Install and first launch
What you need, and what happens the first time Connecto opens.
The current version is 0.1.9. Download it from the home page: connecto-0.1.9-macos-aarch64.dmg for Apple silicon, connecto-0.1.9-macos-x86_64.dmg for Intel, or connecto-0.1.9-macos-universal.dmg for both. Each file's SHA-256 is next to its button; shasum -a 256 <file> prints yours. Linux and Windows builds are not available yet.For Windows there is a zip: see On Windows. Linux builds are not available yet.
Opening it the first time
From 0.1.7 the Mac builds are signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple. Open the disk image, drag Connecto to Applications and double-click it. macOS asks once whether to open an app downloaded from the internet: click Open.
Builds up to 0.1.6 were not signed. If you still have one, macOS blocks its first launch: choose Done, then open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway (Apple's guide). Installing the current version over it is simpler.
On Windows
The Windows build is a zip, connecto-VERSION-windows-x86_64.zip, from the home page. It needs Windows 10 version 1809 or later, or Windows 11, on a 64-bit Intel or AMD PC (ARM64 Windows is not supported). Its SHA-256 is next to its button; in PowerShell, Get-FileHash <file> prints yours (in capitals; the letters are the same).
- Unzip it into
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs, so the programs end up in%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Connecto: that is the folder Connecto updates itself in (see Updates). Keep the three programs together:connecto-app.exe(the app),connecto-hook.exeandconnecto.exe(the helper the app installs for its terminals). - Double-click connecto-app.exe. The build is not signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway. (Or, before unzipping: right-click the zip, Properties, tick Unblock.) Do this only for a download from this site.
- The first launch sets things up as on a Mac (below): it finds Claude Code and Codex, or installs them with their official Windows installers (
https://claude.ai/install.ps1andhttps://chatgpt.com/codex/install.ps1). PowerShell 7 is optional: setup offers it, and without it the terminals use Windows PowerShell.
Connecto keeps its data in %APPDATA%\connecto, and its keys and tokens in a secrets file there that only your account can read (see Where secrets are kept). Windows has no menu bar at the top of the screen, so the menu is inside the Connecto window. To remove Connecto, delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Connecto and %APPDATA%\connecto.
What you need
- A Mac: Apple silicon with macOS 11 or later, or an Intel Mac with macOS 10.15 or later. The agents themselves may ask for a newer macOS than Connecto does. Linux and Windows are not supported yet.Or a Windows PC (see On Windows). Linux is not supported yet.
- Nothing else has to be installed first. If you already have Claude Code or Codex (with
claudeandcodexin~/.local/bin), Connecto uses them; if you pick one that is not on your Mac, Connecto installs it for you (see below). That needs an internet connection and no password. jq, only if you want the status line that the built-in package adds to Claude terminals.
The first launch sets everything up
You do not run anything by hand. The first time Connecto opens, it shows a short window:
- Welcome. One button, Set up Connecto. If you used Magneto before, it says it will bring your projects over.
- Which agents do you want? Claude Code, Codex or both; tap to choose. Both are chosen to begin with, and you can change this later in Settings → Agents. For one that is not on your Mac, the card says what Connecto will install and from where.
- A short checklist goes from waiting to done: Getting Claude Code ready, Getting Codex ready, Preparing your workspace. A missing agent is installed on the way, and its line shows each step and then the version that was installed. If you are bringing over Magneto data, macOS may ask to use your Keychain: choose Always Allow; that is Connecto saving your settings securely.
- You're all set. It shows where each agent stands. Sign in opens each agent's own sign-in; you finish it in your browser. Or pick a folder to work in, or try a sample project.
Connecto makes its own verified copy of each agent from the one already on your Mac, so an update to the one you use in your own terminal cannot change a session that is already running. It checks each program's signature, and it copies programs only: never profiles, settings or credentials. Connecto never sees your sign-in. If an agent is not on your Mac and you chose it, Connecto installs it as described below; if you skip that, the window says so and where to get it, and you can carry on with a plain terminal and add the agent later.
How an agent is installed
Connecto uses each vendor's own installer, from the vendor's own address, over HTTPS, and nothing else:
| Agent | Installer | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | https://claude.ai/install.sh (Anthropic) | ~/.local/bin/claude, with the program under ~/.local/share/claude/ |
| Codex | https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.sh (OpenAI) | ~/.local/bin/codex, with the program under ~/.codex/packages/ |
Neither needs Node, Homebrew or an administrator password: both install into your own home folder. Connecto downloads the script, runs it with a minimal environment, and then checks that the program starts and prints its version. If you are offline, or the install fails, setup stays usable: it says what happened in plain words, and offers Try again, a link to the vendor's page, and Skip for now. You can add the agent later in Settings → Agents.
If you quit in the middle, the next start picks up where it left off. connecto-app provision still exists for scripts, and to pick up a newer version of a tool by hand.
Agents in Settings
Connecto → Settings → Agents always lists every agent Connecto supports, with where it stands: not installed, or installed with its version, and whether you are signed in on this Mac. Activate installs an agent that is missing (the same official installer, with its progress shown) and then takes you to its sign-in. Deactivate only hides the agent from the choices when you open a new terminal; nothing is uninstalled, and Activate brings it back. This is also where to add an agent you skipped during setup.
If you used Magneto before
Connecto copies your Magneto data once, at the first launch. If you kept working in Magneto afterwards, those conversations are missing here. When Magneto's folder holds newer history, Connecto tells you once at launch and puts a button in Settings → History from Magneto. It shows how many conversations and which projects, then adds only the lines Connecto lacks. A conversation you continued in both apps keeps everything: Connecto's lines first, then Magneto's. Nothing in Magneto is changed, what Connecto replaces is kept aside so you can take it back with one button, and running it again does nothing. It refuses while Magneto still has sessions running: quit Magneto first.
Open a project
- Start Connecto and choose File → Open Project… (⌘ O). Pick the folder you want the agents to work in.
- Press ⌘ T for a new terminal and choose the tool. ⌘ ⌥ 1 opens a Claude terminal directly, and ⌘ ⌥ 2 a Codex one. ⌘ ⌥ 3 opens a plain shell, your login shell in the project folder.
- If the terminal says it needs login, follow the tool's own sign-in in the terminal.
Which login? A new project uses the System default: the tools run with your own ~/.claude and ~/.codex, so the login you already have works with no second sign-in. If a project must stay separate, switch it to Isolated (advanced) in its settings: it then gets a private profile and its own login. Projects set up by an earlier build keep whatever they had. See Isolated and system terminals.
Folders Connecto refuses
Connecto will not open these as a project, because an agent working there could damage far more than a project:
- your home folder itself;
- Connecto's own data folder;
- the tools' own state folders:
~/.claude,~/.codexand~/Library.
Building from source
Connecto is open source (AGPL-3.0). To build it yourself, clone github.com/marcomanzi/connecto-community and follow its README: you need Rust and, on a Mac, the Xcode Command Line Tools. A build you make yourself has no update key, so it does not update itself; get new versions from the repository.