Windows Troubleshooting¶

Windows Defender Blocked the CLI¶

Windows Defender SmartScreen may flag the Hydron CLI installer or binary as unrecognized and block it from running. This happens because the executable is newly signed or not yet widely distributed — not because it is malicious.

You will see one of these messages:

• "Windows protected your PC" — SmartScreen blocked the installer
• "This app can't run on your PC" — Defender removed the binary after download
• A PowerShell error during irm ... | iex with no further output

Option 1 — Run Anyway (SmartScreen Prompt)¶

If SmartScreen shows the "Windows protected your PC" dialog:

1. Click More info
2. Click Run anyway

The installer proceeds normally.

Option 2 — Add a Defender Exclusion (Recommended for Persistent Use)¶

If Defender silently quarantines the binary after install, add an exclusion for the Hydron install directory.

Via Windows Security UI:

1. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection
2. Under Virus & threat protection settings, click Manage settings
3. Scroll to Exclusions → click Add or remove exclusions
4. Click Add an exclusion → choose Folder
5. Navigate to %LOCALAPPDATA%\hydron and select it
6. Click Select Folder

Via PowerShell (run as Administrator):

Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\hydron"

Then re-run the installer:

irm https://get.hydron.sh/cli/install.sh | iex

Option 3 — Disable Real-Time Protection Temporarily¶

Use this only if the exclusion approach does not work.

1. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection
2. Under Virus & threat protection settings, click Manage settings
3. Toggle Real-time protection to Off
4. Run the Hydron installer
5. Toggle Real-time protection back to On immediately after

Verify the Install¶

After completing any of the steps above, confirm Hydron is working:

hydron --version

If the command is not found, open a new PowerShell window — the PATH update from the installer may not have applied to your current session.