Install trust (no paid certs)

Neural Junkie ships as ad-hoc signed macOS and unsigned Windows builds — a deliberate choice to keep the $0 experiment honest. Apple notarization and EV code signing cost money; this guide is the free path to a trusted install.

Download Homebrew install

Quick picks

PlatformBest free pathWhy
macOSbrew install --cask neural-junkieSame binary as GitHub; familiar trust model for developers
Linuxbrew install neural-junkieHomebrew formula unpacks the release .deb
Linux (.deb)sudo dpkg -i neural-junkie_*.debDirect install without Homebrew
macOS (.dmg)Right-click app → OpenBypasses first-launch Gatekeeper without paid notarization
WindowsDownload .msi → SmartScreen “More info” → Run anywayExpected for unsigned OSS installers
Linuxsudo dpkg -i neural-junkie_*.debNo store gatekeepers; distro package manager
AnyVerify SHA256 + build from sourceMaximum trust — you compiled it

macOS · Gatekeeper

Option A — Homebrew (recommended)

brew tap camronwood/tap
brew install --cask neural-junkie

Upgrades: brew upgrade --cask neural-junkie. Tap: camronwood/homebrew-tap.

Option B — Right-click → Open

  1. Download the .dmg from Downloads.
  2. Drag Neural Junkie to Applications.
  3. In Finder, right-click the app → Open (do not double-click the first time).
  4. Confirm Open in the dialog. macOS remembers after one approval.

Option C — Clear quarantine flag

If macOS still blocks launch after download, remove the download quarantine attribute:

# After copying the repo, or download the script from GitHub:
./scripts/open-macos-app.sh "/Applications/Neural Junkie.app"

Equivalent manual command: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Neural Junkie.app"

Windows · SmartScreen

  1. Download the .msi or setup .exe from Downloads or GitHub Releases.
  2. If SmartScreen appears: click More info → Run anyway.
  3. Complete the setup wizard — it can install Ollama via winget on first launch.

Community packaging (future): Scoop and WinGet manifests live under packaging/ for volunteer submission — no paid cert required, reputation builds over time.

Verify download integrity

Each GitHub Release publishes SHA256SUMS for installer assets (generated in CI). Verify before install:

# macOS / Linux
./scripts/verify-release-checksums.sh v1.2.0-beta.6 ~/Downloads/Neural.Junkie_1.2.0-beta.6_aarch64.dmg

# Or manually
curl -LO https://github.com/camronwood/neural-junkie/releases/download/v1.2.0-beta.6/SHA256SUMS
shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing

On Windows, compare the hash from SHA256SUMS with PowerShell: Get-FileHash .\Neural.Junkie_*.msi -Algorithm SHA256

Build from source (ultimate trust)

git clone https://github.com/camronwood/neural-junkie.git
cd neural-junkie
make gui-install
make gui-build
make gui

You get a locally built binary with no download gatekeepers. Requires Go, Node, and Rust — see README Quick start.

Linux

Option A — Homebrew (recommended)

brew tap camronwood/tap
brew install neural-junkie

Requires Homebrew on Linux. Use brew install — not --cask. See HOMEBREW.md.

Option B — .deb

sudo dpkg -i neural-junkie_1.2.0-beta.6_amd64.deb
neural-junkie

Slim .deb — wizard installs Ollama on first launch. No Snap/Flatpak gatekeeper; trust is your package manager + our GitHub repo.

FAQ