Izwi runs on Windows 10 and later. GitHub Release installers keep the public izwi.exe and izwi-server.exe names and are intentionally CPU-only. See the Runtime Support Matrix for the current artifact contract.

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Requirements

  • Windows 10 (version 1903+) or Windows 11
  • 8 GB RAM minimum (16 GB recommended)
  • 10 GB free disk space (more for models)
  • NVIDIA GPU (optional, for CUDA acceleration)
The Windows installer is CPU-only. Use a source build when you need CUDA on Windows.

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Step 1: Download

Download Izwi-Setup-*.exe from GitHub Releases.

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Step 2: Run Installer

  1. Double-click the downloaded .exe file
  2. If Windows SmartScreen appears, click More info → Run anyway
  3. Follow the installation wizard
  4. Choose installation location (default: C:\Program Files\Izwi)

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Step 3: Verify

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: 
izwi version --full

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Optional: Install espeak-ng for Kokoro-82M

Kokoro-82M uses espeak-ng for phonemization. Install it before using Kokoro voices.
  1. Download the latest Windows installer/zip for eSpeak NG from the official releases page: eSpeak NG Releases
  2. Install eSpeak NG (or extract it to a folder such as C:\Program Files\eSpeak NG\)
  3. Add the folder containing espeak-ng.exe to your PATH if the installer does not do this automatically

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Verify

Open a new PowerShell window and run: 
espeak-ng --version

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Install via winget (Coming Soon)

winget install Agentem.Izwi

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CUDA Support (NVIDIA GPUs)

Native Windows GitHub Release installers are CPU-only and do not bundle CUDA runtime DLLs. CUDA on Windows is currently a source-build preview path.

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Step 1: Install NVIDIA Drivers

Download and install the latest drivers from NVIDIA.

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Step 2: Build from source (Preview)

Source builds still require CUDA Toolkit from NVIDIA CUDA Downloads. 
git clone https://github.com/izwi-ai/izwi.git
cd izwi
cargo build --release -p izwi-cli --features cuda
cargo build --release -p izwi-server --features cuda

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Verify a Source Build

Start the server in one PowerShell window: 
.\target\release\izwi.exe serve --backend cuda
In a second PowerShell window: 
.\target\release\izwi.exe version --full
.\target\release\izwi.exe status --detailed
Look for:
  • CUDA under Compiled Backends
  • Requested: cuda
  • Selected: cuda

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Data Locations

DataLocation
Models%APPDATA%\izwi\models\
Config%APPDATA%\izwi\config.toml
Logs%APPDATA%\izwi\logs\
ProgramC:\Program Files\Izwi\
To open these folders: 
# Open models folder
explorer "%APPDATA%\izwi\models"

# Open config folder
explorer "%APPDATA%\izwi"

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Running at Startup

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Option 1: Task Scheduler

  1. Open Task Scheduler
  2. Click Create Basic Task
  3. Name: “Izwi Server”
  4. Trigger: When I log on
  5. Action: Start a program
  6. Program: C:\Program Files\Izwi\izwi.exe
  7. Arguments: serve

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Option 2: Startup Folder

  1. Press Win + R, type shell:startup, press Enter
  2. Create a shortcut to izwi.exe serve

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Uninstall

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Via Settings

  1. Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps
  2. Find Izwi
  3. Click Uninstall

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Via Control Panel

  1. Open Control Panel → Programs → Uninstall a program
  2. Find Izwi
  3. Click Uninstall

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Remove Data (Optional)

# Remove all Izwi data (including models!)
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:APPDATA\izwi"

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Troubleshooting

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”Windows protected your PC” (SmartScreen)

This appears because the app isn’t code-signed yet:
  1. Click More info
  2. Click Run anyway

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Command not found: izwi

The installer should add Izwi to your PATH. If not:
  1. Open System Properties → Environment Variables
  2. Under User variables, edit Path
  3. Add C:\Program Files\Izwi
  4. Restart your terminal

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Kokoro error: espeak-ng not found

Install eSpeak NG and ensure the folder containing espeak-ng.exe is in your PATH, then verify: 
espeak-ng --version

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Port 8080 already in use

Another application is using port 8080. Use a different port: 
izwi serve --port 8888

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CUDA not detected

  1. Verify NVIDIA drivers: 
    nvidia-smi
  2. If you installed from source, verify the CUDA toolkit: 
    nvcc --version
  3. If you installed from source, rebuild the CLI and server with CUDA: 
    cargo build --release -p izwi-cli --features cuda
cargo build --release -p izwi-server --features cuda
  4. Verify runtime backend state: 
    izwi serve --backend cuda
izwi status --detailed

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Firewall blocking connections

If you can’t access Izwi from other devices:
  1. Open Windows Defender Firewall
  2. Click Allow an app through firewall
  3. Add izwi-server.exe

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Building from Source

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Prerequisites

  1. Install Visual Studio Build Tools
  2. Install Rust
  3. Install Git

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Build

git clone https://github.com/izwi-ai/izwi.git
cd izwi
cargo build --release
Binaries will be in target\release\.

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Next Steps