Installing on Windows

Credenza-Setup-<version>-x64.exe installs Credenza as a Windows service. It carries everything the server needs: the server itself, a PostgreSQL 18 of its own and ffmpeg. Nothing else has to be installed first, and nothing on the machine needs Docker.

Requirements

• 64-bit Windows 10, version 1809 or later, or Windows Server 2019 or later.
• An administrator account to run the installer.
• Read access to your media for the account the service runs as — see Which account the service runs as.

Installing

1. Download the installer from the install page. It offers the latest release; a particular one is at https://credenza.tv/releases/<version>/Credenza-Setup-<version>-x64.exe.
2. Run it. The installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen stops it with Windows protected your PC and names an unknown publisher. Choose More info, then Run anyway.
3. Choose a port. 27333 unless you change it. Browsers and the Credenza apps on your network connect to it, and setup lets it through Windows Firewall.
4. Choose the service account. Its own account is right unless your media is on a network share — see below.
5. Finish. Setup creates the database and starts the services, then opens Credenza in your browser. The first visit creates the administrator and adds your first library — see First run.

From another device, open http://<this-pc>:27333, using the PC’s network name or address and the port you chose.

What it sets up

What	Where
The server, PostgreSQL and ffmpeg	C:\Program Files\Credenza\
The database, logs, transcodes, artwork and backups	C:\ProgramData\Credenza\
The Credenza service (Credenza Media Server)	Starts automatically, a little after boot, and restarts itself if it fails
The CredenzaPostgres service	Its database, listening on localhost:54333 only
A Windows Firewall rule, Credenza	Lets in the port you chose, on private and domain networks
A Start menu shortcut	Opens http://localhost:<port>

Both services run whether or not anybody is signed in to Windows, so a PC that restarts overnight is serving again before anyone touches it. The database’s port is deliberately unusual, so a PostgreSQL you already run on 5432 is not disturbed.

Which account the service runs as

By default the service runs as its own virtual account, NT SERVICE\Credenza. It needs no password and can read folders on this computer’s own drives. It cannot open a network share that needs a password, and it cannot see mapped drive letters, which belong to a signed-in user.

If your media is on a NAS or another computer:

1. In setup, choose A Windows user account and enter a user that can open the share, as COMPUTER\name, DOMAIN\name or name@domain, with its password. Setup grants that user the right to log on as a service.
2. Add the library with its UNC path, such as \\nas\media\films, rather than a drive letter.

To change the account later, run the installer again and choose differently.

If you want match files saved beside your media when you correct a match, the account also needs write access there.

Search on Windows

Search uses PostgreSQL’s own full-text search on Windows, because pg_search — the extension Credenza uses for search on Docker and Linux — has no Windows build. It still matches as you type and across titles, people, studios and overviews, but it ranks results less sharply.

Upgrading

Run the newer installer. It stops both services, replaces the program files, keeps the database and your settings, and starts the services again. It remembers the port and the service account you chose last time; if the service runs as a Windows user, enter that user’s password again. The database is upgraded when the new version starts; there is no migration step to run yourself.

The database’s password is kept in C:\ProgramData\Credenza\secrets\, readable only by administrators, so an upgrade or a reinstall over the kept data agrees with the database about it.

Settings

Almost everything is set in the browser, under Settings → Server. For the options that are set before the server starts — see Configuration — use a file:

• Setup writes C:\Program Files\Credenza\app\appsettings.Production.json on every install, so changes made there are lost on the next upgrade.
• Put your own settings in appsettings.Local.json beside it instead. It is read after that file, so it wins, and setup never touches it.

In the file, each part of an option’s name is a level of JSON. MediaServer__Updates__Enabled, for example, is:

C:\Program Files\Credenza\app\appsettings.Local.json

{
  "MediaServer": {
    "Updates": {
      "Enabled": false
    }
  }
}

Restart the Credenza service afterwards, from Services or with Restart-Service Credenza in an administrator PowerShell.

To change the port, run the installer again and choose another: it moves the firewall rule with it.

Uninstalling

Uninstall Credenza Media Server from Settings → Apps. That removes both services, the firewall rule and the program files, and keeps C:\ProgramData\Credenza\ — the database, game saves, artwork and backups — so a reinstall finds your library again. Delete that folder to remove everything.

When something goes wrong

What	Where
Setup’s own log	C:\ProgramData\Credenza\setup.log
The server’s log	C:\ProgramData\Credenza\logs\, also readable at Settings → Server → Logs
The database’s log	C:\ProgramData\Credenza\db\log\

If setup says it did not finish, run the installer again: it repeats every setup step and is safe to run as often as you like. If the server does not open, check that both services are running in Services (services.msc), and see Common problems.

Licences

The ffmpeg inside is the GPL build from gyan.dev, and its licence is in C:\Program Files\Credenza\ffmpeg\. Its source is at ffmpeg.org. PostgreSQL’s licence is in C:\Program Files\Credenza\pgsql\server_license.txt.