How to Install CRT

This guide covers every method for installing CRT Terminal: the one-line install script, building from source, and creating a macOS app bundle. By the end you will have a working CRT installation with its configuration directory set up.

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Method 1: One-line install script (recommended)

The install script downloads a pre-built release from GitHub, installs it to the right location for your platform, and sets up ~/.config/crt/ with default themes and fonts.

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/colliery-io/crt/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

The script requires curl and tar. It detects your OS and CPU architecture automatically.

What the script does

On macOS:

1. Downloads crt-VERSION-macos-ARCH.tar.gz from GitHub Releases.
2. Installs crt.app to /Applications/.
3. Removes the macOS quarantine attribute (may prompt for your password).
4. Copies themes, fonts, and config.toml to ~/.config/crt/.

On Linux:

1. Downloads crt-VERSION-linux-ARCH.tar.gz from GitHub Releases.
2. Copies the crt binary to ~/.local/bin/ (or your chosen directory).
3. Makes the binary executable.
4. Copies themes, fonts, and config.toml to ~/.config/crt/.

Customising the install with environment variables

Variable	Default	Description
CRT_INSTALL_DIR	~/.local/bin	Where to install the binary on Linux
CRT_VERSION	latest	Pin to a specific release tag (e.g. 0.1.0)

Example — install a specific version to a custom path:

CRT_VERSION=0.1.0 CRT_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin \
  curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/colliery-io/crt/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Adding the binary to your PATH (Linux)

If ~/.local/bin is not already in your PATH, the script will tell you. Add it permanently:

Bash (~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile):

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Zsh (~/.zshrc):

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Fish:

fish_add_path ~/.local/bin

Then reload your shell: source ~/.zshrc (or restart the terminal).

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Method 2: Build from source

See How to Build from Source for full instructions. The short version:

git clone https://github.com/colliery-io/crt.git
cd crt
cargo build --release
# Binary is at target/release/crt

After building, run the config installer to populate ~/.config/crt/:

./scripts/dev.sh install

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Method 3: macOS app bundle

If you want to distribute or install a self-contained .app bundle without using the release script:

git clone https://github.com/colliery-io/crt.git
cd crt
./installer/macos/build-app.sh

This builds target/release/crt.app. Copy it to /Applications/ manually:

cp -r target/release/crt.app /Applications/

To build a .pkg installer instead:

./installer/macos/build-pkg.sh
open target/release/crt-*.pkg

The .pkg installer places crt.app in /Applications/ and runs a postinstall script that sets up ~/.config/crt/.

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Post-install verification

macOS: Launch CRT from Spotlight (Cmd+Space, type crt), Launchpad, or Finder. A window should open with the Synthwave theme.

Linux: Run:

crt

If the command is not found, check that ~/.local/bin is in your PATH (see above).

Verify the config directory was created:

ls ~/.config/crt/

You should see:

config.toml          ← your settings (edit this)
default_config.toml  ← reference copy, updated on each install
themes/              ← CSS theme files
fonts/               ← bundled NerdFonts (MesloLGS NF)
shell/               ← optional shell integration scripts

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Config directory structure

CRT reads all configuration from ~/.config/crt/ by default. To use a different location, set the CRT_CONFIG_DIR environment variable before launching:

CRT_CONFIG_DIR=/path/to/config crt

Key files:

Path	Purpose
~/.config/crt/config.toml	Main configuration file
~/.config/crt/default_config.toml	Annotated reference; updated on every install
~/.config/crt/themes/{name}.css	Theme files; set [theme] name = "..." in config
~/.config/crt/fonts/	Fonts loaded before system fonts
~/.config/crt/shell/	Shell integration scripts for reactive themes

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Updating

Re-run the install script to update to the latest release. The script preserves your existing config.toml and overwrites default themes to deliver any upstream changes. Your custom theme files (files not matching a built-in name) are left untouched.

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/colliery-io/crt/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

To update to a specific version:

CRT_VERSION=0.2.0 curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/colliery-io/crt/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

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Uninstalling

macOS:

rm -rf /Applications/crt.app
rm -rf ~/.config/crt

Linux:

rm ~/.local/bin/crt
rm -rf ~/.config/crt

Your config.toml and any custom themes live in ~/.config/crt/. Delete that directory only if you want to remove all personalisation.