// RUNNING KAPTAIN

Run Kaptain on macOS

macOS blocks unsigned downloads by default. Kaptain is not yet signed with an Apple Developer certificate, so this is the one extra step you need.

You will see: “Apple could not verify ‘kaptain’ is free of malware.” That is Gatekeeper reacting to the missing signature, not to anything found in the file.

Allow it to run

  1. Open Terminal and go to your downloads: cd ~/Downloads
  2. Make it executable: chmod +x kaptain (the download saves as kaptain on Apple Silicon and Intel alike).
  3. Clear the quarantine flag macOS attached to the download:
    xattr -d com.apple.quarantine kaptain
  4. Move it somewhere on your PATH: sudo mv kaptain /usr/local/bin/kaptain
  5. Start it: kaptain start

The download is saved as plain kaptain whichever Mac build you picked.

About double-clicking

Double-clicking opens Terminal and prints Kaptain's command list — that is expected on macOS; run kaptain start in that window afterwards. To get past Gatekeeper the first time: When macOS refuses, open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to Security, and choose Open Anyway next to the message about Kaptain. Recent macOS versions only show that button for a few minutes after the blocked attempt, so if it is not there, try opening the file again first.

Simplest option: the terminal installer downloads, smoke-tests, and installs to ~/.local/bin for you — no sudo, no quarantine step — curl -sL https://chynj.ca/install.sh | sh, then kaptain start.

What happens on first run

  1. Kaptain opens at localhost:8810 in your browser.
  2. The setup wizard walks seven steps: account, plan, models, install, project, network, done. First: create your CHYNJ account or sign in — a verification email follows (the account works right away, but the free trial waits for the verified address).
  3. On the plan step, start the free 3-day trial (no card — the clock starts only when you press it) or paste a licence key.
  4. Pick a model runtime. Kaptain detects Ollama, llama.cpp, and the Claude and Codex CLIs; for Ollama and llama.cpp it shows the exact install command for your machine, while the CLIs simply show whether they are present.
  5. Choose your project folder (the boundary Kaptain works inside), then pick network access: Local only (the default and most secure) or Tailscale for your other devices. The done screen shows your access code once — save it.

The trial is tied to this device, so reinstalling does not start a new one. Subscribing later keeps everything you set up here.

Stuck? [email protected].

The full picture: the Kaptain Setup Guide covers which build to pick for your machine, what each model runtime needs, and the whole first-run wizard.

// OTHER PLATFORMS

WindowsLinuxTerminal install