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Windows says Chatcove is unsafe: why, and how to install it

Windows warns about Chatcove because its installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows does not recognise the file or its publisher. The warning does not mean Windows found anything wrong with it. If you downloaded Chatcove from chatcove.app or our GitHub releases page, you can install it with the steps below.

Everything stays on your computer. Chatcove does not upload your chats, backups or exports.

Why Windows warns

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Microsoft Defender SmartScreen checks every downloaded app against two things: whether the file is signed by a known publisher, and whether that exact file has been downloaded by many people before. A file with no signature and no download history gets a warning that advises caution. Microsoft explains this here.

Chatcove 0.2.0 is the first Windows version, and its installer is not signed yet, so it has neither. That is why Windows shows "Unknown publisher".

We are getting a code-signing certificate for Windows. With the signed build, Windows shows Codama as the publisher, and Smart App Control no longer blocks the app. Microsoft says that a newly signed file can still get a SmartScreen prompt for a while until it builds a reputation (SmartScreen reputation), so we cannot promise a date when every warning is gone.

Is it safe?

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What we can tell you honestly:

  • Chatcove for Windows is built and published by Codama, the company that makes the Chatcove Mac app. The Mac app is signed by Codama and notarized by Apple.
  • Microsoft has not reviewed or verified Chatcove for Windows. The warning only means Windows does not know the file yet.
  • Only download Chatcove from chatcove.app or from github.com/codama-dev/chatcove-releases. A copy from anywhere else is not ours.
  • You can check that the file you have is byte for byte the one we published. See the next section.
  • Everything stays on your computer. Chatcove makes only three kinds of network request (licence, updates, and a problem report you choose to send), none with chat content. See Privacy.

If you would rather wait, that is a fine choice too. The signed build will install without the "Unknown publisher" step.

Check the file is the one we published

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Every file has a SHA-256 fingerprint. If even one byte changes, the fingerprint changes. Here is the one for the Windows installer:

  • File: chatcove-0.2.0-x64-setup.exe
  • Size: 123,342,109 bytes
  • SHA-256: 104de682b1417ab948b6bc75cc4763619fccb0fb605c35937a9e744e40a635cc

To check it with Windows PowerShell:

  1. Open the Start menu, type PowerShell and open Windows PowerShell.

  2. Paste this line and press Enter (it assumes the file is in your Downloads folder):

    Terminal window
    Get-FileHash "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\chatcove-0.2.0-x64-setup.exe"

  3. Compare the Hash it prints with the SHA-256 above. PowerShell prints it in capital letters; that is the same value.

Or let PowerShell compare for you. This prints True when the file matches:

Terminal window
(Get-FileHash "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\chatcove-0.2.0-x64-setup.exe").Hash -eq "104de682b1417ab948b6bc75cc4763619fccb0fb605c35937a9e744e40a635cc"

Get-FileHash uses SHA-256 unless you ask for another algorithm (Microsoft's Get-FileHash reference). If the hash does not match, do not run the file: delete it, download it again from chatcove.app, and tell us if it still does not match.

Your browser says the file isn't commonly downloaded

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Browsers check downloads too, and a new installer that few people have downloaded yet can be held back.

Microsoft Edge may say the file "isn't commonly downloaded" and hold it in the downloads panel. Microsoft's steps to keep it (Resolve download failures in Microsoft Edge):

  1. Open the downloads panel (Ctrl+J).
  2. Next to the Chatcove download, click More actions (the ... button).
  3. Click Keep, then Show more, then Keep anyway.

Google Chrome may also warn that the file is uncommon or could be dangerous. Open the downloads list (Ctrl+J) and choose the option to keep or download the file. Chrome changes the exact wording between versions.

On a work or school computer, the organisation may have turned the keep option off. Then only its IT team can allow the download.

Windows protected your PC

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When you open the installer, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen may show a blue box titled "Windows protected your PC", saying it prevented an unrecognized app from starting.

  1. Click More info. The box now shows the app name, chatcove-0.2.0-x64-setup.exe, and "Publisher: Unknown publisher".
  2. Click Run anyway.

The installer then starts. Microsoft documents this for every unsigned app: the user has to choose Run anyway before it can run, and a company policy can remove that choice (SmartScreen reputation). If there is no Run anyway button on a work or school PC, ask your IT team.

Smart App Control blocks Chatcove

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Smart App Control is a Windows 11 feature that is turned on for some PCs. It is stricter than SmartScreen. When it cannot tell that an app is safe, it blocks any app that is unsigned, and there is no Run anyway. Microsoft says: "There is currently no way to bypass Smart App Control protection for individual apps" (What is Smart App Control?).

So while the installer is unsigned, a PC with Smart App Control turned on cannot install Chatcove. To see whether it is on, open Windows Security and go to App & browser control, then Smart App Control settings.

What we recommend: wait for the signed build rather than turning Smart App Control off. A signed app passes Smart App Control. Email hello@chatcove.app if you want us to tell you when it is out.

If you decide to turn it off anyway, know what that means:

  • It turns off this protection for every app on the PC, not just Chatcove.
  • Microsoft's page says you can turn it off in the Windows Security app, and that "Recent Windows updates allow Smart App Control to be re-enabled without requiring a clean installation." On a PC without those updates, turning it back on used to require resetting or reinstalling Windows. Check that your Windows is up to date first.
  • The same page says that if Smart App Control is off because of S mode or because optional diagnostic data is turned off, getting it back still needs a reset or reinstall.

Your antivirus flags Chatcove

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Microsoft Defender scans the installer when you open it, which can take a moment. Let it finish.

Antivirus programs sometimes flag a new, unsigned installer that they have not seen before, even when nothing is wrong with it. If yours quarantines Chatcove:

  1. Do not turn your antivirus off.
  2. Check the SHA-256 of the file you downloaded.
  3. Email hello@chatcove.app with the name of your antivirus and the name of the detection it shows, and we will follow it up.
  4. If you use Microsoft Defender, you can also report a wrong detection to Microsoft at the Microsoft Security Intelligence file submission page.

Microsoft pages this is based on

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Read on 20 October 2026. Microsoft may change them.

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