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Install BB-Eco on macOS, Windows, or Linux

Beta software

Download URLs and installer formats may change before the 1.0 release. Check this page after each update.

BB-Eco ships native installers for Windows 10/11, macOS 11+ on Apple Silicon, and Ubuntu 22.04+ Linux. No Java runtime, no .NET runtime — everything is bundled.

Apple Silicon only on macOS

BB-Eco does not ship an Intel Mac build. You'll need a Mac with an M1, M2, M3, or M4 chip. If you're on an Intel Mac, run the Linux or Windows build in a VM, or use the BB-Eco CLI from a remote Apple Silicon or Linux host.

System requirements​

PlatformMinimum
Windows10 (build 19041) or 11, 64-bit
macOS11 Big Sur on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4)
LinuxUbuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, Fedora 38+ (64-bit)
RAM512 MB free
Disk350 MB
NetworkSame Layer 2 broadcast domain as your devices for auto-discovery; cross-subnet works with manual entry

Install on Windows​

  1. Download the latest installer: BB-Eco-Setup-x64.exe (beta).
  2. Double-click the installer. Windows SmartScreen may warn about an unrecognised publisher during the beta — click More info then Run anyway.
  3. Follow the prompts. The default install location is C:\Program Files\BB-Eco.
  4. Launch BB-Eco from the Start menu.
Windows Defender Firewall

On first launch, Windows asks whether BB-Eco can communicate over private and public networks. Allow both — BB-Eco needs UDP broadcasts for device discovery and BOOTP/TFTP for firmware upgrades.

Install on macOS​

Apple Silicon only — see the note at the top of this page if you're on an Intel Mac.

  1. Download the disk image: BB-Eco-arm64.dmg (beta).
  2. Open the .dmg and drag BB-Eco.app into Applications.
  3. Launch BB-Eco. macOS Gatekeeper blocks unsigned beta builds on first run — see below if you hit that.

"BB-Eco can't be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software"​

Beta builds are not yet notarised. To run anyway:

  1. Right-click BB-Eco.app in Applications and choose Open.
  2. Click Open in the warning dialog.
  3. macOS remembers the choice — subsequent launches work normally.

This warning will go away once 1.0 ships notarised. If you'd rather wait, the General Availability release is scheduled for the post-beta window.

Install on Linux​

BB-Eco ships as both a .deb and an AppImage.

Ubuntu / Debian (.deb)​

wget https://update.brainboxes.com/bb-eco/beta/linux/bb-eco_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./bb-eco_amd64.deb

The .deb registers BB-Eco in your Applications menu and adds the bb-eco CLI to /usr/local/bin.

AppImage (any distro)​

wget https://update.brainboxes.com/bb-eco/beta/linux/BB-Eco-x86_64.AppImage
chmod +x BB-Eco-x86_64.AppImage
./BB-Eco-x86_64.AppImage

Firmware upgrades on Linux​

Firmware upgrades use BOOTP and TFTP, which require binding to UDP ports 67 and 69 — privileged ports. BB-Eco prompts for your sudo password the first time you start an upgrade and remembers it for the session.

If your Linux setup uses polkit for graphical authentication, you'll see a system password dialog. On headless servers (or via SSH), run BB-Eco from a terminal as root only when triggering an upgrade — the rest of the app runs unprivileged.

Verifying the install​

After launching, BB-Eco opens to the dashboard. The status indicator in the bottom-left corner should show Sidecar running. If it shows Sidecar not running for more than ten seconds, see the troubleshooting checklist on the No devices found page (coming soon during beta).

Next step​

Once BB-Eco launches cleanly, discover your first device.

More resources​

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