/QUANTWAVEAPP Windows · Install Guide ← Downloads

Installing on Windows, step by step.

A few minutes from download to a running app. The installer is fully self-contained — no Python, no runtimes to set up. Everything runs locally on your PC, nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Applies to: QuantWatch (QuantWatch-Setup.exe, UI on 127.0.0.1:8902)  ·  QuantWave Trade (QuantWaveTrade-Setup.exe, UI on 127.0.0.1:8903)
01

Download the installer

  1. On quantwave.app → Downloads, press Download for Windows on your app's card.
  2. Enter your developer invite code (issued personally — if you don't have one, use the contact form).
  3. The Setup.exe file lands in your Downloads folder.
If the browser flags the file The build is not code-signed, so Chrome or Edge may hold the download with a “…is not commonly downloaded” warning. Open the downloads panel, click the flagged file (or its … menu) → Keep → Keep anyway. The file is exactly what our server sent — you can verify the link goes to quantwave.app.
02

Get past SmartScreen

Double-click Setup.exe. Windows shows a blue “Windows protected your PC” screen — this is SmartScreen reacting to an unsigned build, not a virus verdict.

  1. Click the small More info link in that window.
  2. Press the Run anyway button that appears.
  3. If a User Account Control prompt comes up, press Yes.
03

Run the installation

  1. The setup wizard opens — press Next, then Install, then Finish.

The app installs for your user only, into %LOCALAPPDATA%\QuantWatch (or \QuantWaveTrade), adds a Start Menu entry and sets up autostart at login. The tracking engine and its own Python runtime are bundled — nothing else to install.

04

First launch

  1. Open the Start Menu → QuantWatch (or QuantWave Trade).
  2. The dashboard opens at 127.0.0.1:8902 (127.0.0.1:8903 for Trade). Right-click its taskbar icon → Pin to taskbar if you want it handy.
If the page doesn't load Right after installation the background services need ~10 seconds to come up — wait a moment and refresh. Still nothing? Log out of Windows and back in (autostart kicks in), then open http://127.0.0.1:8902/ directly in your browser. If Windows Firewall asks about network access, press Allow — the app only listens on 127.0.0.1, your machine alone.
05

Done — and daily use

From now on everything starts by itself, hidden, when you log in — no console windows. The dashboard is just a viewer: closing it doesn't stop tracking. All data stays on your PC. Unlike macOS, Windows needs no extra permissions for window tracking.

Uninstall Settings → Apps → Installed apps → QuantWatch (or QuantWave Trade) → Uninstall. Same result: run uninstall.exe from the install folder.

Stuck on a step? Write through the contact form — include your Windows version and a screenshot of the message you see.

Installing on a Mac? See the macOS install guide.