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📋 System Requirements — MetaLens

Requirements for running the pre-built MetaLens application and, separately, for building it from source.

Tip

🚀 Just want to use the app? You don't need Python or Node.js — download a pre-built binary and skip straight to the Installation Guide.

📊 Quick Reference

📦 Use case ✅ Requirement
Run the compiled app Windows 10/11 (64-bit) or a modern Linux distro — nothing else
Build from source Python 3.11–3.13, Node.js 20+, npm 10+

🖥️ Operating System Support

🪟 Windows

  • Minimum: Windows 10 (64-bit)
  • Tested on: Windows 10, Windows 11
  • Installer: MetaLens-vX.Y.Z-Setup-Windows.exe (Squirrel.Windows)
  • Status: ✅ Fully supported

🐧 Linux

  • Packages: .deb (Debian/Ubuntu), .rpm (Fedora/RHEL), .tar.gz (any distro)
  • Status: ✅ Fully supported

🍎 macOS

  • Status: ❌ Not currently packaged — no macOS build is produced by CI. Building from source with npm run make is possible but unverified.

💻 Hardware Requirements

🔧 Resource 📊 Requirement
Processor Any modern 64-bit CPU
RAM 512 MB free (Electron + Python sidecar)
Storage ~300 MB for the installed application

❌ What You DON'T Need

❌ ℹ️ Why you don't need it
Python The sidecar ships as a compiled binary (metalens-sidecar[.exe]) inside the installer
Node.js The frontend is pre-built and bundled into the Electron app
Internet connection MetaLens works fully offline — no cloud dependency, no telemetry
Admin/root rights Windows installer runs per-user (Squirrel); Linux packages install standard desktop entries

🛠️ Building From Source

Only needed if you want to modify MetaLens or package it yourself.

📦 Tool ✅ Version 📝 Notes
Python 3.11 – 3.13 Used to run/package the FastAPI sidecar
Node.js 20+ Runs Electron and the Vite build
npm 10+ Installs both electron/ and frontend/ dependencies

See Installation Guide → Build from Source for exact steps.

🔒 Data Privacy & Security

Important

🛡️ Your files never leave your machine. MetaLens has no network calls of any kind.

  • ✅ No cloud transmission — all metadata reads/writes happen locally
  • ✅ No telemetry — zero data collection or external tracking
  • ✅ Localhost-only sidecar — the Python API binds to 127.0.0.1 only, never 0.0.0.0
  • ✅ Open source — full source code available for audit (MIT license)
  • ✅ Offline capable — no internet connection required at any point

🚀 Next Steps

  1. 🆕 New to MetaLens? → Installation Guide
  2. 📖 Ready to browse files? → Usage Guide
  3. 💻 Developer? → API Reference

Last updated: 2026-07-14 ← README | Installation →