# Install Scalpel on Windows > Download Scalpel for Windows, get past the SmartScreen warning safely, and find where it keeps your settings. Takes two minutes, no installer needed. Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/install-scalpel-windows Guide 1.1, Getting started. Beginner, 5 min read. Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team. **In short:** Download **Scalpel-windows-x64.exe** from scalpeltrade.com/download, put it in a folder you own (your Desktop or a Scalpel folder in Documents) and double-click it. There is no installer. Because Scalpel is not signed with a paid Microsoft certificate, Windows shows "Windows protected your PC" the first time: click **More info**, then **Run anyway**. Scalpel then asks for your licence key. Scalpel for Windows is one portable file. Nothing is installed into Program Files, nothing runs in the background when it is closed, and removing it is deleting the file and its settings folder. It runs on Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit. **Before you start:** - A 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC with a current graphics driver. The interface draws on the GPU, and the charts use Microsoft's WebView2, which Windows 11 and up-to-date Windows 10 already have. - An Interactive Brokers account, with TWS or IB Gateway on the same PC ([guide 1.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/connect-interactive-brokers)). - Your licence key, or buy one when Scalpel asks for it. The download is free; the app needs a key to open ([guide 1.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/activate-licence)). ## Install it ### 1. Download the app Go to [scalpeltrade.com/download](https://scalpeltrade.com/download) and click **Download for Windows**. You get one file, **Scalpel-windows-x64.exe**. The same download is on your [account page](https://scalpeltrade.com/account) under **Download**. Some browsers hold back a new program the first time it is downloaded and ask you to confirm. If yours does, choose to keep the file. ### 2. Move it to a folder you own Move the file out of Downloads to where it will live, for example a **Scalpel** folder in **Documents**, or your Desktop. Pick a folder you can write to without an administrator prompt, because updates are installed in place: Scalpel puts the new version beside the old one and keeps the previous copy, so **Settings > About** can always go back one version. **Careful.** Do not put Scalpel in `C:\Program Files`. Windows needs an administrator to change files there, so updates would fail to install. ### 3. Open it and click More info Double-click **Scalpel-windows-x64.exe**. The first time, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen stops it with **Windows protected your PC**. There is no run button yet: click **More info**. *Screenshot: Simplified. The SmartScreen window on the first run. Click More info to see the app name and the run button.* ### 4. Check the file name, then click Run anyway SmartScreen now shows **App: Scalpel-windows-x64.exe** and **Publisher: Unknown publisher**. Check the name is the file you downloaded from scalpeltrade.com, then click **Run anyway**. You normally see this only once for the file. *Screenshot: Simplified. After More info: the app name, Unknown publisher, and Run anyway.* ### 5. Activate and connect Scalpel opens with a short splash (click or press any key to skip it), then the licence screen. Paste your key and click **Activate** ([guide 1.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/activate-licence)), then connect it to TWS or IB Gateway ([guide 1.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/connect-interactive-brokers)). **Tip.** Right-click the running Scalpel icon on the taskbar and choose **Pin to taskbar**. Updates replace the file under the same name, so the pin keeps working. ## Why Windows warns about Scalpel SmartScreen warns about any program that is not signed with a Microsoft-recognised code-signing certificate and that it has not seen many times before. Scalpel is not signed with one, so it gets the warning; "Unknown publisher" means exactly that and nothing more. What protects you instead: - **Download only from scalpeltrade.com.** The download page and your account page are the only sources. - **Updates are checked before they install.** Every update is signed with Scalpel's own release key, and the app refuses a download unless the signature, the size and the checksum all match. A compromised server could hold an update back, but not slip you a different file. - **Your trading stays between you and your broker.** Market data and orders go through your own TWS or IB Gateway. Beyond that, Scalpel talks to scalpeltrade.com for the licence check and updates, and reads public intel sources (SEC filings, FINRA short interest and short volume, the Nasdaq Reg SHO list) while Intel is on. ## Where Scalpel keeps your files The program file holds no settings. Everything you change is in your Windows user profile, so you can replace or move the exe freely: | What | Where | |---|---| | Settings: desks, presets, hotkeys, stops, risk caps | `%APPDATA%\scalpel\config\scalpel.toml` | | Licence key and the last licence check | `%APPDATA%\scalpel\data\licence.json` | | SIM account (balance, positions, history) | `%APPDATA%\scalpel\data\sim_state.json` | | Trade journals behind Analytics, SIM and LIVE kept apart | `%APPDATA%\scalpel\data\journal\` | | Log file (useful for support) | `%APPDATA%\scalpel\data\logs\scalpel.log` | To open the folder, press `Win`+`R`, type `%APPDATA%\scalpel` and press `Enter`. **Note.** Data recording is off by default, so Scalpel does not fill your disk with market data. If you switch it on (Settings > Connection), recordings go to `%APPDATA%\scalpel\data\recordings`. ## Move, update or remove it - **Move it:** close Scalpel and move the exe anywhere you can write to. Your settings stay put. - **Update it:** Scalpel downloads updates by itself and shows **Update ready** in the status bar; it never restarts while you hold a position. See [guide 12.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/updates). - **Use it on a second PC:** download it there and paste the same key. A licence covers two computers ([guide 12.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/move-licence-new-computer)). - **Remove it:** delete the exe, then the `%APPDATA%\scalpel` folder if you want your settings gone too. Free the computer on your account page so the licence slot is available again. ## What can go wrong - **No Run anyway button.** You are still on the first screen: click **More info** first. If your PC is managed by an employer, its policy may block unsigned programs altogether; use a personal PC. See [guide 13.10](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-smartscreen). - **The window opens but the charts are blank.** The WebView2 runtime is missing or broken; see [guide 13.12](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-charts-blank). - **An update fails to install.** The exe is in a folder Scalpel cannot write to, such as Program Files. Move it and try again ([guide 13.11](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-update-failed)). ## Questions **Is it safe to click Run anyway?** Yes, for the file you downloaded from scalpeltrade.com. SmartScreen warns because Scalpel is not signed with a paid Microsoft certificate, not because it found anything. Check the warning names Scalpel-windows-x64.exe before you run it. **Does Scalpel need an installer or administrator rights?** No. It is a single portable exe. Keep it in a folder you own, such as Documents or your Desktop, and it never needs an administrator. **Does Scalpel run on Windows 7, 8 or 32-bit Windows?** No. It needs 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 with a current graphics driver. **Will I see the SmartScreen warning after every update?** Windows remembers your answer for the file. Updates are installed by Scalpel itself, so you should not normally be asked again; if you are, check the file name and click Run anyway. **Where are my settings if I reinstall?** In %APPDATA%\scalpel. Deleting or replacing the exe keeps them; delete that folder only if you want a clean start.