Install the portable Oobee
What the portable Oobee is
The portable Oobee is a zip download that bundles Oobee with the tools it needs: Node.js, a Java runtime, VeraPDF for PDF scans, and the Playwright browser files. The Oobee shell script adds these tools to your terminal path for the current session only, so nothing is installed system-wide. The portable download is the recommended way to run the Oobee CLI.
To install Node.js, Java and VeraPDF yourself, refer to Install Oobee manually.
Prerequisites
- Windows 10 (64-bit, a supported version) or Windows 11, or macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
- Google Chrome installed.
- Internet access for the one-time download.
- An administrator account is recommended.
Step 1: Download the portable copy
Download the zip file for your system, then extract it:
- Windows: oobee-portable-windows.zip
- macOS: oobee-portable-mac.zip
On Windows, right-click the zip file and select Extract All. On macOS, double-click the zip file, and a folder named oobee-portable-mac appears in Finder.
Step 2: Open the Oobee shell
Open the shell script in the extracted folder:
- Windows: double-click
oobee_shell.cmd. If a Windows Firewall prompt appears and you have administrator rights, select Allow access. Select Cancel if you do not. - macOS: right-click
oobee_shell.command, select Open, then select Open at the unidentified developer prompt.
A terminal window opens and prints lines that start with INFO while it prepares your session. The last line is a prompt in the extracted folder.
Step 3: Run Oobee
In the terminal window, go to the oobee folder and start the interactive scan:
cd oobee
npm startOobee prints a banner with its version and asks “What would you like to scan?”. To scan with command-line options instead of prompts, refer to Run a scan.
Constraints and limitations
| Constraint | Detail |
|---|---|
| Shell session | The tool paths apply only to the terminal window opened by the shell script. Open the shell script again for each new session. |
| Intel-based Macs | Apple has discontinued support for developing Intel-based apps in future macOS versions. Oobee will stop supporting Intel-based Macs when that happens. |
| Download source | Download Oobee only from the official links on the Oobee CLI page. Other sources may pose risks. |
Related content
- Get started with Oobee — run your first scan.
- Install Oobee manually — use your own Node.js, Java and VeraPDF.
- Troubleshooting — fix start-up errors.
