Download Aircast

Aircast Flasher

The simplest way to write Aircast to an SD card. The Flasher downloads the latest image, writes your Wi-Fi and hostname so the device connects on first boot, and verifies the card — four steps, no terminal.

Download

Opening it the first time

The first time you open the Flasher on a Mac, you'll probably see this:

macOS dialog: "Aircast Flasher.app" is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the Bin.

Why it happens: macOS quarantines anything downloaded from the internet and won't open an app unless it's been notarized by Apple — a paid step where Apple scans and approves the developer's build. The Aircast Flasher is a free, open pre-release that isn't notarized yet, so macOS shows the generic “is damaged” message instead of letting it run. Apple Silicon Macs are especially strict about this.

The fix — after dragging the app into Applications, clear the quarantine flag once in Terminal, then open the app normally:

Terminal
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Aircast Flasher.app"
macOS Terminal running: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Aircast Flasher.app"

It runs silently — no output means it worked. Now open Aircast Flasher from Applications.

Right-clicking the app and choosing Open (or Open Anyway under Privacy & Security) usually won't clear the “damaged” state on Apple Silicon — the command above is the reliable path.

On Windows you'll likely see a blue Windows protected your PC screen the first time you run the installer:

Windows dialog: "Windows protected your PC" — Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting, with a "More info" link.

Why it happens: SmartScreen warns about any app it hasn't seen from a known publisher. Earning that reputation requires a paid code-signing certificate and enough downloads for Microsoft to build trust. The Aircast Flasher is a free, open pre-release that isn't code-signed yet, so it shows up as an “unrecognized app” from an “Unknown publisher.”

The fix — click More info, confirm the app is Aircast.Flasher, then click Run anyway:

Windows SmartScreen dialog after clicking "More info", showing the Aircast Flasher app name and a "Run anyway" button.

The installer then runs as normal.

Linux doesn't gate unsigned apps — no warnings to click through. Make the AppImage executable and run it:

Terminal
chmod +x Aircast.Flasher*.AppImage && ./Aircast.Flasher*.AppImage

The .deb installs with your package manager as usual.

What it does

  • Fetches the image — pulls the latest Aircast release, or write a local .img/.xz.
  • Pre-configures first boot — writes your Wi-Fi SSID/password and a hostname, so the device joins your network and is reachable at <hostname>.local with no SSH.
  • Writes & verifies — decompresses, writes, and checks the card so you know it's good before you boot.