Getting Started

This guide gets you from download to your first game in a few minutes.

Download

Head to the Download page and grab the installer for your platform.

Windows

Download the .exe installer
Run the installer and follow the prompts
Launch En Parlant~ from your Start menu or desktop

Linux

Download your preferred format: .AppImage, .deb, or .rpm

For AppImage:

chmod +x en-parlant_amd64.AppImage
./en-parlant_amd64.AppImage

For .deb:
Terminal window
```
sudo dpkg -i en-parlant_amd64.deb
```
For .rpm:
Terminal window
```
sudo rpm -i en-parlant_amd64.rpm
```

macOS

Download the .dmg file (Intel or Apple Silicon)
Open the .dmg and drag En Parlant~ to your Applications folder
On first launch, you may need to right-click > Open to bypass Gatekeeper

First Launch

When you open En Parlant~ for the first time, you’ll see the home screen with seven feature cards. Here’s the recommended setup order:

1. Download a Chess Engine

Go to Engines in the sidebar and download Stockfish — it’s free, open-source, and the strongest engine available. This powers game analysis, computer opponents, and puzzle hints.

2. Download a Reference Database

Go to Databases in the sidebar and download one of the available game databases. Caissabase is a good starting point — 5.4 million master games that power the position search panel during analysis.

3. Try a Feature

Pick any card on the home screen:

Play Chess — start a game against Stockfish
Analysis Board — open a free analysis board and explore positions
Puzzles — download the Lichess puzzle database and practice tactics
Narrated Demo — hear TTS narration in action with zero setup
Import Game — load a PGN file or paste a game from the clipboard

4. Set Up TTS (Optional)

If you want to hear annotations spoken aloud while you study, head to Settings > Sound and choose a TTS provider. The TTS Providers Overview walks you through the options. Or just click the Narrated Demo card to try it instantly with pre-recorded audio.

What’s Next

Features — detailed guides for each home screen card
App Menus — what each sidebar section does
TTS Setup — choose and configure a voice provider
Architecture — technical deep-dive for developers