Install on Windows
Desktop app
Requirements
- Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.
- Disk for the app (the installer alone is close to 200 MB), plus room for your world (a few hundred megabytes with generated pictures and the optional 76 MB sound library) and, if you install one, a local model (12 to 40 GB).
- A GPU only if you want a local model or local image generation. Hosting, joining, an OpenAI key and an agent program need none.
Install
- Download the Windows installer,
Open-Dungeon-Master-Setup-0.17.2.exe. - Run it. The installer lets you choose the install folder; the default is under your user profile so no administrator prompt is needed.
- Windows may show a SmartScreen notice because the build is not signed with a Windows certificate. Choose More info, then Run anyway. The file you downloaded is the one published on the GitHub release; compare its size there if you want to be sure.
- Launch from the Start menu. The first start copies the bundled server into your app data folder and takes a few seconds longer than later ones.
What gets registered
- The
odm://link handler, so an invite link opens the app on the join screen. A second click while the app is running is handed to the running window. - An uninstaller in Settings, Apps.
Where things live
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| The app | The folder you chose in the installer |
| Your device world, saved servers, sign-ins | %APPDATA%\open-dungeon-master-client |
| The device world's database and its encryption key | ...\open-dungeon-master-client\data |
| The world's uploads, generated pictures and sound library | ...\open-dungeon-master-client\local-server\public |
| Local model and image stack, if installed | The same app data folder, under the local AI directory |
| Logs | local-server.log and tunnel.log in the app data folder |
Updating
The app checks for a new version as it opens and offers to install it; the Windows installer replaces itself. See Updates.
Windows notes
- Agent programs. Claude Code installed the native way is found as
claude.exesince app 0.15.5, and the agent cards show a PowerShell install command. - Graphics memory. Since app 0.15.5 the local AI setup reads a card's real memory instead of the 4 GB a 32-bit field reports, and picks the card with the most memory, so a large AMD or Intel card is offered a bigger model.
Uninstalling
Settings, Apps, Open Dungeon Master, Uninstall. The app data folder is left in place so a reinstall finds your world; delete it by hand if you want everything gone. Remember the database key lives there: without it the world cannot be opened again.