Installation

aMule is a multi-platform eD2k / Kad client, officially supported on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD and OpenBSD (x86_64 and ARM64). As portable C++/wxWidgets code it can usually be compiled on other Unix-like systems and CPU architectures too, though those are not officially supported.

Supported Platforms

The project publishes official pre-built binaries only for Windows, macOS and Linux; on the other supported platforms aMule is installed through the system package manager or built from source. Version and architecture requirements for the official binaries are listed in each platform's section below.

Platform	Architectures	How to install
Windows	x64, ARM64	Official installer or portable build
macOS	Apple Silicon, Intel	Official .dmg
Linux	x64, ARM64	Official AppImage or Flatpak, or distribution package
FreeBSD	x86_64, ARM64	System package or Ports
OpenBSD	x86_64	System package

Downloads

The latest release is available on the Downloads page, which links directly to the GitHub releases page. Each release provides the following artifacts:

• aMule-<version>-Windows-Setup-x64.exe — Windows installer for x86_64
• aMule-<version>-Windows-Setup-arm64.exe — Windows installer for ARM64
• aMule-<version>-Windows-x64.zip — portable build for Windows x86_64
• aMule-<version>-Windows-arm64.zip — portable build for Windows ARM64
• aMule-<version>-macOS-universal2.dmg — Universal2 disk image for macOS (Apple Silicon + Intel)
• aMule-<version>-Linux-x64.AppImage — portable Linux binary for x86_64
• aMule-<version>-Linux-arm64.AppImage — portable Linux binary for ARM64
• aMule-<version>-Linux-x64.flatpak — Flatpak bundle for x86_64
• aMule-<version>-Linux-arm64.flatpak — Flatpak bundle for ARM64
• Source code (<version>.tar.gz and <version>.zip) — automatically attached by GitHub to every release.

Every official pre-built package bundles the complete set of aMule executables: the interface clients amule, amuled, amulegui, amuleweb and amulecmd, plus the standalone utilities ed2k, alc, alcc, wxcas and cas. Each platform section below covers how to launch a specific component. (Distribution packages may instead split these across several packages.)

Windows

aMule is distributed for Windows in two formats: an installer (.exe) that sets up Start menu shortcuts and an Add or Remove Programs entry, and a portable build (.zip) that runs from any folder without installation. Both contain the same full set of aMule executables and bundled runtime libraries. Choose whichever fits your workflow.

Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11
• x64 or ARM64 processor

Installer

1. Go to the Downloads page and click the Windows section, or go directly to the latest release.
2. Download the installer that matches your architecture:
   • aMule-<version>-Windows-Setup-x64.exe for most PCs (Intel/AMD)
   • aMule-<version>-Windows-Setup-arm64.exe for ARM-based Windows devices (Snapdragon X Elite, Surface Pro X, etc.)
3. Run the downloaded .exe and follow the on-screen steps.
4. Optionally enable Start aMule when I log in during setup to launch aMule automatically on login.

The installer creates Start menu shortcuts and an entry in Add or Remove Programs for clean uninstallation. aMule stores its configuration in %APPDATA%\aMule\ (C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\aMule\); uninstalling does not delete this folder, so your settings and downloads are preserved.

Portable

1. Go to the Downloads page and click the Windows section, or go directly to the latest release.
2. Download the .zip file that matches your architecture:
   • aMule-<version>-Windows-x64.zip for most PCs (Intel/AMD)
   • aMule-<version>-Windows-arm64.zip for ARM-based Windows devices (Snapdragon X Elite, Surface Pro X, etc.)
3. Extract the .zip file to a folder of your choice (e.g. C:\Users\<you>\aMule).
4. Open the extracted folder and run amule.exe.

The portable build requires no installer. aMule stores its configuration in %APPDATA%\aMule\ (C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\aMule\) and can be moved or deleted by simply moving or deleting the extracted folder.

SmartScreen Warning

Windows Defender SmartScreen may show a warning when you run the installer or amule.exe, because the aMule binaries are not code-signed. This is expected for open-source software distributed outside the Microsoft Store. To proceed:

1. Click More info in the SmartScreen dialog.
2. Click Run anyway.

macOS

Requirements

• macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) or later
• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel — the .dmg contains a Universal2 binary that runs natively on both

Installation

1. Go to the Downloads page and click the macOS section, or go directly to the latest release.
2. Download aMule-<version>-macOS-universal2.dmg.
3. Open the .dmg file. A window appears with two applications — aMule.app (the all-in-one client) and aMuleGUI.app (the remote GUI that connects to a running amuled) — and a shortcut to the /Applications folder.
4. Drag aMule.app (and aMuleGUI.app, if you want the remote GUI) into the /Applications folder.
5. Eject the disk image.
6. Open aMule.app from /Applications or Launchpad.

After installing, see the macOS configuration guide for macOS-specific considerations such as context menus, firewall access, and handling ed2k:// links.

Gatekeeper Warning

The .dmg is distributed unsigned. macOS Gatekeeper will block the first launch with a message like "aMule cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified." To allow it:

1. In Finder, navigate to /Applications.
2. Right-click (or Control-click) aMule.app.
3. Select Open from the context menu.
4. Click Open in the dialog that appears.

After this one-time confirmation, aMule opens normally from Launchpad or Spotlight.

Alternatively, remove the quarantine attribute from the terminal:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/aMule.app

Additional binaries

The aMule.app bundle also includes the command-line components inside aMule.app/Contents/MacOS/, which can be run directly from the terminal:

/Applications/aMule.app/Contents/MacOS/amuled --version

Linux

Linux users can install aMule through three methods: an AppImage (self-contained portable binary), a Flatpak (sandboxed package), or a distribution package installed via the system package manager.

AppImage

The AppImage is the simplest installation method — no package manager or root access is needed.

System requirements: glibc ≥ 2.35. This covers the following distributions (and later versions):

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and later
• Debian 12 (Bookworm) and later
• Fedora 38 and later
• openSUSE Leap 15.5 / Tumbleweed
• Arch Linux (rolling)
• Linux Mint 21 and later
• Pop!_OS 22.04 and later
• Steam Deck (SteamOS 3)
• Raspberry Pi OS (Bookworm)

Installation:

1. Go to the Downloads page or the latest release.
2. Download the AppImage for your architecture:
   • aMule-<version>-Linux-x64.AppImage for standard PCs
   • aMule-<version>-Linux-arm64.AppImage for ARM64 boards and devices
3. Make the file executable and run it:

chmod +x aMule-<version>-Linux-x64.AppImage
./aMule-<version>-Linux-x64.AppImage

The AppImage is fully self-contained — it bundles wxWidgets and all required shared libraries. No system libraries need to be installed. To uninstall, delete the .AppImage file.

AppImage desktop integration

To integrate the AppImage into your application menu, you can use AppImageLauncher, which registers the .AppImage as a desktop application and handles updates.

Known issues in the AppImage

System tray icon is transparent. The system tray icon appears without a logo on the first launch. Accept the popup that aMule shows on startup to fix it.

GTK theme is not applied. The AppImage bundles its own GTK libraries and does not use the GTK theme installed on the system. The application is functional but may not match the desktop theme.

Running other components from the AppImage

The AppImage bundles every aMule executable in a single file. Invoking the AppImage directly runs amule (the GUI); the component that runs is otherwise selected by the name used to invoke the AppImage.

Create one symlink per component you want to use. The .AppImage suffix is stripped automatically, so you can name the symlinks after the binaries:

# one symlink per component you want — for example:
ln -s aMule-<version>-Linux-x64.AppImage amuled
ln -s aMule-<version>-Linux-x64.AppImage amuleweb
ln -s aMule-<version>-Linux-x64.AppImage amulecmd
ln -s aMule-<version>-Linux-x64.AppImage ed2k

Then invoke each symlink directly:

./amuled --ec-password yourpassword
./amuleweb --webpassword yourpassword
./amulecmd
./ed2k "ed2k://|file|..."

Flatpak

The Flatpak bundle runs in a sandboxed environment and is suitable for distributions that ship Flatpak support.

Requirements: Flatpak. The bundle targets the GNOME 49 runtime (org.gnome.Platform), which Flatpak installs automatically when you install the bundle.

Installation:

flatpak install ./aMule-<version>-Linux-x64.flatpak

After installation, run aMule with:

flatpak run org.amule.aMule

To install from Flathub (once the submission is accepted):

flatpak install flathub org.amule.aMule

Flatpak sandbox

The Flatpak runs in a sandboxed environment. Network access is granted by default, but access to paths outside the home directory may require additional --filesystem permissions. If a component cannot reach a file or socket, pass the needed permission explicitly:

flatpak run --filesystem=/mnt/data --command=amuled org.amule.aMule

Running other components from the Flatpak

The Flatpak bundle also includes every aMule executable. Use the --command flag with flatpak run to select which binary to execute:

flatpak run --command=amuled org.amule.aMule --ec-password yourpassword
flatpak run --command=amuleweb org.amule.aMule --webpassword yourpassword
flatpak run --command=amulecmd org.amule.aMule
flatpak run --command=ed2k org.amule.aMule "ed2k://|file|..."

Distribution Packages

Many Linux distributions include aMule in their official repositories. The version may lag behind the latest release. To get the most recent version, use the AppImage or Flatpak.

Debian and Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install amule

To also install the daemon, web interface, and command-line client:

sudo apt install amule amule-daemon amule-utils amuleweb

Fedora

sudo dnf install amule

Arch Linux

aMule is in the official Arch Linux repository:

sudo pacman -S amule

Alternative and development builds are also available in the AUR.

Gentoo

emerge -av net-p2p/amule

To control which components are built, use USE flags:

USE="daemon webserver amulecmd nls upnp geoip" emerge -av net-p2p/amule

BSD

FreeBSD

Binary package

pkg install amule

Ports Collection

cd /usr/ports/net-p2p/amule
make config    # select components (daemon, web server, CLI, etc.)
make install clean

OpenBSD

pkg_add amule

NetBSD

Using pkgin:

pkgin install amule

Using pkgsrc:

cd /usr/pkgsrc/net/amule
make install clean

Building from Source

If no pre-built binary is available for your platform, or you want to compile a specific version or custom configuration, see the Compilation documentation for full instructions, dependency lists, and build options for Linux, macOS, Windows, and BSD.

After Installation

Once aMule is installed, the first launch creates the configuration directory:

Platform	Path
Windows	%APPDATA%\aMule\
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/aMule/
Linux / BSD	~/.aMule/

See the aMule Files Reference for a complete description of every file and directory created by aMule.

aMule ships with reasonable defaults and can be used as-is. To connect to the eD2k network and start downloading, follow the Quick Start Guide, which walks through the initial bandwidth configuration, eD2k server / Kademlia connection, and your first search.

To receive a High ID (required for optimal connectivity and download speeds), you will need to open aMule's ports on your firewall or router. The Firewall configuration page explains how to do this.