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Supported Platforms

Downloadable packages for Zui are available that run on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Our current platform recommendations on which to run Zui:

  • Windows
    • Windows 10 or newer
    • Windows Server 2019 or newer
  • macOS
    • macOS Big Sur 11.7.2 or newer (see below for hardware considerations)
  • Linux
    • Ubuntu 20.04 or newer
    • Debian 10.0.0 or newer
    • Fedora 29 or newer
    • Rocky 8.3 or newer
    • CentOS 8.0 1905 (deprecated)

The sections below provide details regarding these guidelines and how they are established.

Per-Platform Details​

Windows​

Zui's test automation runs on Windows Server 2019 and therefore this is the platform on which we are best able to ensure quality and prevent regressions. Microsoft support statements simultaneously target both Windows 10 and Windows Server, so our quality expectations between Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 are equivalent. Several Zui developers also run Windows 10 desktops and regularly perform ad hoc testing with it to reproduce reported issues.

Basic smoke testing has also validated that Zui appears to work on Windows 8.1 as well. Similar testing has also confirmed that Zui does not work on Windows 7. Therefore we do not recommend attempting to run Zui on releases older than Windows 8.1.

macOS​

Software​

Zui's test automation runs on Monterey 12 and therefore this is the macOS version on which we are best able to ensure quality and prevent regressions. Several Zui developers also run macOS Ventura 13.1 and regularly perform ad hoc testing with it to reproduce reported issues.

Basic smoke testing has also validated that Zui appears to work on macOS Big Sur 11.7.2 as well. We do not recommend attempting to run Zui on macOS releases older than macOS Big Sur 11.7.2.

Hardware​

The build procedure for Zui's macOS releases creates binaries intended to run on the Intel-based Mac hardware that make up many of the Macs in use today. Zui releases are not yet available that are built specifically for the recently-released M1-based hardware. However, Apple's Rosetta 2 makes it possible to run Intel-targeted binaries on M1-based Macs, and smoke testing has indicated that current Zui releases can leverage this to run on M1-based Macs.

Due to issues of availability, our automated tests for macOS run today on Apple hardware that is Intel-based but not M1-based. Therefore if you have your choice of Mac hardware platform, Intel-based is more strongly recommended. However, as we know the M1-based Macs will become more popular in the future, please open issues for problems you experience with Zui on M1-based Macs as you would any other. If we should begin to accumulate bugs that are specific to M1-based hardware, this will help guide the prioritization of our goal to deliver M1-specific builds (zui/1266).

Linux​

Zui's test automation runs on Ubuntu 20.04 (.deb package) and therefore this is the Linux distribution on which we are best able to ensure quality and prevent regressions.

An .rpm package is also provided that is periodically smoke tested on Rocky 8.3. The Rocky Linux site explains that Rocky seeks to maintain the RHEL-compatibility mission formerly championed by CentOS. Therefore the Rocky versions listed in this article provide the basis of the Zui supportability expectation for the equivalent RHEL version.

Basic smoke testing has also validated the oldest release on which Zui appeared to work for each common distribution, as follows:

  • Ubuntu 20.04
  • Debian 10.0.0
  • Fedora 29
  • Rocky 8.3
  • CentOS 8 1905 (deprecated)

Therefore we do not recommend attempting to run Zui on distributions older than those listed above.

Establishing Platform Supportability​

The determination of the specific versions of platforms for which we can set expectations of quality are based on multiple factors. These include:

The following sections provide more detail, along with guidance if you feel strongly about trying to make Zui run on a non-recommended platform.

Development Tools​

There are two primary development tools on which Zui depends: Electron and Go. Their support statements cite older platform releases than the Zui-specific ones cited above. Therefore the recommendations at the top of this page should be followed.

Automated Testing​

The most extensive testing of Zui is provided via automation that is run on GitHub Actions. Specific platform versions of hosted runners are referenced in the automation for Zui's continuous integration tests and release workflow.

Smoke Testing​

Due to the large number of permutations of platforms (especially as relates to Linux distributions), it is currently infeasible to provide the same exhaustive automated coverage on every version of every possible platform. Occasionally, manual "smoke testing" has been performed on a wider number of platforms to confirm basic functionality. Such a smoke test consists of the following:

  • Install the base platform while accepting the defaults on any offered install-time config options
  • Install the Zui app using the standard package install procedure for the platform
  • Import a test pcap into Zui and confirm the bundled Zeek and Suricata both produce records from it
  • Click the Packets button to extract a slice from the pcap into Wireshark

This exercise was most recently performed in August, 2022 in preparation for Zui release v1.0.0. For more details on previously-performed smoke testing exercises, review zui/1263, zui/2481, and zui/2482.

While we welcome you to open an issue about any problem you experience with Zui regardless of platform version, the priority of the core Zui development team is to maintain stability and introduce new features on the modern platforms that are most widely used. Therefore we may be limited in our ability to provide timely fixes (or any fix at all) for platform versions older/different from those recommended above.

We also understand that certain users may have a strong motivation to make Zui work on other platforms. As Zui is open source, community members are welcomed to perform their own research regarding such platforms and contribute advanced guides that may be of use to other users seeking to run on the same platform. Before embarking on such an effort, we recommend opening an issue to check if we're aware of any existing efforts regarding that platform.