Install the Contenox CLI on Windows, macOS and Linux

To install the Contenox CLI, install the Contenox desktop app and add the contenox-runtime command from its File menu. If you only want the command line, for a server or a CI job, one command installs it on its own. Either way, the CLI uses the same providers, settings and sessions as the app.

With the desktop app

Windows: run the installer from the download section, open Contenox, and choose File → Install ‘contenox-runtime’ Command in PATH. That writes a contenox-runtime.cmd launcher into %APPDATA%\ContenoxHarness\bin; the dialog then tells you to add that folder to your PATH, which the app does not do for you. Add it once in PowerShell:

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('Path', $env:Path + ';' + $env:APPDATA + '\ContenoxHarness\bin', 'User')

Then open a new terminal and check:

contenox-runtime --version

The Microsoft Store build skips both steps: the Store registers contenox and contenox-runtime as app execution aliases when it installs the app.

Linux: the .deb and .rpm packages install the command to /usr/bin/contenox-runtime.

macOS: open Contenox, then choose File → Install ‘contenox-runtime’ Command in PATH. It links the command into ~/.local/bin. If that folder isn’t on your PATH yet, the dialog tells you; add it to your shell profile.

The new-terminal trap: a terminal that was already open before the installation still has the old PATH. If contenox-runtime isn’t found, close the terminal and open a new one.

Without the app

For servers, containers and CI, install only the command line.

On Windows, in PowerShell:

irm https://contenox.com/install.ps1 | iex

On macOS or Linux:

curl -fsSL https://contenox.com/install.sh | sh

The script downloads the newest release for your system, checks it against the release’s SHA256SUMS, and stops without installing anything if they don’t match. On Windows it installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Contenox\bin and adds that folder to your user PATH. On macOS and Linux it installs to ~/.local/bin, and tells you the line to add to your shell profile if that folder isn’t on your PATH yet.

To install a specific version, set CONTENOX_VERSION first, for example CONTENOX_VERSION=v1.0.0-rc.5. To choose the folder, set CONTENOX_INSTALL_DIR.

Releases have no build for Intel Macs, so the script stops there with a message. Build from source or use an Apple Silicon Mac.

As with any script you pipe into a shell, you can read it first: open the address in your browser.

Download it yourself

Every release on GitHub has a single binary per system, and a SHA256SUMS file to check it against:

Check the download before you run it. On Windows:

(Get-FileHash .\contenox-runtime-windows-amd64.exe -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLower()

and compare the result with the line for that file in SHA256SUMS. On macOS or Linux, with both files in the same folder:

sha256sum --check --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS

On macOS, use shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS instead, and ignore the lines for other systems. Then rename the file to contenox-runtime (contenox-runtime.exe on Windows), make it executable on macOS and Linux with chmod +x, and put it in a folder on your PATH.

Check that it works

contenox-runtime --version
contenox-runtime doctor

doctor checks your default provider and model, the registered backends, and whether they answer. If you set up providers in the desktop app, the CLI already uses them. If not, run the setup wizard:

contenox-runtime setup

Then try a first task in a project folder:

contenox-runtime "explain what this project does"

Next steps

• Command reference: every command and the important flags
• Release notes with AI: an example of an agent in a script
• AI agent permissions: what the CLI’s agents may do without asking