Standalone installation

Install the self-contained ptc executable from GitHub Releases.

A target machine does not need Elixir, Erlang, Python, Node.js, or a separately installed sandbox to run an application that needs no API key or an agent whose external tools are remote.

Download the release

Open GitHub Releases and download the macOS arm64 archive together with its adjacent .sha256 file. Release archives use this name:

ptc-VERSION-macos-arm64.tar.gz

Verify the checksum before extracting the archive:

shasum -a 256 -c ptc-VERSION-macos-arm64.tar.gz.sha256
tar -xzf ptc-VERSION-macos-arm64.tar.gz
./ptc/bin/ptc --version

Move the complete extracted ptc directory to a stable location and add its bin directory to your PATH. Keep the release tree together; the launcher uses the runtime and libraries beside it.

Artifact contract

A packaged archive is named ptc-VERSION-macos-arm64.tar.gz and ships with an adjacent SHA-256 file. It records its minimum supported macOS version in MINIMUM_MACOS.

macOS archives are ad-hoc signed. They are not Developer ID signed and are not notarized. A browser download carrying a quarantine flag may require you to remove that flag before the first run.

After extraction, verify the executable before using credentials:

ptc --version
ptc init hello-ptc
ptc run hello-ptc/ptc-project.json

External MCP servers retain their own runtime and installation requirements. The standalone executable removes PtcRunner's toolchain requirement; it does not silently bundle every server you may choose to connect.