GuruWatcher Guides · Open the Control Panel

Open the Control Panel

The Control Panel is the app. It runs only on this computer — the packaged app stays alive from a tray icon (the source launcher needs its window left open).

All guides Getting started

What it is

A small page in your browser — usually http://127.0.0.1:8788/ — that runs on this machine only. It is where you set your Discord webhook, connect email auto-ingest, and start Keep checking. No terminal skills are required — the packaged Mac/Windows apps don’t even need Python.

Open it

  1. Get your download

    After checkout, the thank-you page offers three formats and auto-picks for your machine: macOS app (DMG), Windows app (zip), or the source zip.

  2. macOS app (DMG — Apple Silicon, notarized)

    Open GuruWatcher-v0.1.8-mac.dmg, drag GuruWatcher to Applications, and double-click to launch (Developer ID notarized + stapled). No Python needed. (Intel Mac: use the source zip.)

  3. Windows app (portable zip)

    After download: (1) if the browser says the file "isn't commonly downloaded", click Keep; (2) right-click GuruWatcher-v0.1.8-win64.zip → Properties → Unblock → Apply, then extract all; (3) double-click GuruWatcher.exe — keep it next to the _internal folder (don't delete _internal; the app won't open without it). No Python needed. The zip is Authenticode-signed via Azure Artifact Signing; SmartScreen may still warn once for a new publisher — if so: More info → Run anyway.

  4. Source zip (any OS — needs Python)

    The release zip unzips to a self-contained GuruWatcher-v0.1.8/ folder. Then: Mac: double-click scripts/Open-GuruWatcher.command (if Mac blocks it: right-click → Open → Open) · Windows: double-click scripts/Open-GuruWatcher.bat · Linux: bash scripts/open-guruwatcher.sh. The first run may take a few minutes while it installs the Python bits.

  5. Use the panel

    Your browser opens the local panel, usually http://127.0.0.1:8788/. If the browser says it can’t connect, open the app / double-click the launcher again.

Packaged app: a menu-bar / system-tray icon keeps GuruWatcher running — Open panel / Stop from the tray; no terminal window. Source launcher: leave the terminal window open — closing it stops the panel.

Command line (optional)

If you installed the CLI, the same panel is python3 -m guru_watcher app. The app stores data in ~/.guruwatcher; if you run the CLI from a folder that already contains gw-data/, it uses that instead (override with --data-dir / GURU_WATCHER_DATA). Want the panel behind a menu-bar / system-tray icon instead of a Terminal window? Install the desktop extra once, then python3 -m guru_watcher app --tray.

Next

Next: Connect Discord so alerts land in a channel you choose.