FAQ

General

Does Astro-Up work on Linux or macOS?

No. Astro-Up is Windows-only because the astrophotography software it manages (ASCOM drivers, N.I.N.A., SharpCap, etc.) is Windows-only. Detection uses Windows APIs (registry, PE headers, WMI, driver store).

Does it work offline?

Astro-Up requires internet to sync the catalog and download installers. After the first sync, browsing and detection work offline using the cached catalog.

Can I use it on multiple imaging PCs?

Yes. Each installation is independent with its own config and catalog cache.

Is it free?

Yes. Apache 2.0 license.

Elevation and Permissions

Why does Astro-Up ask for administrator access?

Many installers (especially ASCOM drivers and device drivers) require admin privileges. Astro-Up requests elevation via Windows UAC only when the manifest declares elevation = "required". User-scoped installs do not need elevation.

Why not use sudo.exe?

Windows sudo.exe (available since Windows 11 24H2) runs the entire process elevated. Astro-Up only elevates the child installer process via ShellExecuteEx with runas, keeping the main process unprivileged. This is safer and works on all supported Windows versions.

What does elevation = "self" mean?

The installer handles its own elevation internally (triggers its own UAC prompt). Astro-Up launches it without elevation and lets it self-elevate.

Detection

Version shows 1.0.0 or 0.0.0 after install

Some installers write a placeholder version to the registry or PE header. Run astro-up scan after the first launch of the software -- many applications update their version info on first run.

Software is installed but not detected

1. Confirm the software is in the catalog: astro-up show <package-id>
2. Portable installations may not create registry entries -- the manifest may need a file_exists or pe_file detection method
3. The package may not have a detection config yet -- check for open lifecycle tests

False "update available"

Version format mismatch between the detection source (registry, PE header) and the catalog version string. For example, registry shows 3.1.0.2008 while the catalog has 3.1.0. Report these at astro-up-manifests issues so the manifest can add a version_regex to normalize the format.

Portable Apps

What are portable apps?

Packages with install method portable or download_only are extracted to paths.portable_apps_dir instead of running an installer. A Windows shortcut is created automatically. No registry changes or elevation needed.

Can I force a reinstall?

Yes. Use --allow-major with update, or the engine supports force_reinstall via the GUI. This re-downloads and re-installs even when the version matches.

Catalog

Catalog not refreshing

The catalog has a TTL (default 24h). Force a refresh with astro-up catalog refresh or use the re-download button in Settings.

Multiple download options for a package

Some releases have multiple assets (e.g., Stellarium qt5 vs qt6). Astro-Up shows an asset selection dialog when multiple options exist. In non-interactive mode, the first asset is selected automatically.

Downloads

Download fails or stalls

• Downloads support resume -- retry the command and it will continue from where it stopped
• Check proxy settings: astro-up config show and look for network.proxy
• Verify the download URL is still valid: astro-up catalog refresh to get fresh URLs

Configuration

Where are settings stored?

SQLite database at %APPDATA%\nightwatch\astro-up\data\astro-up.db in the config_settings table. See the full reference.

Can I use different settings per imaging PC?

Yes. Each PC has its own database. Settings are not synced between machines.