Windows Installation

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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)

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Install from Installer (Recommended)

The Windows installer is CPU-only. Use a source build when you need CUDA on Windows.

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Step 1: Download

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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

izwi version --full

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Optional: Install espeak-ng for Kokoro-82M

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Option 1: Install from eSpeak NG releases (Recommended)

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

espeak-ng --version

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Install via winget (Coming Soon)

winget install Agentem.Izwi

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CUDA Support (NVIDIA GPUs)

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Step 1: Install NVIDIA Drivers

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Step 2: Build from source (Preview)

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

.\target\release\izwi.exe serve --backend cuda

.\target\release\izwi.exe version --full
.\target\release\izwi.exe status --detailed

• CUDA under Compiled Backends
• Requested: cuda
• Selected: cuda

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Data Locations

# 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)

1. Click More info
2. Click Run anyway

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Command not found: izwi

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

espeak-ng --version

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Port 8080 already in use

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

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

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Next Steps

• Getting Started
• Download Models