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WikiMed by Kiwix (Linux/Windows/macOS) 3.8.4

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@Jaifroid Jaifroid released this 01 Feb 18:10
· 2 commits to Kiwix-JS-WikiMed since this release
v3.8.4-WikiMed
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Portable and installable builds for Electron and UWP

NEW: Please note that due to GitHub's max 2GB artefact size, the latest WikiMed by Kiwix apps can no longer be served from GitHub. We have therefore switched most of the app packages so they are downloaded from our AWS S3 Bucket, linked from the URLs below*

WikiMed by Kiwix is an offline medical encyclopaedia with content curated by Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine. Containing more than 73,000 medical and health-related articles, it makes medical knowledge available to people with limited Internet access or anyone who needs quick reference access to in-depth medical information. Other languages can be downloaded within the app.

WikiMed montage

These custom apps are packaged with the 15 December 2025 English-language WikiMed archive mdwiki_en_all-app_maxi_2025-11.zim. They will run on 32bit and 64bit editions of Windows or Linux (tested on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and OpenSUSE), and experimentally on macOS. The Windows builds are not compatible with Windows XP or Windows Vista. If you need an app compatible with those old platforms, get Kiwix JS Windows reader and download the latest WikiMed archive from within the app.

MS Store status: PUBLISHED
Winget status: IN CERTIFICATION

Please choose the correct version:

Installation Instructions - Electron

Windows

  • For the Windows Web installer, simply download and launch. It will select the correct architecture automatically and install itself, together with a shortcut in your shortcut menu. When you want to update the app, just install a new version over it (it will uninstall the old one for you). Please note that the Web installer needs Web access during the installation. If this is a problem, use the portable zip instead.
  • For the Windows Portable build, unzip the contents of the WikiMed-by-Kiwix-3.8.4-E.zip archive to any folder, or to a flash drive / thumb drive, and double click on Start WikiMed by Kiwix or Start WikiMed by Kiwix.bat, or open the kiwix-js-pwa-win32-ia32 folder and double click on WikiMed by Kiwix.exe.
  • For Windows 7/8/8.1, due to the deprecation of Chromium on these platforms, we provide a portable zip built with the last version of Electron that supported Chrome on Windows 7+. This is a 32bit package (but will run on 64bit). Unzip and use the launcher scripts as described above.
  • Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warning: If you get a Smartscreen notification when downloading an .exe, or on first launch of the zipped portable apps, follow instructions to "Run anyway" if you trust this site. Additionally, when you first download an .exe installer, you may get a warning in your downloads "Kiwix-JS-Electron isn't commonly downloaded". If you see this, click on the file and choose "Keep anyway". A second screen may then popup telling you the publisher. So long as it's kiwix, then click on "Show more" and allow the app. If you prefer, use one of the appx versions (ending .appx or .appxbundle) as this format runs in a secure, isolated container.

Linux

  • For the Linux portable builds, download and save the correct AppImage file anywhere (e.g. your Desktop), and double-click it. If it doesn't work, open a terminal and run chmod a+x WikiMed-by-Kiwix*.AppImage and then ./WikiMed-by-Kiwix*.AppImage.
    • On recent Linux (notably Ubuntu) you may need to install fuse2 by typing sudo apt install libfuse2 (see here).
    • On older Debian, you may need to add the --no-sandbox switch to the command (see electron/electron#17972 (comment)). This is not necessary on recent versions.
    • On OpenSUSE, you may need to install Chrome in order to get the dependencies necessary to run the AppImage (because Electron apps run Chrome internally). With older versions of OpenSUSE, you may additionally need to use these commandline switches: ./WikiMed-by-Kiwix*.AppImage --use-gl=disabled --disable-gpu-compositing,¹ but this is no longer necessary in recent versions.
  • For the Linux installable builds:
    • Debian/Ubuntu: download the correct .deb package. Open a terminal, cd to the directory containing the package, and type sudo apt-get update followed by chmod a+x ./kiwix-js-wikimed*.deb, then sudo apt install ./kiwix-js-wikimed*.deb. To run the app from the command line, rather than from its installed icon, simply type kiwix-js-wikimed in terminal. On Debian, if you receive the error libgbm.so.1: cannot open shared object file, please run sudo apt install libgbm-dev. On older versions of Debian, you may have to add --no-sandbox to the command line when running the app, i.e. kiwix-js-wikimed --no-sandbox. When you want to update, just install the new version, and it will install over the old version.
    • For OpenSUSE and Fedora, it may be easiest to extract the files from the AppImage instead of using the Deb package. The executable is kiwix-js-wikimed and on older versions of OpenSUSE you may need to add the commandline switches --use-gl=disabled --disable-gpu-compositing.¹

Apple Mac

  • For macOS builds: If you trust this Repository, download the correct ZIP file for your Mac architecture (Apple Silicon, Intel, or High Sierra/Mojave). Safari will automatically extract the ZIP file upon download, while Chrome and Firefox will download the ZIP file without extracting it. These builds are unsigned and require additional steps to run:
    1. Remove quarantine flag from ZIP (Chrome/Firefox users only - Safari users skip to step 2):
      • Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal)
      • Run the following command:
      xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/Downloads/WikiMed*.zip
      • Then extract the ZIP file by double-clicking it
    2. Safari users only: The app (WikiMed by Kiwix.app) will already be extracted in your Downloads folder, but you need to remove the quarantine flag (not necessary if you did Step 1): 
      xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/Downloads/WikiMed\ by\ Kiwix.app
    3. Launch the app by double-clicking it - it should now open normally
    • Architecture Selection:
      • Apple Silicon Macs (M1/M2/M3): Use the ARM64 version for optimal performance
      • Intel Macs: Use the x64 version
      • If unsure of your Mac's architecture, click the Apple menu > About This Mac - look for "Apple M1/M2/M3" (Apple Silicon) or "Intel" in the processor information
    • Security Note: These are experimental unsigned builds. macOS will initially block them for security reasons. The Terminal command above is required for first launch. Future launches will work normally after completing these steps once.
  • Troubleshooting: If you encounter issues, ensure you're using the correct architecture version for your Mac. The ARM64 version provides significantly better performance on Apple Silicon Macs. If you do not wish to install an unsigned app, please visit https://pwa.kiwix.org in a Chromium browser, install the PWA from Configuration, and then download the MDWiki or WikiMed archive in-app.

¹ With many thanks to Jay Midura for documenting the switches needed for OpenSUSE.

Release Notes

  • This app is packaged with the 15 December 2025 English-language WikiMed archive mdwiki_en_all-app_maxi_2025-11.zim. The packaged archive is located in the archives folder (where this is accessible). See the readme in that folder if you wish to add a different archive as the packaged ZIM;
  • You can download WikiMed in other languages from the Configuration page;
  • It supports dark mode, and opening different navigable windows by right-clicking or ctrl-clicking a link (see Configuration);
  • You can print by pressing Ctrl-P or using the print icon (but see Known Issues below). If local printers are not available (after clicking on More options...) then print to PDF and use another app to print;
  • You can open a new browsable window by middle-clicking, ctrl-clicking or long-pressing an article link (not available in every mode, see option in Configuration);
  • There is support for Full-Screen mode in most browsers and frameworks, and orientation locking in some mobile browsers (e.g. Android).
  • Electron versions of the app now support Full-Text searching;
  • In title search, you can use wildcards .* or .+ (this works best if you start the search with a normal alphanumeric string). You can include a more complex regular expression by enclosing it within (?:my_regular_expression). See Configuration -> About for more details and limitations;
  • You can search for any file in a ZIM by prefixing the namespace, e.g. I/isaac.*newton for images of Isaac Newton (or in no-namespace ZIMs C/isaac.*newton.*webp).

Known Issues

  • Printing: In Electron apps, no preview is available prior to printing: we recommend you print to PDF first and then print the PDF, or use the PWA instead for printing (which has print preview). Before printing, ensure all sections you want to print are open (if you closed them).
  • Please see https://github.com/kiwix/kiwix-js-pwa/issues for further known issues. If you find a new issue, please open a new issue on that page.

Instructions for sideloading (UWP)

You can sideload the app easily by typing winget install kiwix.wikimed in a Command Prompt or PowerShell terminal (Windows 10 or 11). This will download and install the Electron-based appx. If you want to install the legacy UWP appx based on EdgeHTML, then simply download the appx (see below) and double click it. The app installer should launch and will let you install it.

For Windows Mobile or for sideloading manually, please download KiwixWebAppWikiMed_3.8.4.0_AnyCPU.appx and the zipped PowerShell script from Assets below. Then follow the detailed instructions at https://github.com/kiwix/kiwix-js-pwa/tree/main/AppPackages#readme.

Assets 4
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