Windows

Quick install instructions

1. Download the latest Talemate release ZIP from the Releases page and extract it anywhere on your system (for example, C:\Talemate).
2. Double-click start.bat.
3. On the very first run Talemate will automatically:
   1. Download a portable build of Python 3 and Node.js (no global installs required).
   2. Create and configure a Python virtual environment.
   3. Install all back-end and front-end dependencies with the included uv and npm.
   4. Build the web client.
4. When the console window prints "Talemate is now running" and the logo appears, open your browser at http://localhost:8080.

First start can take a while

The initial download and dependency installation may take several minutes, especially on slow internet connections. The console will keep you updated – just wait until the Talemate logo shows up.

Optional: CUDA support

If you have an NVIDIA GPU and want CUDA acceleration for larger embedding models:

1. Close Talemate (if it is running).
2. Double-click install-cuda.bat. This script swaps the CPU-only Torch build for the CUDA 12.8 build.
3. Start Talemate again via start.bat.

Maintenance & advanced usage

Script	Purpose
start.bat	Primary entry point – performs the initial install if needed and then starts Talemate.
install.bat	Runs the installer without launching the server. Useful for automated setups or debugging.
install-cuda.bat	Installs the CUDA-enabled Torch build (run after the regular install).
update.bat	Pulls the latest changes from GitHub, updates dependencies, rebuilds the web client.

No system-wide Python or Node.js is required – Talemate uses the embedded runtimes it downloads automatically.