connect page. Check the task with schtasks /Query /TN "Sophon\SophonGateway". If it doesn't exist, the installer couldn't register it (this doesn't fail the install). A repair doesn't register it again, so uninstall Sophon and install it again while signed in as yourself; your data folder is kept. If it exists but isn't running, start it with schtasks /Run, then look at the newest file in %USERPROFILE%\.sophon\logs\.

Port 8470 is already in use. The Gateway logs could not bind ... the port is already in use and exits. Find and stop the other program, or stop the task and run the Gateway on another port for this session:

schtasks /End /TN "Sophon\SophonGateway"
& "C:\Program Files\Sophon\gateway\Sophon.Gateway.exe" --urls http://localhost:8471

It runs in the background with no window. Open http://localhost:8471 in your browser, or enter that address under Connect to a different Gateway on the desktop app's connect page.

Two Gateways? Only one runs per account: a second copy started by the task exits quietly. Open the running one from the desktop app, the tray, or http://localhost:8470.

More in Common Issues and Diagnostic Logs.