Installing OpenRemap on Windows

Written for people who rarely or never use a terminal. Every step is one command — paste it and press Enter.

What you are installing

OpenRemap is a terminal application with a full interactive interface (TUI). Once installed, just type openremap and everything is at your fingertips — no commands to memorise. A full CLI is also available for scripting and automation.

Two pieces of software are needed:

• Python — the programming language OpenRemap is written in. Free, from python.org. You may already have it — Step 2 will check.
• uv — a free, open-source package manager made by Astral. Think of it like an App Store for command-line tools: it downloads OpenRemap, installs it cleanly in its own isolated space, and puts the openremap command on your system so it works from any folder. Source code and documentation at github.com/astral-sh/uv.

💡 uv can manage Python on its own for running OpenRemap — but having Python installed on your system is good practice if you use it for anything else, and some users prefer pip over uv. This guide installs both.

Neither tool collects data or requires an account.

Step 1 — Open PowerShell

Press the Windows key, type PowerShell, and click Windows PowerShell or PowerShell in the search results.

A blue or black window with a blinking cursor will appear. That is your terminal. All the commands below are typed (or pasted) there.

💡 Tip: You can paste into PowerShell with right-click (not Ctrl+V).

Step 2 — Install Python

First, check whether Python is already installed:

python --version

• If you see Python 3.14 or higher — you are good. Skip to Step 3.
• If you see an older version, or python: command not found — install Python now.

Option A — via winget (recommended, Windows 10 and later)

winget install Python.Python.3

If winget asks you to agree to terms, press Y and Enter. When the installer finishes, Python is ready and on your PATH — no further action needed.

Option B — download the installer from python.org

1. Go to python.org/downloads and click the big Download Python button.
2. Run the downloaded .exe file.
3. On the first screen of the installer, tick "Add Python to PATH" before clicking Install.

⚠️ The "Add Python to PATH" checkbox is easy to miss and hard to fix later. Make sure it is ticked before you click anything else.

4. Click Install Now and wait for it to finish.
5. Click Close.

After installation, open a new PowerShell window and verify:

python --version

You should see Python 3.x.x.

Step 3 — Install uv

Option A — via winget (recommended, Windows 10 and later)

winget is Microsoft's built-in package manager, available on Windows 10 (version 1809 or later) and all Windows 11 versions.

winget install astral-sh.uv

If winget asks you to agree to terms, press Y and Enter.

Option B — direct installer (if winget is not available)

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

This downloads and runs the official uv installer from Astral's website — the same installer linked from the uv GitHub page.

⚠️ If PowerShell says "running scripts is disabled", run this first, then retry:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Step 4 — Close PowerShell and open it again

This step is important. After installing uv, Windows needs a fresh terminal session to find the new command. Close the PowerShell window and open a new one (Windows key → PowerShell).

Verify both tools are ready:

python --version
uv --version

You should see a version number for each. If either says command not found, see Troubleshooting below.

Step 5 — Install OpenRemap

uv tool install openremap

uv downloads OpenRemap from PyPI — Python's official public package index — and installs it into an isolated environment. Nothing else on your system is affected.

Step 6 — Verify it worked

openremap --version

You should see the version number printed. Then try:

openremap --help

If both commands work, you are done. openremap is now permanently available from any folder on your system, in any terminal, without any activation step.

Your first command

openremap

This launches the full interactive interface — identify files, scan folders, cook recipes, and apply tunes, all from one screen. No commands to memorise.

Prefer the command line? Run openremap workflow for a plain-English walkthrough of all available CLI commands.

Updating

When a new version is released:

uv tool upgrade openremap

Uninstalling

uv tool uninstall openremap

The command is removed from your system. Nothing else is affected.

Troubleshooting

python: command not found after installing Python

The installer did not add Python to your PATH. This usually means the "Add Python to PATH" checkbox was not ticked during installation.

The quickest fix is to uninstall Python and reinstall it — this time making sure the checkbox is ticked. To uninstall: press the Windows key, search Add or remove programs, find Python in the list, and click Uninstall. Then repeat Option B of Step 2.

Alternatively, add Python to PATH manually:

1. Press the Windows key → search Environment Variables → click Edit the system environment variables
2. Click Environment Variables
3. Under User variables, find Path, click Edit
4. Click New and add the path to your Python installation, typically:
   • C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python3x\
   • C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python3x\Scripts\
5. Click OK, close all dialogs, open a new terminal

openremap: command not found after installation

uv installs tools into %APPDATA%\Local\uv\bin. This folder must be on your system PATH.

Open a new PowerShell window and check:

$env:PATH -split ';' | Select-String 'uv'

If nothing appears, the uv installer did not add itself to your PATH automatically. Run the Option B installer again — it sets the PATH via the system environment variables dialog.

If it still does not work, add the folder manually:

1. Press Windows key → search Environment Variables → click Edit the system environment variables
2. Click Environment Variables
3. Under User variables, find Path, click Edit
4. Click New and add: %APPDATA%\Local\uv\bin
5. Click OK, close all dialogs, open a new terminal

running scripts is disabled

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Run this once, then retry the uv installer.

winget: command not found

winget requires Windows 10 version 1809 or later. If you are on an older version, use the Option B installers for both Python and uv, or update Windows first.

uv tool install fails with a network error

Check your internet connection. If you are behind a corporate proxy or firewall, ask your IT department to allow access to pypi.org and astral.sh.

← Back to README