Installation

Download and install Netcatty on macOS, Windows, or Linux

Installation

Netcatty is available as a standalone application for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Follow the instructions below for your operating system.

Download

Download the latest release for your platform from the official GitHub releases page:

GitHub Releases

Download the latest version of Netcatty for your operating system

Platform Support

Operating System	Architectures	Package Formats
macOS	x64, arm64 (Apple Silicon)	DMG, ZIP
Windows	x64, arm64	NSIS Installer
Linux	x64, arm64	AppImage, DEB, RPM

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macOS Installation

1. Download the DMG or ZIP file

   Download the macOS release from GitHub Releases. Choose either:

   • DMG - Disk image with drag-to-install
   • ZIP - Compressed application bundle

   Both formats support Universal binaries (works on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs).

2. Install the application

   For DMG:

   1. Open the downloaded DMG file
   2. Drag Netcatty.app to your Applications folder

   For ZIP:

   1. Extract the ZIP archive
   2. Move Netcatty.app to your Applications folder
3. Remove quarantine attribute

   Since Netcatty is not code-signed, macOS Gatekeeper will block it from opening. You need to remove the quarantine attribute.

   Open Terminal and run:

   xattr -cr /Applications/Netcatty.app
   

   Alternative method:

   1. Right-click (or Control-click) Netcatty.app
   2. Select Open from the context menu
   3. Click Open in the security dialog that appears

   You only need to do this once. After the first launch, you can open Netcatty normally.

4. Launch Netcatty

   Open Netcatty from your Applications folder or Launchpad. The app is ready to use!

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Windows Installation

1. Download the installer

   Download the Windows installer from GitHub Releases.

   Choose the appropriate version:

   • x64 - For 64-bit Intel/AMD processors
   • arm64 - For ARM64 processors (Windows on ARM)
2. Run the installer

   1. Double-click the downloaded .exe installer file
   2. Follow the installation wizard prompts
   3. Choose the installation directory (default: C:\Program Files\Netcatty)
   4. Select whether to create desktop and Start Menu shortcuts
3. Launch Netcatty

   After installation completes:

   • Launch from the Start Menu
   • Double-click the desktop shortcut (if created)
   • Run from the installation directory

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

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Linux Installation

Netcatty provides multiple package formats for Linux. Choose the one that works best for your distribution.

AppImage (Universal)

1. Download the AppImage

   Download the .AppImage file from GitHub Releases.

   Choose your architecture:

   • x64 - For 64-bit Intel/AMD systems
   • arm64 - For ARM64 systems
2. Make it executable

   chmod +x Netcatty-*.AppImage
   
3. Run the AppImage

   ./Netcatty-*.AppImage
   

   AppImages are self-contained and don’t require installation. You can move the file to any location and run it directly.

DEB Package (Debian/Ubuntu)

For Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and derivatives:

1. Download the DEB package

   Download the .deb file from GitHub Releases.

2. Install with dpkg

   sudo dpkg -i netcatty_*.deb
   

   If there are dependency issues, run:

   sudo apt-get install -f
   
3. Launch Netcatty

   Run from your application menu or terminal:

   netcatty
   

RPM Package (Red Hat/Fedora/CentOS)

For Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, Rocky Linux, and derivatives:

1. Download the RPM package

   Download the .rpm file from GitHub Releases.

2. Install with rpm or dnf

   Using dnf (Fedora, CentOS 8+, Rocky Linux):

   sudo dnf install netcatty-*.rpm
   

   Using rpm (older systems):

   sudo rpm -i netcatty-*.rpm
   
3. Launch Netcatty

   Run from your application menu or terminal:

   netcatty
   

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Prerequisites

Netcatty has no external dependencies for normal use. However, certain features require additional tools:

Optional dependencies:

• Mosh - For Mosh protocol support (install via package manager: apt install mosh, dnf install mosh, or brew install mosh)
• OpenSSH - Usually pre-installed on macOS and Linux; for Windows, install via OpenSSH for Windows

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Verifying Installation

After installation, verify that Netcatty is working correctly:

1. Launch the application
2. You should see the welcome screen with the Vault view
3. Try creating a local terminal session to test basic functionality

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Updating Netcatty

To update to a newer version:

1. Download the latest release from GitHub
2. Follow the same installation steps for your platform
3. The new version will replace the old one
4. Your settings, hosts, and SSH keys are preserved (stored in your user data directory)

Backup recommendation: Before updating, consider backing up your configuration:

• macOS/Linux: ~/.config/netcatty/
• Windows: %APPDATA%\netcatty\

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Uninstalling Netcatty

macOS

# Remove application
rm -rf /Applications/Netcatty.app

# Remove user data (optional)
rm -rf ~/.config/netcatty

Windows

1. Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps
2. Find Netcatty and click Uninstall
3. Optionally, delete user data from %APPDATA%\netcatty

Linux

AppImage:

rm Netcatty-*.AppImage
rm -rf ~/.config/netcatty  # Optional: remove user data

DEB:

sudo apt remove netcatty
rm -rf ~/.config/netcatty  # Optional: remove user data

RPM:

sudo dnf remove netcatty
rm -rf ~/.config/netcatty  # Optional: remove user data

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Troubleshooting

macOS: “Netcatty is damaged and can’t be opened”

This is caused by Gatekeeper. Run the quarantine removal command:

xattr -cr /Applications/Netcatty.app

Linux: AppImage won’t run

Ensure you have FUSE installed:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install fuse libfuse2

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install fuse fuse-libs

Windows: SmartScreen warning

Click More info → Run anyway. This warning appears because the app is not code-signed.

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Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Learn how to add your first host and connect to remote servers