Skip to main content

Installation

The Tauri desktop app provides a GUI for settings management, QR code pairing, and automatic server lifecycle management.

macOS​

Homebrew (recommended — no security warnings):

brew install slopedrop/contop/contop

Manual download:

Download the .dmg from the Releases page, open it, and drag Contop to the Applications folder.

On first launch, macOS may show a security warning since the app is not code-signed. Right-click the app → Open → click Open in the dialog. Grant Accessibility permissions when prompted.

Windows​

Scoop (recommended — no SmartScreen warnings):

scoop bucket add contop https://github.com/slopedrop/scoop-contop
scoop install contop

Manual download:

Download and run the NSIS installer (.exe) from the Releases page. The installer registers Contop in the Start Menu and handles all dependencies including CUDA if an NVIDIA GPU is detected.

Windows SmartScreen may show a warning since the app is not code-signed. Click More info → Run anyway.

Linux​

Download from the Releases page:

# AppImage (any distro)
chmod +x contop-desktop_x.x.x_amd64.AppImage
./contop-desktop_x.x.x_amd64.AppImage

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo dpkg -i contop-desktop_x.x.x_amd64.deb

First-Launch Setup​

When you install via Homebrew, Scoop, or download the macOS/Linux build directly, Python dependencies are installed automatically on first launch. The app shows a progress overlay with download status — this takes a few minutes depending on your internet speed (~500 MB for CPU, ~2.5 GB with CUDA).

The Windows NSIS installer handles this during installation instead.

tip

All download links are available on the Releases page.

Mobile App​

iOS (TestFlight)​

  1. Join the Contop TestFlight beta (link on website)
  2. Install via TestFlight
  3. Open and grant camera + microphone permissions

Android (APK)​

  1. Download the latest APK from the releases page
  2. Enable "Install from unknown sources" if prompted
  3. Install and open
  4. Grant camera + microphone permissions
tip

Production builds are created via Expo EAS Build. The native WebRTC bridge requires bare workflow compilation — Expo Go is only for development.

Developer Setup (Server Only)​

If you want to run just the Python server without the desktop app:

Prerequisites​

  • Python 3.12+
  • uv package manager

Install and Run​

cd contop-server
uv sync
uv run uvicorn main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

The server starts on port 8000 and prints connection info to the console.

Optional: Docker for Sandbox Execution​

Install Docker Desktop to enable sandboxed execution of dangerous commands. The server auto-detects Docker and starts it if needed.

Without Docker, restricted commands run in a limited host subprocess with a 10-second timeout and 10 KB output limit.

CLI Proxy Setup (Subscription Mode)​

If you have a Claude Pro/Max, Gemini Pro, or ChatGPT Pro subscription, install the corresponding CLI to use it with Contop:

# Claude (Anthropic)
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
claude           # complete OAuth login

# Gemini (Google)
npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
gemini auth login  # authenticate with Google

# OpenAI (Codex)
npm install -g @openai/codex
codex auth         # authenticate with OpenAI

The desktop app manages the CLI proxy processes automatically. Enable subscription mode in the Settings panel.

info

You only need to install CLIs for providers whose subscription you want to use. API keys continue to work for all providers.

Related: System Requirements · Quick Start · Desktop App