A phone camera product sits on Scan documents vs CamScanner. Pulling a page from an all-in-one already on this PC sits on How to scan from printer to computer.

This is NAPS2. GPL-2.0. We did not make it. Official files live on GitHub Releases. The repo is cyanfish/naps2. This site does not host the installer. Skip Softonic, CNET, and unofficial wrappers.

The button on this page goes to Install on the home page. Trust notes sit on Scan documents download safe.

Install a scanner app on Windows

Paste this into Windows Terminal or Command Prompt:

winget install -e --id Cyanfish.NAPS2
Copy

If winget is missing, install App Installer from Microsoft, then paste again. Official Microsoft links only. GitHub Releases is the other path. For most PCs take naps2-8.3.2-win-x64.exe. ARM: naps2-8.3.2-win-arm64.exe. An msi, msix, and zip also exist on that release. Live tag observed: V8.3.2. File list sits on Scan documents releases. LICENSE sits on Scan documents GitHub.

How to use a scanner app

  1. Install NAPS2 with the command on this page, or naps2-8.3.2-win-x64.exe from GitHub Releases. ARM uses naps2-8.3.2-win-arm64.exe.
  2. Open NAPS2. You should get a window, not a browser tab.
  3. Power on the scanner or all-in-one already on this PC. Wait until Windows already sees it. This page does not add a printer.
  4. Scan a page. Put the sheet on the glass or in the feeder if the device has one, then start the scan in the app.
  5. Save as PDF, or save an image if you want a picture file. Stop if the glass is dirty or the page is blank. Clean the glass. Check that the sheet faces the right way. Scan again.

That list is the scanner app path. You are talking to hardware on this PC. You are saving a file here.

What a scanner app is on this PC

Windows can list a scanner and still leave you without a simple place to press scan and get a PDF. A scanner app is that place. NAPS2 is one GPL-2.0 program that does it in a desktop window. You install it, you open it, you pick the device Windows already knows, you pull a page, you save.

This is a Windows desktop scanner app that talks to a hardware scanner. A phone camera product is a different shape. Play Store listings are a different store. If you typed scanner app because you wanted a phone camera, the comparison sits on Scan documents vs CamScanner. Stay here when the scanner is a box next to the PC.

The app does not replace the scanner driver Windows already uses. If the device is missing from Windows, fix that on the hardware side before you blame the window. Power cable. USB cable. The device switched on. Then open NAPS2 again.

PDF or image

A PDF is the usual save when the page is a document you will email or archive. An image is the usual save when you want a picture file, or when a single photo of a form is enough. The scanner app will let you pick. We will not invent extra format names. Save once you have a page that is actually there.

A blank page is a stop. The glass may be dirty. The sheet may be face down when it should be face up, or the reverse, depending on the device. The feeder may have missed the page. Look at the preview. If it is white, do not save a stack of white PDFs. Clean, reseat, scan one page, then continue.

A dirty glass leaves streaks on every file after that. Wipe it. Wait for it to dry. Then scan. The scanner app will not know the glass is dirty. You will see it in the preview.

One page and a small stack

Start with one page you already know, a letter with text you can read. Confirm the file opens. Then scan the stack. A scanner app that has never produced one good page is a bad place to dump forty sheets.

If the device has a feeder, fan the paper. Staples jam. Paper clips jam. A curled receipt can sit on the glass instead. The app will scan what the hardware feeds. It will not unjam the tray for you.

Color versus black and white is a choice in the app when the project shows those options. We will not invent a preset name. If the page is a form with a stamp, look at the preview before you save a tiny file that dropped the stamp.

x64 versus ARM

They are different files. Do not install the x64 exe on ARM and hope. Do not install the ARM exe on x64. If you are not sure, check the processor, then pick the matching asset. Usual Windows pick is naps2-8.3.2-win-x64.exe. ARM uses naps2-8.3.2-win-arm64.exe. Live tag observed: V8.3.2. Read the release page. Do not invent a newer number here.

The msi, msix, and zip on that same release are still NAPS2. Pick one path. Do not run two installers of the same tag because the first one felt slow. Winget is the other honest path when the package is listed.

What this scanner app will not do

It will not capture a page with a phone camera. It will not add a printer in Windows. It will not clean a cracked scanner or invent a missing device. It will not host the installer.

Shared PCs and uninstall

A lab image may block winget and GitHub. Then this scanner app install is closed for that hour. Do not fetch a wrapper to get around policy. A borrowed laptop you return in twenty minutes is a bad place to leave naps2-8.3.2-win-x64.exe. Use what is already on the machine, or do not install.

Uninstall is Apps in Windows, or the project uninstall. Quitting the window is not uninstall. If you only wanted to try one page, quit first. If you want it gone, uninstall. Fetch again from GitHub Releases or winget, not from a wrapper.

First run

After install, open the app once before you hunt a second program named scanner. Power on the hardware. Confirm the device you hear or see is the one the window lists. USB, network, and an all-in-one on the desk are different endpoints. If you scan from the wrong device, you get the wrong page or nothing.

Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt on a first exe. Read the publisher. Prefer the GitHub asset. Winget skips some of that path because Microsoft already listed the package. If winget is missing, the exe is still honest. Do not fetch a second setup from search.

Updates live on GitHub Releases and on winget when the package updates. We do not invent a newer tag than V8.3.2 here. Read the release page. ARM still uses naps2-8.3.2-win-arm64.exe. x64 still uses naps2-8.3.2-win-x64.exe.

When the preview looks wrong

Skewed text often means the sheet moved, or it went in crooked. Straighten it. Scan again. A black bar at the edge often means the lid was open, or the page did not cover the glass. Close the lid. Align the corner the device marks.

A tiny file can mean the scan ran at a size you did not want. A huge file can mean a photo-style save of a simple letter. Look at the preview. Change the setting the app actually shows. We will not invent dpi numbers. If the letters are readable and the file opens, you can stop.

If nothing happens when you scan, the device may still be waking up. Wait. If it still does nothing, confirm it is on and already available to Windows. This scanner app article still does not add a printer in Settings. The hardware has to be there first.

How do I use a scanner app?

Install with winget install -e --id Cyanfish.NAPS2 or naps2-8.3.2-win-x64.exe (ARM: naps2-8.3.2-win-arm64.exe). Open NAPS2. Power on the scanner already on this PC. Scan a page. Save as PDF or an image. Stop if the glass is dirty or the page is blank. The install pointer is Install on the home page.

Is a scanner app the same as a phone camera scanner?

This page is the Windows desktop scanner app. A phone camera product sits on Scan documents vs CamScanner. They can both live in your life. They are different articles.

Why is my scan blank?

Dirty glass, a sheet facing the wrong way, or a feeder that missed the page. Clean. Reseat. Scan one page. Do not save a stack of white files.

Did you make this scanner app?

No. Cyanfish publishes NAPS2 under GPL-2.0. Official files live on GitHub Releases. This site only points at that page. We do not host the installer.