Confluence install ping-pongs between two different archives
Asked by yogibimbi:

I just downloaded [atlassian-confluence-7.4.1-x64.bin](https://product-downloads.atlassian.com/software/confluence/downloads/atlassian-confluence-7.4.1-x64.bin) from the Atlassian site to install on my Mac.

When I double-click on this, it unpacks into atlassian-confluence-7.4.1-x64.bin.cpgz.

When I double-click that, it unpacks into atlassian-confluence-7.4.1-x64 2.bin

When I double-click that, it unpacks into atlassian-confluence-7.4.1-x64 2.bin.cpgz.  

I am sure I can keep doing this until the cows come home or a wormhole opens or I am running out of space on my SSD, whatever happens first. But, at some point, I would like to be able to actually have a Confluence installer to run, and there are also more entertaining ways to waste my time, so I would be thankful if you could point out to me what is happening here?


Answers:
author: Shannon S
body: Hello [@yogibimbi](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1180629)

Happy to help you with this.

The reason this is not working for you is because a .BIN file is an executable, and not an archive.

You likely received this version when you chose **Linux 64 bit** as your installation method from our [Confluence Server Download page](https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence/download). Although you mentioned you're on macOS and therefore won't be installing Confluence on Linux, you can read more about how to execute the BIN by reading about it from our document: [Installing Confluence on Linux](https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/installing-confluence-on-linux-143556824.html). This is for your future reference, since .BIN files in general can be executed on macOS, installation using .BIN is not the supported installation path for Confluence on macOS.

Since you want test your Confluence installation on macOS, you need to choose the**.tar.gz** option instead. You can review [Installing a Confluence Trial](https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/installing-a-confluence-trial-838416249.html) for information on that.
> Please be aware that macOS is not a supported operating system for a production Confluence site.
>
> You can install Confluence on a Windows or Linux operating system.
>
> Apple Mac isn't supported for production sites, but if you're comfortable setting up applications on your Mac from scratch, you can download the `tar.gz` file and follow the instructions for [Installing Confluence on Linux from Archive File](https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/installing-confluence-on-linux-from-archive-file-255362363.html) as the process is similar.

Once you've finished testing, you will need to migrate to a supported platform when you're ready to move to production. (Reference: [Migrating Confluence Between Servers](https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/migrating-confluence-between-servers-184150.html)).

I hope that clarifies things for you, but do let me know if you have any further questions. I've installed Confluence a few times on my own MacBook, so I'm happy to help if you run into any other problems.

Take care,

Shannon

comments: author: yogibimbi
body: Hi Shannon, I did not want to test Confluence on my Mac. I used to have an installation running, but for some reason, at some point it stopped, and now when trying to run it (I didn't have an urgent need for a while), I couldn't even find the installation, maybe at some point I had it deleted. Anyway, I bought a licence, thinking it would just be a matter of reinstalling it cleanly. Does that have any bearing on the type of installation I will have to run? Or should I use the test .tar.gz in any case?


author: Shannon S
body: Hello,

macOS isn't supported as an installation environment for Confluence, which is why I mentioned it should only be used for testing. To answer your question, yes, you will still want to download the .tar.gz version of the installation file.

If you need to recover your old data, you'll need access to either the home directory of the previous installation, a backup, or your Confluence database. The license itself will not recover your site files.

Here's an example of how restoring a site backup on installation would work:

* [Confluence Setup Guide\> Production Installation: restore data from backup](https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/confluence-setup-guide-135691.html#ConfluenceSetupGuide-restore)

See also [Restoring a Site](https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/restoring-a-site-152034.html) and the related content in that sidebar for other restoration scenarios.

Once you get your site restored on macOS, if you want to continue using it past the evaluation period, then you will want to move over to a Linux or Windows server.

Regards,

Shannon