System Requirements

Nexus ships for three desktop platforms. Each build is a single native binary, engineered to stay light while it runs; there are no formal minimum CPU or RAM figures, and actual usage scales with how many devices and effects you drive.

Windows

  • 64-bit Windows 10, version 2004 (build 19041) or newer, including Windows 11.
  • x64 processors. The installer (Nexus-Setup.exe) refuses 32-bit systems.
  • Administrator rights for the install: Nexus registers a Windows service so monitoring, cooling, and lighting run in the background with full hardware access. Installation is a single elevation prompt.

Windows is the most complete platform: it is also the only one where Nexus updates itself in place (see Updating Nexus).

macOS

  • An Apple Silicon Mac (M-series). There is no Intel build.
  • Ships as Nexus.dmg, a standard drag-to-Applications disk image.

Linux

  • x86-64 (AMD64) only; no ARM64 build.
  • A mainstream glibc-based distribution: Ubuntu/Debian, Fedora, Arch, openSUSE, Pop!_OS, Mint, and similar. musl-based distros such as Alpine are not supported.
  • systemd, and sudo for the install: Nexus installs as a root system daemon for full hardware access (motherboard PWM, raw i2c/hidraw), with no udev rules or group membership to manage.
  • Ships as Nexus-Linux-x64.tar.gz with an install script. Immutable distros in the Bazzite/rpm-ostree family work, since only /opt and /etc are written.

Note

A few features are Windows-only or unavailable on Linux; for example, the in-game FPS overlay and the floating desktop-widget overlay do not exist on Linux.

Phones, tablets, and browsers

The desktop dashboard runs inside the app. For remote and phone use, the panel runs in any modern browser; no install is required on the phone. There are also companion apps for iOS and Android. Remote access away from home needs an internet connection; everything that touches your hardware runs locally and works offline.

Not sure your devices are covered?

System requirements and device support are different questions. Nexus runs on any machine that meets the list above; what it can monitor and light up depends on your hardware. Browse the devices catalog, or install Nexus and open its searchable Supported Devices list, which highlights hardware it detects plugged in right now.