# Basic Setup

## Installing Northstar using an installer (recommended):

Head over to the installer page and pick one of the existing installers. All of these take care of both installing and updating Northstar.

{% content-ref url="northstar-installers.md" %}
[northstar-installers.md](northstar-installers.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


## Manual installation:

{% embed url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK4pV-AHOHM" %}

Firstly, note that the Northstar client is only available on PC and requires you to **both own the game and have it installed**.

1. Download the latest version of Northstar from the [releases](https://github.com/R2Northstar/Northstar/releases) page
2. Copy all the files in the newly downloaded zip folder to your `Titanfall2` folder. This can vary depending on whether you purchased the game off Steam or Origin, and if you set a custom folder for game installs.
   * **For Steam** - Right click _Titanfall 2_ > Open _Properties_ > Click _Local Files_ > Click _Browse_\
     Usually: `C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Titanfall2`
   * **For Origin** - To find the location of your Origin library go to _Origin_ -> _Application Settings_ -> _Installs & Saves_ -> _On your Computer_ -> _Game Library Location_\
     Go to the directory mentioned there using File Explorer and open the `Titanfall2` folder.\
     Usually: `C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Titanfall2`
   * **For EA App** - To find the location of your EA library go to _Settings_ -> _Download_\
     Go to the directory under "Install location" using File Explorer and open the `Titanfall2` folder.\
     Usually: `C:\Program Files\EA Games\Titanfall2`
3. Launch `NorthstarLauncher.exe` to start Northstar
   * After launching for the first time, you'll be greeted with a popup requesting to authenticate to the master server. Click _Yes_ (This can be changed in the mods menu later if desired)\
     ![Authentication Agreement](/docs/images/titleagreement.png)
4. Select _Launch Northstar_\
   ![Launch Northstar](/docs/images/titlelaunchnorthstar.png)
5. From the multiplayer menu, you can use the server browser to select and join any of the public community hosted servers.\
   ![Server Browser](/docs/images/lobbyserverbrowser.png)

Should you notice any issues/warnings/errors while running Northstar, check the troubleshooting page.

{% content-ref url="troubleshooting.md" %}
[troubleshooting.md](troubleshooting.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

## Updating Northstar

To update, simply follow the same process you used to install Northstar using the newest zipped release of Northstar. When copying the new files make sure to select "_Overwrite_".\
Note that if you modified some files like `ns_startup_args.txt`, these will also be overwritten. If you want to keep the changes you made make sure to make a copy of these files beforehand and change them back after applying the update.

## Additional Stuff

Since Northstar doesn't launch directly through Origin or Steam, any startup arguments provided in either launcher won't transfer over. You'll need to add them to the file `ns_startup_args.txt`, which should be in the same folder as you extracted the Northstar files to.

If Northstar doesn't appear to be installed, or you have issues entering the lobby, try running vanilla files. It's hard to say what VPK mods could cause issues with Northstar at the moment, so it'd probably be easiest just to try running unmodded.

Northstar can be launched through Steam or Origin using the "add a game" feature. This allows you to register any .exe as a game. To set up Northstar, navigate to your Titanfall 2 folder and choose `NorthstarLaucher.exe`.

![steamaddgame](/docs/images/steam-addgame.png) ![originaddgame](/docs/images/origin-addgame.png)



## Linux

Install instructions for [Linux can be found here](using-northstar/playing-on-linux.md).

## SteamDeck

Install instructions for [SteamDeck can be found here](using-northstar/playing-on-linux.md#steamdeck).