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KillNode — Installation Guide

This guide covers installing the KillNode desktop application on Windows and Linux. macOS support is planned for Phase 2.

Table of Contents

  1. System Requirements
  2. Download
  3. Windows Installation
  4. Linux Installation
  5. Tor Binary Setup
  6. First Launch Checklist
  7. Uninstalling
  8. Installing from Source

1. System Requirements

Component Minimum
OS Windows 10 64-bit, Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, Kali 2023+
RAM 512 MB free
Disk 400 MB (app) + space for torrent downloads
Network Internet connection (Tor requires outbound TCP on port 443 or 9001)

Note: KillNode is an x64 application. ARM builds are not provided in the alpha.

2. Download

Go to the GitHub Releases page or use the download links on killnode.vercel.app.

Platform File Notes
Windows (installer) KillNode-1.0.0-win.exe NSIS installer, recommended
Windows (portable) KillNode-1.0.0-win.zip Extract and run — no install required
Linux (portable) KillNode-1.0.0-linux.AppImage Single executable, no install required
Linux (package) KillNode-1.0.0-linux.deb Debian/Ubuntu/Kali package manager

Verify the version number matches the latest release tag before proceeding.

3. Windows Installation

NSIS Installer (recommended)

  1. Download KillNode-*-win.exe.
  2. Double-click the installer.
  3. If Windows SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC":
    • Click More info.
    • Click Run anyway. (The alpha release is not code-signed; Phase 2 will include a valid certificate.)
  4. Follow the installer wizard — accept the license, choose an install directory, and click Install.
  5. Optionally tick Create desktop shortcut and/or Launch KillNode at the end.

The installer registers KillNode as the default handler for magnet: URI links automatically.

Portable ZIP

  1. Download KillNode-*-win.zip.
  2. Extract the archive to any folder (e.g., C:\Tools\KillNode\).
  3. Run KillNode.exe from the extracted folder.
  4. To register the magnet: URI handler manually:
    • Settings → Apps → Default Apps → search "magnet" → set KillNode.

Adding Tor (Windows)

KillNode needs the Tor binary in <install dir>\resources\tor\. See Section 5 — Tor Binary Setup.

4. Linux Installation

AppImage (no install)

The AppImage is a self-contained bundle that runs on most modern Linux distributions.

# 1. Make executable
chmod +x KillNode-*-linux.AppImage

# 2. Run
./KillNode-*-linux.AppImage

If you see "fuse: failed to exec fusermount3", install FUSE:

sudo apt-get install libfuse2   # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo pacman -S fuse2             # Arch

Or run without FUSE (extract first):

./KillNode-*-linux.AppImage --appimage-extract
./squashfs-root/AppRun

Register the magnet: URI handler (AppImage):

# Create a .desktop file
cat > ~/.local/share/applications/killnode.desktop <<'EOF'
[Desktop Entry]
Name=KillNode
Exec=/path/to/KillNode-1.0.0-linux.AppImage %u
Type=Application
MimeType=x-scheme-handler/magnet;
EOF

# Update desktop database
update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications
xdg-mime default killnode.desktop x-scheme-handler/magnet

Replace /path/to/KillNode-1.0.0-linux.AppImage with the actual path.

.deb Package (Debian / Ubuntu)

# Install
sudo dpkg -i KillNode-*-linux.deb

# Fix any missing dependencies
sudo apt-get install -f

# Run
killnode
# or launch from your application menu

The .deb package installs the binary to /opt/KillNode/ and registers the magnet: handler via its .desktop file automatically.

Granting network administration rights (for Neural Killswitch on Linux):

The killswitch uses nmcli and ip link to sever network interfaces, which typically requires elevated privileges. To allow KillNode to operate without sudo:

sudo setcap cap_net_admin+eip /opt/KillNode/killnode

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for full details and polkit alternatives.

5. Tor — Already Included

The installer ships with Tor pre-bundled. No separate Tor installation is required.

The Tor Expert Bundle (v15.0.9, tor 0.4.9.5) is downloaded from the official Tor Project servers, SHA256-verified, and embedded in the installer at build time. You can audit the process in desktop/scripts/download-tor.mjs.

v0.1.0-alpha only — manual Tor setup required

The alpha release did not yet include a bundled Tor binary. If you are on the alpha, use one of these options:

Option A — Install Tor Browser (Windows, quickest) Install Tor Browser — KillNode will automatically find its bundled tor.exe at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Tor Browser\Browser\TorBrowser\Tor\tor.exe.

Option B — System Tor (Linux)

sudo apt-get install tor   # Debian / Ubuntu / Kali

Do not start the tor.service — KillNode spawns its own instance with a custom torrc.

Option C — Tor Expert Bundle (manual, any platform) Download the Tor Expert Bundle, extract it, and copy all files into resources/tor/ inside the KillNode installation directory.

6. First Launch Checklist

After installing, run through this checklist before use:

  • KillNode opens and the main window appears (or tray icon is visible).
  • The Log panel shows no fatal startup errors.
  • Click Activate Tor — status changes to "starting…" then green/active within 30 seconds.
  • The proxy addresses (9742 HTTP, 9741 SOCKS5) appear in the Proxy Info panel.
  • Open a browser, set the HTTP proxy to 127.0.0.1:9742, and visit check.torproject.org. It should say "Congratulations. This browser is configured to use Tor."
  • Add a test magnet link in the Swarm panel and confirm it appears in the torrent list.

7. Uninstalling

Windows

  • Installer: Control Panel → Programs → Uninstall → KillNode.
  • Portable ZIP: Delete the extracted folder. Remove the magnet: handler from Default Apps if desired.
  • User data (settings, downloaded torrents) is in %APPDATA%\killnode\ — delete manually if desired.

Linux

# AppImage
rm KillNode-*-linux.AppImage
rm ~/.local/share/applications/killnode.desktop
update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications

# .deb
sudo apt-get remove killnode

# User data
rm -rf ~/.config/killnode/

8. Installing from Source

For contributors and advanced users who want to build KillNode themselves. See docs/CONTRIBUTING.md for the full developer setup guide.

Quick summary:

# Prerequisites: Node.js 20+, npm 10+, Git

git clone https://github.com/Alaustrup/killnode.git
cd killnode
npm install

# Run in development mode (no packaging)
npm run dev:desktop

# Build and package installers
npm run package:desktop
# Outputs to desktop/release/

Tor binary must still be placed in desktop/resources/tor/ or installed system-wide.