Download a word counter safely
Safe word counter downloads start at GitHub Releases for michaelbeijer/WordCounter. This page lists the checks that keep a Windows zip honest and keep adware download portal wrappers off your desk.
Official door: Releases. Repo: michaelbeijer/WordCounter.
Checklist before you extract
- Confirm the URL owner is michaelbeijer/WordCounter.
- Confirm the asset matches WordCounter-*-win64.zip.
- Confirm the tag is the one you intended to pin.
- Extract to a folder you control, then run WordCounter.exe.
- Prove one local batch before you trust billing exports.
What to refuse
- Portals that wrap the zip behind adware offers
- Renamed setup files that only rank for word counter
- Invented winget or brew commands that were not found
- Email attachments claiming to be the same build
Releases map: releases. Windows install: install on Windows.
Why package managers are missing
On this review date, microsoft/winget-pkgs had no WordCounter package, and Homebrew had no matching cask or formula. Document that gap instead of inventing ids. The safe Windows path remains the GitHub zip.
Chocolatey and Scoop lookups also did not resolve a package for this product during research. Keep those absences written on the machine ticket.
After download
Scan with your usual endpoint tools if policy requires it. Keep the zip until the first batch succeeds so you can re-extract if the folder was moved incompletely. Portable layouts break when only the exe is copied without bundled internals.
First hour: installed. Safety deeper dive: is it safe.
Shared desks and agencies
Write the Releases URL beside the OS version. Ban “quick mirror” bookmarks in shared browsers. When someone pastes a download link in chat, ask for the GitHub Releases URL before anyone extracts.
Lab images should pin filename and tag. After reimage, prove one word counter batch before calling the machine ready.
macOS and Linux caution
There is no prebuilt macOS or Linux asset on the current tag. A safe path there means following README source install notes, not downloading a random third-party binary that claims compatibility.
Source installs: macOS, Linux.
Safety here is boring: official Releases, named zip, proved batch. Anything else is optional risk you should document.
Related: home, GitHub, guides.
Desk notes that prevent drift
Write the GitHub Releases URL on the machine ticket beside the OS version and the zip filename you actually extracted. When a teammate later searches for word counter again, that note stops them from grabbing a random portal mirror. Agencies that skip the note usually rediscover adware download portal pages during a rush job.
Keep a tiny sample folder of non-confidential .docx and .pptx files for smoke tests after every update. Proving a word counter batch on known files is faster than debugging rates on a live client delivery. Store exports next to the sample set so you can compare CSV rows across versions.
If SmartScreen or another gate blocks the first launch, return to the official Releases URL instead of downloading a second copy from search ads. Duplicate folders are how desks end up quoting from the wrong build. Uninstall means deleting the extracted tree you no longer trust, then re-extracting once from the tag you pinned.
For macOS and Linux operators who still need counting, document that the current tag is source-only. A Python virtual environment with the README dependencies is honest. Pretending a missing dmg or AppImage exists is how install docs go stale and fail audits.
Finally, keep commercial tools available as a fallback when a client contract still names them. A local MIT word counter can sit beside AnyCount without forcing an overnight migration. Switch when the batch path and exports cover the jobs you actually bill.
Operational checklist for busy weeks
Before a rush delivery, confirm the word counter folder still launches, the sample batch still finishes, and exports still open in your spreadsheet tool. Rush weeks are when people grab the first search result and break a carefully pinned Releases habit.
After holidays or laptop swaps, re-read the machine ticket. If the zip path vanished, download again from GitHub Releases instead of restoring an unknown copy from a USB stick with no provenance. Provenance is part of counting quality when clients audit how numbers were produced.
Teach freelancers the difference between the product name WordCounter and the search phrase word counter. The phrase describes the job; the Releases asset is the install door. Mixing those ideas is how adware download portal pages win clicks.