Installation¶

OrgZ ships for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Grab the build for your platform from the Download page and follow the tab below.

WindowsmacOSLinux

Architecture: x64 · Requires: Windows 10 or later

OrgZ is distributed as a self-updating application via Velopack. The .NET runtime is bundled - there is nothing else to install.

Download	Use it when
`OrgZ-win.msi`	Normal install. Installs for all users into Program Files, adds Start Menu / desktop entries, and registers the background device helper.
`OrgZ-win-Portable.zip`	No-install copy you can run from a folder or USB stick.

Download OrgZ-win.msi and run it. Windows asks for consent once, during the install.
Launch OrgZ. It checks for updates quietly at startup and tells you through the Help menu when one is waiting.

Disc and iPod access, without a prompt every time

Reading raw CD audio and iPod firmware uses IOCTL_SCSI_PASS_THROUGH, which requires administrator rights. The MSI registers a small background service at install time, so those operations run silently afterwards - the one consent prompt during installation replaces a UAC prompt per rip and per device.

A portable copy has no installer and therefore no service, so it falls back to prompting each time. See Ripping CDs.

Architecture: Apple Silicon and Intel · Requires: macOS 11 (Big Sur) or newer

Two builds, one per architecture - pick the one matching your Mac. If you are unsure, open the Apple menu → About This Mac: an Apple M-series chip means Apple Silicon, anything Intel means the Intel build.

Download	Use it when
`OrgZ-osx-Setup.pkg`	Apple Silicon (M1 or newer). Normal install into `/Applications`.
`OrgZ-osx-Portable.zip`	Apple Silicon, no-install `OrgZ.app` you can run from anywhere.
`OrgZ-osx-x64-Setup.pkg`	Intel Mac. Normal install into `/Applications`.
`OrgZ-osx-x64-Portable.zip`	Intel Mac, no-install `OrgZ.app`.

libvlc is bundled inside the app, so playback works with no extra setup.

Download the .pkg for your architecture.
Double-click it and follow Installer. The package is signed with a Developer ID certificate and notarized by Apple, so Gatekeeper opens it without a warning and without any quarantine workaround.
Launch OrgZ from /Applications.

Encoders are already in the bundle

ffmpeg, flac, and lame ship inside the .app - there is nothing to install with Homebrew for ripping, burning, or iPod transcoding. See Ripping CDs.

Architecture: x64 · Format: AppImage

OrgZ is distributed as a single self-contained OrgZ.AppImage. libvlc for playback and static ffmpeg, flac, and lame binaries for ripping and transcoding all travel inside it, so there is nothing to install first. Audio plays through PulseAudio / PipeWire.

Download OrgZ.AppImage, make it executable, and run it:
```
chmod +x OrgZ.AppImage
./OrgZ.AppImage
```
If it fails to start with a FUSE error, install the FUSE 2 runtime your distro ships AppImages against:
```
sudo apt install libfuse2      # Debian / Ubuntu
```
If it exits without opening a window, VLC is missing (see above). OrgZ says so on stderr and - where zenity or kdialog is installed - in a dialog. Either way the reason is in the log:
```
tail ~/.local/state/OrgZ/logs/orgz-*.log
```

CD device access

Ripping reads the optical drive directly (/dev/sr0, ...). Your user needs read access to that device - on most distros that means membership in the cdrom group:

sudo usermod -aG cdrom "$USER"   # log out / back in afterward

The bundled flac/lame are used automatically; a system install on PATH (sudo apt install flac lame) takes precedence if present.

Where OrgZ stores your data¶

OrgZ keeps your library index, settings, device caches, and logs in a per-user data directory. Your music files are never moved: OrgZ only reads from the library folder you point it at, writes ripped tracks and downloaded audiobooks there (see Ripping CDs), and deletes from it only when you choose Remove from Library, which asks first - see Music Library.

Updating¶

OrgZ checks for a new version quietly at startup and never acts on its own. When one is waiting, the Help menu changes to There are updates... - choosing it downloads the update, asks for consent where the platform requires it, and restarts into the new version. Nothing is downloaded or installed until you ask for it.

The check runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux alike. It is skipped for a copy with nothing to update - a portable .zip / .app, or a build run from source - and the Help menu then simply never announces one; re-download the latest artifact for those.