Quickstart (For Hydrologists & Disaster Management)¶

This page walks through downloading, installing, and running OpenFloodAI as a ready-made program, with no coding involved. If you are a developer setting up the project from source instead, see the Developer Quickstart.

Go to the OpenFloodAI Releases page and download the file for your computer:

Windows — download OpenFloodAI.exe.
Mac — download OpenFloodAI-macOS.zip, then double-click it to unzip it into OpenFloodAI.app.

2. Open it for the first time¶

The app is not yet digitally signed, so your computer will show a warning the first time you open it. This is expected — it happens because the app was not purchased through an app store, not because anything is wrong.

On a Mac: right-click (or Control-click) OpenFloodAI.app and choose Open. A warning will appear saying Apple could not verify the app; click Open again to confirm. You only need to do this once — after that, it opens normally.

On Windows: double-click OpenFloodAI.exe. If you see a blue "Windows protected your PC" screen, click More info, then click Run anyway.

3. What happens when it opens¶

A small OpenFloodAI icon appears in your system tray (Windows, bottom-right of the screen) or menu bar (Mac, top-right of the screen), and your web browser opens automatically to the app. That browser window is where you'll do all your work — creating sites, reviewing videos, and reading reports.

4. Where your files are saved¶

Everything you create — camera settings, videos you add, notes, and reports — is saved on your own computer, in a private folder that only OpenFloodAI uses. You don't need to remember where that is: click the tray/menu-bar icon and choose Open Sites Folder any time you want to see your files directly.

Nothing is uploaded anywhere. It all stays on the computer you're using.

5. Closing the app¶

Click the tray/menu-bar icon and choose Quit. Simply closing the browser tab does not stop the app — use Quit to fully close it.

Where to go next¶

Once the app is open in your browser, follow Your First End-to-End Review — its first step will already be checked off, since the app is running.

A safety reminder¶

OpenFloodAI's reports mean "please review this evidence," not "there is a confirmed flood." It is a review tool to support your team's own judgment, not an automatic public warning system.