Installation and Setup

ARES OS is designed to be cross-platform, running natively on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Method 1: The ARES Launcher (Recommended)

For most users, the ARES Launcher is the easiest way to install and maintain the system. It handles version management, updates and ensuring the correct runtime environment.

1. Download: Navigate to the ARES Launcher Releases page and download the installer for your operating system.

2. Follow the instructions in the README of the ARES Launcher Repository to get ARES running on your system.

Updating ARES

The ARES Launcher also supports pulling updates for your ARES system. See the Update Section of the ARES Launcher documentation.

Method 2: Manual Build (For Developers)

Prerequisites

• .NET 10 SDK (Required for all components)
• Entity Framework Core Tools: Required for managing database migrations

  dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef

• An Integrated Development Environment (IDE):
  • Recommendation: Visual Studio 2026 for the best C# and Blazor development experience.

Steps

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/AFRL-ARES/ARES.git
cd ARES

2. Trust HTTPS Development Certificate

dotnet dev-certs https --trust

3. Restore Dependencies and Build

dotnet restore
dotnet build

4. Initialize Database

dotnet run --project .\AresService\AresService.csproj --migrate

5. Start ARES

dotnet run --project .\AresService\AresService.csproj
dotnet run --project .\UI\UI.csproj

6. Navigate to the UI
   Open a browser of your choice and navigate to https://localhost:7084. If you've started ARES successfully, this will open the ARES Dashboard.