FAQ GENERAL - GoldenCheetah/GoldenCheetah GitHub Wiki

GENERAL

What is GoldenCheetah?

GoldenCheetah is primarily a program for cyclists that own a power meter. It allows them to record, track and review their performance against recorded data. It also allows you to ride your turbo and collect data as you ride.

If you do not have a power meter then some of the functionality will not be of use to you as a cyclist. But you can still record and track progress. We support HR based TRIMP metrics for a HR based PMC for example.

What is a good book or resource on training with power?

Unquestionably the bible for working with a power meter is Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Hunter Allan and Andy Coggan. Make sure you look at the 2nd edition since it is revised quite dramatically. Whilst it is heavily biased towards WKO+ as a software package most of the functions of note are also available in GoldenCheetah.

Where can I download the installer for GoldenCheetah ?

Stable releases are available from http://www.goldencheetah.org whilst the latest and greatest code build is available from https://github.com/GoldenCheetah/GoldenCheetah/releases. Development builds are for the brave, since they may contain bugs. In reality the development builds are a changing feast and often contain latest fixes too.

Note for Linux users: you may find GoldenCheetah in the application center of your Linux distribution, even when it may be convenient to install those versions please beware they may be outdated or lack some features s.t. the ability to connect to online services like Strava or Withings. If you want to use a feature complete updated GoldenCheetah on x64/amd64 machines, please download one of our official builds from the sites above. See below for supported distributions.

For which operating systems are binary distributions available?

We generate binary distributions for Windows, macOS and Linux on x64/amd64 architectures.

  • Release v3.6 and latest Windows binaries are targeted for Windows 10 64bit, they also run on Windows 11 64bit.
  • Release v3.6 macOS binaries are generated on macOS 10.14 and intended to be used in that version and newer ones. Latest macOS binaries were switched to macOS 11, since it is currently the oldest still supported version.
  • Release Linux builds are generated on Ubuntu 18.04 in a distribution neutral binary format (see https://appimage.org/) which works in most modern Linux distributions, and are currently being used on Ubuntu 18.04 or newer and derivatives s.t. pOP!_os and Mint, Debian Buster and Sid, Arch Linux and Manjaro derivative, Gentoo, OpenSUSE and Fedora. Latest Linux binaries were switched to Ubuntu 20.04, since it is currently the oldest still supported version.

How do I install the binary distribution on my system?

Windows installation notes:

  1. Run the installer, but do not install to the same folder as an existing install
  2. install the vc++ redistributable
  3. reboot before running All 3 steps are required.

MacOS installation notes:

  1. Open the DMG and drag-n-drop where you would like to install, likely Applications folder
  2. Authorize GoldenCheetah to run
  3. Don't run directly from the DMG.

Linux installation notes:

  1. Make it executable: $ chmod a+x GoldenCheetah_v3.6_x64.AppImage
  2. and run: $ ./GoldenCheetah_v3.6_x64.AppImage
  3. Don't use the version from your distro applications store, it is likely outdated or incomplete.

Note: you need libfuse2 in your system for the above method to work, otherwise you can self-extract to the current directory: $ ./GoldenCheetah_v3.6_x64.AppImage --appimage-extract and run from there: $ squashfs-root/AppRun

Where can I get the source code?

The GoldenCheetah source code is hosted on github and can be cloned using the following url; git://github.com/GoldenCheetah/GoldenCheetah.git

I am a triathlete. Is GoldenCheetah appropriate for me?

While the majority of features in GoldenCheetah are cycling-related, since v3.2, the application has support for tracking running and swimming performance: Pace Zones, aerobic decoupling, GOVSS, SwimScore, xPace, etc. See the FAQ on Running & Swimming

Is there a mailing list?

The mailing list for GoldenCheetah users is maintained via Google Groups at http://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#forum/golden-cheetah-users the first post you make is moderated and may take a while to appear. Once your first post is made you can make future posts without moderation.

How do I report a bug or request a new feature?

We use Github issues to record bugs and feature requests. You will need to create an account on github and then post a new request or bug at http://www.github.com/GoldenCheetah/GoldenCheetah/issues.

We have a users forum and a developers forum on Google Groups for technical support and questions. If a feature doesn’t seem to work according to your expectations, or you have problems specific to your system, devices or configuration, please be sure you are using the latest build, read the documentation and discuss in the corresponding forum, a GitHub issue can be created later, when/if bugs are confirmed.

How can I contribute?

Patches are most welcome via the mailing list or a pull request in github. Of equal importance is the timely reporting of bugs and help in testing fixes. We also desperately need volunteers to translate into non-English languages and help with writing documentation including the maintenance of this FAQ.

If you want to help, please see the contributing guidelines.

Can I donate to the project?

We are a free software project. Free as in freedom. Our software is developed by a community. We do not have any facility to collect funding or spend it! We would rather you spread the word if you think our software is good, and maybe help out with documentation, tutorials or translations if you can.

Can I use GoldenCheetah Train on a Raspberry-Pi?

There are no official binaries for it and no core team developer is working on this platform, notwithstanding enthusiastic user have successfully build GoldenCheetah on some versions for dedicated trainer user, and contributed their experiences in Building GoldenCheetah on Raspberry-Pi, feel free to use that document, discuss at the forum, and contribute to keep it updated.