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Installing PC Caster on Windows takes only a few minutes. The included run.bat script handles every dependency — Python packages, the Playwright Chromium engine, and brand icons — automatically on first run. You only need to install Python itself beforehand.

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Prerequisites

  • Windows 10 or 11 (PC Caster uses Windows-specific APIs and will not run on macOS or Linux)
  • Python 3.9 or later — download the installer from python.org/downloads
During Python installation, tick “Add Python to PATH” on the first screen. Without this, run.bat will detect Python as missing and exit before installing any dependencies.

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Installation Steps

1

Install Python 3.9+

Download the latest Python 3 installer from python.org/downloads and run it.On the first installer screen, check “Add Python to PATH” before clicking Install Now. This lets run.bat find python and pip automatically from any folder.
2

Place the PCCaster folder

Download or copy the PCCaster folder to any location on your PC — your Downloads folder, Documents, or the Desktop all work fine. The app reads its files relative to its own location, so it is fully portable and can be moved later.
3

Double-click run.bat

Open the PCCaster folder and double-click run.bat. A console window appears and the script runs the following steps automatically:
  1. Checks Python — exits with a helpful message if Python is not in PATH.
  2. Installs Python packages — runs pip install -r requirements.txt --quiet.
  3. Installs Playwright Chromium — runs python -m playwright install chromium (one-time browser engine download; only downloads if not already present).
  4. Generates brand icons — runs python make_icons.py if assets\app_icon.ico does not yet exist.
  5. Launches the app windowless — calls wscript.exe "PC Caster.vbs", which starts PC Caster without a console window, then the run.bat console closes.
On subsequent runs, steps 2 and 3 are fast (pip and Playwright both skip up-to-date packages) and the icon step is skipped entirely.

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Python Dependencies

run.bat installs the following packages from requirements.txt:
requirements.txt
requests>=2.28.0
playwright>=1.40.0
curl_cffi>=0.7.0
Pillow>=10.0.0
PackagePurpose
requestsRoku ECP API calls (device info, app queries, channel launch).
playwrightDrives a real Chromium browser to sniff .m3u8 URLs from streaming pages.
curl_cffiRe-fetches stream content with a real Chrome TLS/JA3 fingerprint, bypassing TLS-based blocking.
PillowGenerates the app and Roku channel icons from the source design at first run.

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The Full run.bat Script

run.bat
@echo off
title PC Caster

REM ── Check Python is available ────────────────────────────────────────────────
python --version >nul 2>&1
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 (
    echo.
    echo  Python not found.
    echo  Please install Python from https://www.python.org/downloads/
    echo  Make sure to check "Add Python to PATH" during installation.
    echo.
    pause
    exit /b 1
)

REM ── Install dependencies ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
echo Installing/checking dependencies...
pip install -r requirements.txt --quiet

REM ── Install the headless browser used by the .m3u8 finder (one-time) ─────────
echo Checking headless browser for stream scanning...
python -m playwright install chromium

REM ── Generate brand icons if missing ──────────────────────────────────────────
IF NOT EXIST "assets\app_icon.ico" (
    echo Generating brand icons...
    python make_icons.py
)

REM ── Launch the app windowless (no lingering console) ────────────────────────
echo Starting PC Caster...
start "" wscript.exe "PC Caster.vbs"
REM The console closes now; the app keeps running on its own.

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Launcher Options

Once the initial setup is done, you have three ways to open PC Caster:
LauncherWhen to use
run.batUse this after updating PC Caster or when you want to refresh dependencies. Shows a console during the pip/Playwright check, then closes it and launches the app windowless.
PC Caster.vbsThe everyday launcher — starts PC Caster directly with no console window at all. Fully portable; works correctly even if you move the folder.
Create Desktop Shortcut.batRun once to create a branded PC Caster shortcut on your Desktop (using the generated .ico icon). Re-run this script if you ever move the PCCaster folder to a new location.
Run run.bat again any time you update the PCCaster folder to a newer version — it will upgrade any changed packages and re-download Playwright if needed, then relaunch the app automatically.

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