for Windows
Download for WindowsYou only do this the first time. The app updates itself after that, so routine updates do not show this window again.
Run anyway does not exist until you click More info. That single hidden step is where almost everyone gets stuck and concludes the app is blocked or broken.
The message is a reputation notice, not a virus report. Windows shows it for every installer that has not been through paid code-signing, and it means only that Windows has not yet seen this file downloaded often enough to vouch for it. Nothing was detected inside it.
Version 1.2.3 was scanned with Microsoft Defender before publishing and reported no threats. You can confirm the file you received is the one we published by checking the checksum below.
One thing that is not the same: if your antivirus quarantines or deletes the file instead of showing the blue window, that is a false positive rather than this warning. Send us the detection name and we will get it reported.
Because we do not code-sign, we publish a checksum for every build so you can prove the file is ours. In PowerShell, from your Downloads folder:
Get-FileHash .\The-STACKS-App-Setup-1.2.3.exe -Algorithm SHA256
The result must match our published checksum.
Android phones are detected out of the box. Reading iPhones additionally needs Apple's USB device service, which comes with the free Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store (or iTunes). The installer offers to set this up for you, and the app will tell you if it is ever missing.