How to install Ripple Effect

Download the installer for your platform from the download page, which always points at the latest release, then follow the section for your platform. None of the installers is code-signed, so Windows and macOS each stop the app once on first run; Linux asks nothing. The warning is about the missing certificate, not about what the installer does.

Windows

Needs Windows 10 or 11.

1. Run the Setup .exe.
2. When SmartScreen shows Windows protected your PC, choose More info, then Run anyway.
3. If you see An Application Control policy has blocked this file instead, that is not SmartScreen. Follow Turn off Smart App Control, then run Setup again.

Setup installs into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Ripple Effect, for your account only, and never asks for an administrator. To upgrade by hand, run a later installer over it.

macOS

Needs macOS 12 Monterey or newer. The .dmg is one universal build for Apple silicon and Intel.

1. Open the .dmg and drag the app to Applications.

2. Open the app. Gatekeeper says it cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer, or that it could not verify it.

3. Either right-click the app and choose Open, which adds an Open button to the dialog, or clear the quarantine mark from a terminal:

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Ripple Effect.app"

You do this once; the app opens normally afterwards.

Linux

Needs glibc 2.38 or newer: Ubuntu 24.04+, Debian 13+ or Fedora 39+.

Install the package for your distribution:

sudo apt install ./ripple_effect-<version>-linux.deb
sudo dnf install ./ripple_effect-<version>-linux.rpm

The .deb installs to /opt/ripple_effect and the .rpm to /usr/share/ripple-effect. Both put ripple_effect on your PATH. The .deb declares ALSA, PulseAudio and PipeWire as dependencies for sound.

If the package manager refuses it with a complaint about libc6 or GLIBC_2.38, your distribution is older than the floor above.

After the first install the app updates itself. See Updates, logs and Messages.

Turn off Smart App Control

Windows 11 only. Setup refusing with An Application Control policy has blocked this file (error 4551) means Smart App Control is on. It has no Run anyway and no per-app exception, so the only way to install is to turn it off.

1. Open Settings → Privacy & security → Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control settings.
2. Choose Off.
3. Run Setup again.

Caution

Turning Smart App Control off is a decision, not a toggle. Microsoft says recent Windows updates allow it to be turned back on without reinstalling. On older builds, once it is off the only way back is a clean reset of Windows.

If the setting already reads Off, the block has another cause. For the background, see Installers and first launch.

Related

• Installers and first launch — the platform table, the first-launch pages and the error text.
• Why the installers are unsigned
• Updates, logs and Messages