Caller's Compendium

Installation

This guide helps you download Caller's Compendium and get it running on your computer, tablet, or phone — including any one-time security prompt your system shows the first time you open it, and how to keep the app up to date.

Finding your way around these words. On-screen buttons and screens are written in bold — like Settings, Assets, and Open. File names and anything you type appear in monospace. The first time a dance term appears it links to the Glossary, so you can get a plain-language definition without losing your place.

Before you start

Caller's Compendium is local-first: there's no account to create and nothing to sign in to. Installing is just downloading the right file for your device and opening it — the same as any other app.

Caller's Compendium is in open beta: the app is complete and in everyday use, and new versions are released regularly. Two things are worth knowing before you begin:

  • Each platform handles app signing differently. The macOS build is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized, and the Windows build is code-signed, so both open like any other app. Linux builds are not signed, but Linux doesn't show a signing prompt. If your system does show a prompt, The first-time security warning explains what to do.
  • Keep a backup habit. Your work lives on your own device, so export a backup from time to time — and before installing a new version. You can do this any time from Settings › General; see Backup & portability.

Find the download

All downloads live on the project's Releases page:

https://github.com/ibanner56/CallersCompendium/releases

  1. Open the Releases page.
  2. Choose the latest release at the top. During the beta it's marked Pre-release.
  3. Expand its Assets list to see the downloadable files.

Each file is named CallersCompendium-<version>-<platform>-<arch> so you can tell at a glance which one is for you — for example, a name ending in -windows-x64.exe is the Windows installer. Pick the file that matches your device from the sections below.

Alongside the app downloads you'll also see a SHA256SUMS file. It's optional — see Verify your download if you'd like to double-check a file — and three files that you can ignore: beta.json and beta.json.sig (which the app uses to check for updates) and sbom-<version>.cdx.json (a technical list of what's inside the app).

Install on Linux

There are two downloads for Linux (x64); either works.

What you need: a 64-bit Linux with glibc 2.35 or newer and the GTK 3 desktop libraries. Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 36 and later releases of each meet this, as do distributions based on them (such as Linux Mint 21). If the app won't start and a terminal shows a message that a GLIBC_ version was "not found", your system is older than this.

  • AppImage (...-linux-x64.AppImage) — a single file. It uses the system libraries above rather than carrying its own.
    1. Download the AppImage.
    2. Mark it as runnable. In your file manager, open the file's Properties, find the permissions, and allow it to run as a program. If you're comfortable with a terminal, chmod +x on the file does the same thing.
    3. Open the AppImage to launch the app.
  • Archive (...-linux-x64.tar.gz) — no setup needed.
    1. Extract the archive to a folder you like.
    2. Open compendium_app inside that folder.
    3. Optional: to add the app to your applications menu, copy org.callerscompendium.compendiumApp.desktop from that folder into ~/.local/share/applications/, and compendium_app.png into ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/512x512/apps/. Then edit the copied .desktop file so its Exec= line gives the full path to compendium_app in the folder where you extracted it.

AppImage won't open? The AppImage needs a fusermount (or fusermount3) program, which some recent distributions don't install by default. If you see "No suitable fusermount binary found on the $PATH", install your distribution's fuse3 package (fuse3 on Debian, Ubuntu and Fedora). You can also run it without FUSE by typing ./CallersCompendium-*.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run in a terminal, or use the archive instead.

Install on macOS

macOS has one universal download that runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

  • Disk image (...-macos-universal.dmg) — the usual way.
    1. Open the downloaded .dmg.
    2. Drag the Caller's Compendium app onto your Applications folder.
    3. Open the app from Applications. Because the macOS build is signed and notarized, it opens normally — you may just see a single confirmation the first time.
  • Archive (...-macos-universal.zip) — unzip it and move the app wherever you keep your applications, then open it the same way.

Install on Windows

There are two downloads for Windows (x64).

  • Installer (...-windows-x64.exe) — a normal setup program.
    1. Open the downloaded .exe.
    2. If you see a blue Windows protected your PC prompt, follow The first-time security warning below.
    3. Follow the installer, then open Caller's Compendium from your Start menu.
  • Portable copy (...-windows-x64.zip) — no installer needed.
    1. Unzip the folder somewhere convenient.
    2. Open compendium_app.exe inside that folder to run it.

Install on Android

There are two ways to get Caller's Compendium on Android, and you only need one:

  • Google Play (closed testing) — the app is in a closed test on the Google Play Store. It installs and updates like any Play app, so it's the most convenient option, and each tester helps prepare the app for wider release on Google Play. A place on the tester list is tied to a Google account, so joining means sharing the Google-account email you use on that device (see below). If you'd rather not, the direct download works just as well.
  • Direct download (...-android-universal.apk) — one file that works on all supported phones and tablets. You install it yourself (sometimes called sideloading), and it doesn't need a Google account or the tester list.

Join the Google Play closed test

  1. Give us the Google-account email you use on the Android device you'll test on. The easiest way is the platform question and email field on the Join the beta form; you can also reach out through the beta guide contact links.
  2. Once we've added you to the tester list, you'll get an opt-in link. Open it on your device and accept to become a tester.
  3. Install Caller's Compendium from the Play Store page the link takes you to. From then on, Play handles updates for you automatically.

Install the .apk directly

  1. Download the .apk to your device.
  2. Open it. Android may say it needs permission to install unknown apps for whatever you opened it with — your browser or file manager. This is expected for an app installed outside the Play Store.
  3. Allow installing from that app, then continue.
  4. Finish the install and open Caller's Compendium.

Pick one lane and stay in it. The Play Store build and the direct .apk are signed with different keys, so Android treats them as two separate apps. You can't upgrade from one to the other in place — installing the Play version won't replace a sideloaded .apk (or the other way around), and your data doesn't carry across on its own. If you ever need to switch, do it deliberately: open the app you have and export a backup (Settings ▸ General ▸ Export a backup), uninstall it, install the other one, then restore from that backup. Choosing one route from the start avoids all of this.

Still running v0.1.0-beta.1 on Android? That first build used a different internal app identifier, so newer builds install alongside it rather than replacing it, and your data does not carry over on its own. To move across: open the old app, export a backup (Settings ▸ General ▸ Export a backup), uninstall it, install the current .apk, then restore from that backup.

On iPhone and iPad

The iOS/iPadOS build is delivered through TestFlight, Apple's app for beta testing, rather than the Releases page above. It's an open beta — anyone can join, no invitation needed — but it is not yet listed on the App Store.

  1. Install TestFlight from the App Store if you don't have it.
  2. Open the public join link on your device: https://testflight.apple.com/join/REgW311w.
  3. Accept in TestFlight and install Caller's Compendium from there. TestFlight handles updates for you when a new version is released.

It runs on both iPhone and iPad.

The first-time security warning, explained

Most people won't see a warning at all: the macOS build is signed and notarized, the Windows build is code-signed, and iOS comes through TestFlight. If a prompt does appear, nothing is wrong with the download.

  • Windows. Windows SmartScreen can still show a blue Windows protected your PC prompt, most often for a newly released version it hasn't seen widely yet. Choose More info, then choose Run anyway.
  • Linux. Linux builds are not code-signed, but Linux doesn't show a signing prompt. Make sure the AppImage is marked as runnable (see Install on Linux), or use the tar.gz archive instead.

Verify your download (optional)

This step is for readers who like to double-check a download, and it's entirely optional — most callers can skip it.

The SHA256SUMS file in the release Assets lists an expected checksum (a long unique fingerprint) for each download. If you want, you can calculate the checksum of the file you downloaded and compare it to the matching line in SHA256SUMS. If they match, your download arrived intact.

Keeping the app up to date

Caller's Compendium can tell you when a newer version is out, and nothing ever updates behind your back — you're always the one who chooses. You'll find the controls in Settings › Updates; the Settings guide explains them in full.

During the beta, two things are worth knowing:

  • Turn on the Beta channel. Every release so far is a beta, and with the Beta channel switch off (its default) the app only looks for stable releases — so it won't find new betas. Switch on Beta channel in Settings › Updates, and optionally Check automatically.
  • The Releases page always has the newest version. You can also watch the Releases page and download a new version the same way you did the first time.

When the app does find an update: on desktop it can download it, verify it hasn't been tampered with, and hand it to your system's installer to finish. On phones and tablets it links you to the release so you can download it the usual way for your device. (If you installed on Android through the Google Play closed test, you don't need any of this — Play updates you automatically, the same as any other Play app.)

Where to go next

You're ready to open the app and start calling.