Install Portway

Portway is distributed as an installer for macOS and for Windows. This page lists the requirements and the installation steps for each platform.

Requirements

Component	Requirement
macOS	macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later, on Apple Silicon or Intel
Windows	Windows 10 (version 1809 or later) or Windows 11, 64-bit. WebView2 is required; it is included with Windows 11, and the installer downloads it when it is missing
Server	A Linux server that runs OpenSSH

The management features rely on tools that already exist on the server: systemd for services, docker for containers, nginx for sites, and ufw or firewalld for firewall rules. A feature whose tool is missing from the server is reported as unavailable; the other features keep working.

Download

Download the latest installer from the Releases page on GitHub. Choose the file that matches the operating system.

Install

macOS

1. Open the downloaded .dmg file.
2. Drag Portway into the Applications folder.
3. Open Portway from Launchpad or from the Applications folder.

If macOS blocks the first launch

Builds that are not signed with an Apple Developer ID are reported by macOS as coming from an unverified developer. To open the application, go to System Settings › Privacy & Security, find the message about Portway and choose Open Anyway. This is required only once.

Windows

1. Run the downloaded installer. It installs Portway for the current user and does not require administrator rights.
2. Follow the steps of the installer.
3. Open Portway from the Start menu.

If Windows SmartScreen appears

An installer that is not code-signed can trigger a SmartScreen warning. Choose More info, then Run anyway.

Where Portway stores data

Portway keeps its configuration in the application data folder of the current user:

Platform	Location
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/com.portway.app/
Windows	%APPDATA%\com.portway.app\

Passwords and key passphrases are not stored in these files. They are stored in the Keychain on macOS and in Credential Manager on Windows.

Next step

Add a server and connect to open the first connection.