Installation

How to download and set up WimExplorer on Windows.

System requirements

• OS: Windows 7, Windows 10, or Windows 11
• Node.js: v18 or later (the launcher can install this automatically)
• 7-Zip: must be installed and accessible as 7z.exe

If 7-Zip is not found, WimExplorer will offer to install it via winget or let you point to its location manually.

Installation steps

1. Download the release

   Download the WimExplorer release package. It contains:

   WimExplorer-v1.1.exe     ← launcher (single entry point)
   recursos/                ← app files (server, frontend, dependencies)
   wimlib/                  ← wimlib-imagex engine
   LICENSES/                ← open-source license texts
   

   Place the entire folder wherever you want on your system. The launcher resolves all internal paths at runtime, so the location does not matter.

2. Run the launcher

   Double-click WimExplorer-v1.1.exe.

   This is the only file you need to run. Do not launch server.js or start.bat directly unless you are developing or debugging.

3. Node.js check

   The launcher immediately checks whether Node.js v18+ is available on your system.

   If Node.js is already installed, this step is skipped automatically.

   If Node.js is missing, a dialog appears with three options:

   Option	What happens
   Yes	Installs Node.js automatically via winget (requires internet and admin rights)
   No	Opens nodejs.org in your browser for manual installation
   Cancel	Exits without doing anything

   After an automatic install, the launcher re-checks that Node.js is available before continuing.

   Automatic Node.js installation via winget requires administrator privileges. Windows will show a UAC prompt. If you decline, the installation will not complete and you will need to install Node.js manually.

4. Dependency installation

   If the node_modules folder is missing (always the case on first run after extracting the release), the launcher will ask whether to run npm install.

   Click Yes. This downloads the required packages (express, multer, open, systray2, 7zip-bin, fast-xml-parser) into the recursos/node_modules/ folder.

   This step only happens once. On subsequent launches the launcher skips it.

5. App starts

   With all requirements satisfied, the launcher starts the Node.js server silently in the background and opens your default browser at:

   http://localhost:3000
   

   WimExplorer is now running and ready to use.

The entire WimExplorer folder can be moved to any machine or any path at any time. The launcher resolves all internal paths at runtime relative to its own location, so nothing breaks when you move or copy the folder.

Alternative launch (development only)

If you are working on the app itself, you can start the server directly without the launcher:

cd recursos
npm start

This runs node server.js with a visible console window and a Ctrl+C prompt to stop the server. It skips the Node.js and dependency checks that the launcher performs.