IT and Security

Applies to Cancha 2.7.6.5 (released 2026-09-28) · Last reviewed 14 October 2026

1. Architecture and data handling

Cancha is a native 64-bit Windows program written in C++. It uses Qt for the user interface, VTK for 3D graphics and an embedded Python interpreter for statistics and machine learning. All of these are installed with Cancha and run on the user's computer. There is no Cancha server, no web service, no cloud processing and no AI or language-model service. Cancha imports data from files the user selects, such as CSV, Excel and DXF files. It has no database connectors and does not connect to company systems. Each project is a single .gmt file, which is a SQLite database. The user chooses where to save it.

Where Cancha stores data

2. Network behaviour

Cancha makes two kinds of connection: licence activation and validation, and crash reports that the user chooses to send.

A crash report holds a memory dump of the Cancha process, the current session log and Python log, the Cancha version, the graphics card name and driver version, and the name and email address the user entered when registering Cancha. A memory dump can contain fragments of whatever data was loaded when Cancha crashed. Transmin uses crash reports only to diagnose faults.

Links in the Help menu, such as the user manual, the download page and the video tutorials, open in the user's web browser. Cancha does not fetch them itself. Cancha 2.7.6.5 does not check for updates automatically. New versions are published at download.cancha.pe.

Coming in the next release: a check for new versions. About two seconds after start-up, Cancha will read https://download.cancha.pe/releases.json over HTTPS, through the system proxy. It sends nothing except a Cancha/<version> user-agent string. If the check fails, Cancha carries on without it. Setting the environment variable CANCHA_RELEASES_URL=off turns it off. This table will be updated when that release ships.

3. System requirements

Cancha checks the OpenGL version at start-up and stops with a message if OpenGL is older than 2.0. It is not supported on virtual machines, over Remote Desktop, or on Linux or macOS.

Administrator rights are needed to install Cancha, because it installs to Program Files and writes to HKLM. Cancha itself runs as a standard user and does not need administrator rights.

4. Installation and deployment

• Installer: one NSIS executable, Cancha-v<version>-win64-setup.exe (about 800 MB), from download.cancha.pe. It includes the Microsoft Visual C++ runtimes.
• Silent install: Cancha-v2.7.6.5-win64-setup.exe /S (capital S). The bundled runtimes install silently in the same pass.
• Install path: C:\Program Files\Cancha\
• Configuration Manager (SCCM): deploy as a Win32 application that runs as SYSTEM, so no UAC prompt appears. For the detection rule, use the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Cancha and its DisplayVersion value. DisplayVersion has three parts, so it cannot tell hotfix builds apart (2.7.6.4 and 2.7.6.5 both read 2.7.6). Check the file version of the Cancha executable if you need the exact build.
• Intune: wrap the installer as a Win32 app (.intunewin). Use the same /S command line and the same registry detection rule.
• Licence activation is not part of the silent install. Each computer needs its own activation key. The first time a user starts Cancha, it asks for the key allocated to that computer. See Licensing and activation.
• Uninstall: use Windows Settings > Apps, or the uninstaller entry under the uninstall registry key above. Before you reuse the licence on another computer, deactivate it from Cancha's License Wizard to free the seat.
• Antivirus: real-time scanning of project files can slow Cancha down badly. The deployment guide explains which folder exclusions to add.

Full guide: Enterprise deployment with Microsoft Configuration Manager in the Cancha user manual.

5. Licensing and activation

• Licence model: each licence is for one user and is fixed to one computer, for a 12-month term. Each user needs their own licence. Floating licences, dongles and short-term licences are not offered. Free academic licences are available to recognised universities, under separate terms.
• Online activation: Transmin emails an activation key. On first start, the License Wizard asks for it and activates against the licence service, which usually takes a few seconds. To see the activation key, computer key and expiry date, open About > License in Cancha.
• Data sent: the activation key and a computer identifier that the licence component generates, plus the licensee name entered at registration. No project data is sent.
• Validation: Cancha checks the licence with the service periodically, using HTTPS on port 443 or HTTP on port 80. If a licence is deactivated or cannot be validated, Cancha stays installed but will not run until it is reactivated. Cancha shows a renewal notice 30 days before the licence expires.
• Offline activation: not available for Cancha 2.7.6.5. Every computer needs to reach qlm1.net to activate. For air-gapped sites, contact us before you buy.
• Moving a licence: deactivate it in the License Wizard on the old computer, then activate it on the new one.

6. Third-party components

Main components shipped in the Cancha 2.7.6.x installer:

The installer also includes further Python packages and small utilities. We do not yet publish a machine-readable software bill of materials (SBOM). The full component list, with versions and licences, is available on request through the support request form.

7. Vendor details