Portable version

New in 1.2.0.

HADA without installing it: unpack a folder and run it. No administrator rights, nothing registered with Windows, and everything it writes stays in that folder. Good for trying HADA out, for a computer where you may not install software, or for carrying it along.

Get it running

1. Download HADA-<version>-x64-portable.zip (Intel and AMD) or HADA-<version>-arm64-portable.zip from the releases page.
2. Before unpacking, open the ZIP file's Properties and tick Unblock, if that box is there. Otherwise Windows marks every file in it as downloaded from the internet and may warn when you start it.
3. Unpack it wherever you may write, for example your Documents folder. You get one folder, HADA.
4. Start Start HADA.cmd. The HADA icon appears in the notification area and the window opens.
5. Set up a connection as described under First setup. There is no Unlock editing here: the settings are yours to change.

To stop it, choose Exit in the icon's menu, or start Stop HADA.cmd.

What is in the folder

HADA.portable	The file that makes the folder a portable copy. Without it the programs behave as if installed
service\\, tray\\	The two programs, the same as in the installer
data\\	Created on first start: your settings, the logs, your preferences, the dashboard window's sign-in. Copy it to keep or move your configuration
Start HADA.cmd, Stop HADA.cmd	Start and stop

How it differs from the installed version

	Installed	Portable
The service	A Windows service running as SYSTEM, started with Windows	An ordinary program running as you, started and stopped by the tray app
With nobody signed in	Keeps reporting	Not running
Changing settings	Needs an administrator	Needs nobody's permission
Custom PowerShell sensors and buttons	Run as SYSTEM, without a desktop	Run as you
Start with Windows	On, for every user	Off until you turn it on, on the Settings page; then for you only
Updating	Download and install in the window	Replace the service and tray folders
Saved passwords	Readable by the service on this computer	Readable by your account on this computer
Several users	The one at the computer is reported	Each user would run their own copy

Sleep, hibernate, shut down, restart, lock and everything on the desktop work as in the installed version, with your account's rights.

Updating

1. Exit HADA.
2. Unpack the new ZIP somewhere else.
3. Replace the service and tray folders with the new ones. Leave data alone.
4. Start it again.

The window says when a newer version exists, if the update check is on; it cannot replace its own folders.

Moving and removing

Exit HADA first. To move it, move the folder; your settings travel in data. Saved passwords and tokens do not: they are encrypted for your account on this computer, and have to be entered again on another one.

To remove it, delete the folder. Two things are outside it, both in your own part of the registry:

• If you turned Start with Windows on, turn it off before moving or deleting the folder. It is an entry in your startup programs that points at the folder.
• Windows needs to be told who shows HADA's notifications. That is one small key, HKCU\\Software\\Classes\\AppUserModelId\\HADA.Tray.P…, which you can delete.

Next to an installed HADA, or another copy

A portable copy shares nothing with an installed HADA or with another portable copy in a different folder: each has its own settings, its own pipe between its programs and its own tray icon. They can run side by side. What they must not share is the Device ID on the Connections page: two HADAs reporting to the same Home Assistant under one ID throw each other off the broker.

From the command line

Command	Effect
tray\\HADA.Tray.exe	Start, and open the window
tray\\HADA.Tray.exe --background	Start without opening the window
tray\\HADA.Tray.exe --exit	Tell the running copy to exit, which also stops its service