Help and guidance

18+ age gate

Eidovara requires users to be 18 or older. The age gate appears at multiple touchpoints:

• Download page — checkbox confirmation before download links unlock
• First launch — confirmation required before the workspace loads
• Soul feature activation — triple gate: age + enablement + consent
• Research and media features — 18+ filtered content only

The local confirmation is not independent identity verification. This gate applies across LICENSE, TERMS.md, AGE.md, CLI, kernel, and desktop UI.

Soul layer

Soul is an optional assistant layer. To enable Soul in the desktop app:

1. Be 18 or older (age gate satisfied)
2. Open Settings in Eidovara
3. Explicitly enable Soul
4. Acknowledge consent for Soul features

Soul provides: configurable personality, persistent continuity, voice/presence, research, media, and tool support. Soul is software, not a consciousness claim. You can use the workspace entirely without Soul — all core features remain functional.

Optionally configure a remote provider endpoint (HTTPS only). The official default is api.eidovara.org. The desktop app remains fully usable offline.

Features

• Local Windows workspace — apps, gaming tools, backups, settings, linked applications, and trusted launch controls stay on your PC
• Media playback — user-selected, properly sourced content with queues, favorites, and DJ-style discovery
• Internet research — cited public sources only (Wikipedia, Internet Archive, optional keyed search), 18+ filtered
• Custom themes — RGB visual effects (Eidovara window glow only) and personalization
• Gaming mode — low-overhead mode optimized for gaming sessions
• Persistent continuity — memory, backups, and provider context persist across sessions
• Linked applications — trusted launch controls without process injection, up to three on Free
• Voice and accessibility — Windows voice output, dictation, and language preference (English, Spanish, French, German)
• Encrypted backups — settings and data backed up with Windows protection when available
• Update checks — GitHub Releases verification with SHA-256 checksums and provenance

Command-line usage

Eidovara includes a CLI. Age confirmation via --i-am-18-or-older or the EIDOVARA_AGE_GATE_ACCEPTED environment variable (test harness only).

node src/cli.js --i-am-18-or-older

The CLI shares the desktop parser with adminAuthorized: false so elevated tools correctly refuse. THOTH operator commands are available via --thoth.

Building from source

If you prefer to build from the source-available repository:

corepack enable
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
pnpm test
pnpm run check
pnpm run lint
pnpm run dist:win:installer

Node 22.12+ is required. CI uses pnpm from pnpm-lock.yaml (packageManager [email protected]).

Troubleshooting

Windows SmartScreen warning

The installer is Authenticode-unsigned. This is expected. Click "More info" then "Run anyway" to proceed. Verify your download against published checksums.

SHA-256 mismatch

Redownload from GitHub Releases and verify the checksum matches published values.

Soul features unavailable

Ensure you are 18+, have explicitly enabled Soul in settings, and have acknowledged consent. Check the triple-gate requirements above.

App will not start

Verify you are on Windows 10/11 x64. If building from source, ensure Node 22.12+ is installed. Run npm run doctor for diagnostics.

Provider connection issues

Check the Status page to verify api.eidovara.org is reachable. The workspace remains fully functional offline.

Diagnostics

Run npm run doctor or npm run diagnose for automated health checks. Use npm run doctor:fix for safe repairs (hook rewiring only).