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Troubleshooting
Most first-run hiccups are quick to fix. Here are the common ones — if yours isn't listed, the community Discord is the fastest place to get help.
“freecoder is not recognized”
The installer adds FreeCoder to your PATH, but a terminal that was already open won't see the change. Open a new terminal and try again. If it still fails, confirm the program exists:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\FreeCoder\freecoder.exeIf it's there, re-run the install command to re-add the PATH entry.
“Windows protected your PC” (SmartScreen)
Expected for new indie software — it's a reputation notice, not a virus alert. Click More info → Run anyway. Full explanation in Is it safe?
Antivirus quarantined the program
Some scanners flag new, unsigned executables by heuristic (guess-based) rules — a false positive, not a real detection. Allow-list the %LOCALAPPDATA%\FreeCoder folder or restore the file, then re-run the install command. More context in Is it safe?
Install looked invalid / download failed
The installer verifies the program and refuses a corrupt or incomplete download rather than installing something broken. If you see that error, just run the install command again — a re-run replaces the file cleanly:
irm https://freecoder.space/install.ps1 | iexIt won't update, or I need a specific version
Updates apply automatically on launch. To temporarily disable them — for example in CI — set FREECODER_NO_UPDATE=1. To force the latest, re-run the installer.
The browser didn't open
FreeCoder starts a local server and opens your default browser. If it doesn't open automatically, the terminal prints a local address (like http://localhost:…) you can open yourself.
Still stuck?
Reach the community — we're quick to help: