Install CtxAnt

Mac app + Chrome extension. Two minutes to running, five to your first agent.

System requirements. macOS 11 (Big Sur) or newer, on Apple Silicon or Intel. Google Chrome for the browser extension. We're working on Windows and Linux — watch the repo.

1. Install the Mac app

One line in Terminal. Downloads, installs to /Applications, launches.

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

No Apple Gatekeeper prompt, no dragging, no right-click dance — scripted installs don't carry the quarantine flag that makes macOS balk. Read the script before running if you like (it's 70 lines).

Prefer a DMG? (manual fallback)

Download CtxAnt.dmg

  1. Open the DMG and drag CtxAnt into Applications.
  2. In Applications, right-click CtxAnt → Open → Open again on the Gatekeeper dialog. (One-time. CtxAnt is unsigned for launch week — the curl installer avoids this because quarantine isn't set on curl'd files.)

2. Walk through the onboarding wizard

The wizard pops up automatically on first launch. It has four quick steps:

  1. Create your hub bot on Telegram. Open @BotFather → /newbot → give it a name and a username ending in bot. BotFather will reply with a token. Paste it.
  2. Pick an AI provider. We recommend xAI Grok — it's cheap, fast, and handles tools well. Get a key at console.x.ai (has a free tier). If you already have an Anthropic key, Claude works too.
  3. Paste your Telegram user id. Message @userinfobot and it'll tell you. This locks the bot down so only you can use it.
  4. Install the Chrome extension. See step 3 below.

CtxAnt's backend starts the instant you click Finish, so by the time you've done step 3 your hub bot is already live.

3. Install the Chrome extension

During launch week, until Chrome Web Store review finishes, install directly:

  1. Open chrome://extensions in Chrome.
  2. Toggle Developer mode (top right) on.
  3. Click Load unpacked.
  4. Select the extension/ folder inside ctxant.app. (Right-click ctxant.app → Show Package Contents → Contents/Resources/extension.)

Chrome Web Store. Listing is submitted and in review; we'll swap this section for a one-click install when it's approved.

The extension auto-pairs with the CtxAnt app on localhost. If the popup shows a green dot labelled Connected to CtxAnt, you're in.

4. Text your bot

Open Telegram, find the hub bot you created in step 1, send /start. It greets you with a set of Deploy buttons — one per agent (Job Hunter, Deal Finder, Inbox Triage, etc).

Tap one, follow the BotFather flow again (a one-time 60-second ritual for each agent so it gets its own Telegram chat bubble), answer the agent's 3–5 setup questions, and you're done. The new agent bot DMs you immediately to say it's ready. /run kicks off its first task.

Troubleshooting

The menu bar icon is missing.

On notched MacBooks, too many menu-bar items get clipped into the notch's dead zone. Hold ⌘ Cmd and drag items left to reveal CtxAnt, or install a menu-bar manager like Ice (free) or Bartender. You can also always reach the built-in dashboard at http://127.0.0.1:8766/dashboard regardless.

Extension shows "Disconnected".

Check the CtxAnt app is running (look for the bold sparkle icon in your menu bar). If it is but the extension still can't connect, quit and relaunch the app — the pairing handshake happens on startup.

"Setup incomplete" alert after the wizard.

The wizard was dismissed before all three fields were saved. Re-launch CtxAnt and it'll reappear.

My token / API key leaked. How do I rotate?

Revoke the key in your AI provider's dashboard (xAI or Anthropic), then edit ~/Library/Application Support/ctxant/.env and paste the new one. For the Telegram bot token, message @BotFather → /revoke and it'll issue a new token — paste that into the same .env. Restart CtxAnt.

Stuck? Open an issue or email hello@ctxant.com.