Choose an installation path

Buttons ships a small number of genuinely distinct installation paths: this page helps you pick the right one before you download anything. For what happens once you've picked, see First-time setup.

What's actually available#

Path	Platform	Format	Notes
macOS installer	Apple Silicon (arm64) only	`.pkg`	There's no Intel (x64) build from 1.8 on. Buttons 1.7 and earlier had one.
Windows installer	x64 only	`.exe`	There's no separate Windows-on-Arm build: an Arm machine installs the x64 build instead.
Headless Linux	x64 only	`.tar.gz`	Runs without a desktop environment: see Install Buttons on Debian or Ubuntu for the full setup.
High Availability	Ubuntu 24.04, x64 only	Custom installer	A separate deployment path, usually installed by Bitfocus: requires an Enterprise license and exactly three machines (see Understand HA clustering for why). See Deploy Buttons with High Availability.

Note

There's no Linux Arm build, including Raspberry Pi. The only Arm Linux release is USB Relay, a separate tool.

Choose by license, not just platform#

The macOS, Windows, and headless Linux paths all run regardless of your license tier: an unlicensed installation still starts up, just with feature restrictions (for example, user/role management needs a paid tier). HA is different: it requires an Enterprise license outright, with no reduced tier available under it. See Manage your Buttons license.

If you get stuck#

What you see	What to try
You're looking for an Intel (x64) build for macOS.	There isn't one from 1.8 on: macOS ships for Apple Silicon only. Use an Apple Silicon Mac, or run Buttons on Windows or Linux on x64 hardware instead.
You're looking for a Windows-on-Arm or Linux-on-Arm build of Buttons itself.	It doesn't exist: Windows only ships as x64, and Linux only ships as x64. Use an x64 machine, or consider the HA path if you're building a cluster.
You're not sure whether HA is the right choice.	It's meant for an Enterprise-licensed deployment on three machines. If you just need one machine running Buttons, use the regular installer for your platform instead.

Where to go next#

First-time setup
Install Buttons on Debian or Ubuntu
Deploy Buttons with High Availability
Understand HA clustering, if you're weighing whether the HA path's three-node requirement fits your situation.
Upgrade Buttons and Remove Buttons, once you've settled on a path and want to know how to upgrade or remove it later.

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