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System Requirements

IPED requires Java 11 with JavaFX. We recommend using Liberica OpenJDK 11 Full JDK which includes JavaFX.

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Minimum Requirements

  • Java: JDK 11 + JavaFX (e.g., Liberica OpenJDK 11 Full JDK)
  • Build Tool: Apache Maven 3.x
  • Version Control: Git
  • RAM: 4GB minimum (8GB+ recommended for large cases)
  • Disk Space: 2GB for installation + space for case processing

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Supported Platforms

Windows

Windows 10/11 (64-bit)

Linux

Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, CentOS (64-bit)

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Prerequisites

1

Install Java JDK 11 with JavaFX

Download and install Liberica OpenJDK 11 Full JDK from bell-sw.comSet JAVA_HOME environment variable:
export JAVA_HOME=/path/to/liberica-jdk-11
export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
Verify installation:
java -version
# Should show: OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11.x.x)
2

Install Apache Maven

Download Maven from maven.apache.orgExtract and add to PATH:
# Verify Maven installation
mvn -version
# Should show: Apache Maven 3.x.x
3

Install Git

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install git

# CentOS/Fedora
sudo yum install git

# Windows: Download from git-scm.com

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Building from Source

The default master branch is the development branch and may be unstable. For production use, checkout a release tag after cloning.

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Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/sepinf-inc/IPED.git
cd IPED

# List available release tags
git tag -l

# Checkout latest stable release (e.g., 4.3.0)
git checkout 4.3.0

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Build with Maven

mvn clean install
The build process will:
  1. Download all dependencies (first build may take 10-15 minutes)
  2. Compile all IPED modules:
    • iped-api
    • iped-utils
    • iped-parsers
    • iped-viewers
    • iped-carvers
    • iped-geo
    • iped-engine
    • iped-app
  3. Package the application
  4. Generate release in target/release/ folder
Successful build output:
[INFO] BUILD SUCCESS
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Total time: 5:23 min

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Locate Built Application

After successful build: 
cd target/release/iped-4.4.0-SNAPSHOT
ls -la
The release folder contains:
  • iped.sh / iped.bat - Processing launcher
  • iped-search-app.sh / iped-search-app.bat - Analysis GUI launcher
  • lib/ - Java libraries
  • tools/ - External tools (Sleuthkit, ImageMagick, etc.)
  • conf/ - Configuration files
  • plugins/ - Optional plugins

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Linux-Specific Dependencies

On Linux, you must build The Sleuthkit and install additional dependencies.

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Install Build Dependencies

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y \
  build-essential \
  autoconf \
  automake \
  libtool \
  pkg-config \
  libafflib-dev \
  libewf-dev \
  libvhdi-dev \
  libvmdk-dev \
  zlib1g-dev \
  libsqlite3-dev \
  openjdk-11-jdk \
  libjavafx-base-java \
  libjavafx-controls-java \
  libjavafx-graphics-java \
  tesseract-ocr \
  tesseract-ocr-eng

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Build Sleuthkit

# Download and build Sleuthkit 4.12.0
wget https://github.com/sleuthkit/sleuthkit/releases/download/sleuthkit-4.12.0/sleuthkit-4.12.0.tar.gz
tar -xzf sleuthkit-4.12.0.tar.gz
cd sleuthkit-4.12.0

./configure --prefix=/usr/local
make
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig

# Verify installation
tsk_recover -V

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Install Optional Dependencies

# For advanced image processing
sudo apt-get install imagemagick graphicsmagick

# For video processing
sudo apt-get install mplayer ffmpeg

# For additional OCR languages
sudo apt-get install tesseract-ocr-por tesseract-ocr-spa tesseract-ocr-fra
For complete Linux setup instructions, see the IPED Linux Wiki.

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Configuration

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Verify Installation

Test the installation: 
cd target/release/iped-4.4.0-SNAPSHOT
./iped.sh --help
Expected output: 
Usage: iped [options]
  Options:
    -d, -data       input data (can be used multiple times)
    -o, -output     output folder
    -profile        use a processing profile: forensic, pedo, fastmode, blind, triage
    --help          display this help
    ...

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Memory Configuration

For large cases, adjust memory settings in LocalConfig.txt: 
# Maximum heap memory (MB)
# Default auto-detects available RAM
# Manually set for large cases:
maxJavaMemory = 16384

# Number of processing threads
# Default: number of CPU cores
numThreads = 8

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Updating IPED

To update to a newer version: 
cd IPED
git fetch --tags
git checkout <new-version-tag>
mvn clean install

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Troubleshooting

Increase Maven memory:
export MAVEN_OPTS="-Xmx2048m"
mvn clean install
Ensure you’re using JDK 11 with JavaFX included (like Liberica Full JDK), or add JavaFX modules manually:
# Download JavaFX SDK from openjfx.io
# Add to VM options: --module-path /path/to/javafx-sdk/lib --add-modules javafx.controls,javafx.fxml
Ensure Sleuthkit is installed and in library path:
sudo ldconfig
ldconfig -p | grep sleuthkit
Some tests may fail in certain timezones. Skip tests:
mvn clean install -DskipTests
For more troubleshooting, see the IPED Troubleshooting Wiki.

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Next Steps

Quick Start

Process your first case with IPED

Configuration

Customize IPED settings and profiles

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