Installation

quardCRT provides packages for Windows, macOS, and Linux. If your platform has an official app store entry, that is usually the simplest installation path. Otherwise, download a release package from GitHub, Gitee, or SourceForge.

Before you download

  • If you only want to install and use quardCRT, pick the package for your operating system and CPU architecture.

  • If you plan to build or load native plugins on Windows, prefer the MSVC installer so the runtime matches a typical MSVC plugin toolchain.

  • If you use Apple Silicon, choose the arm64 macOS package.

  • On Linux, use AppImage for a portable single-file launch or deb for package-managed installation on Debian-based systems.

App Stores

quardCRT is currently available in the following app stores:

If your distribution or platform package store is not listed here, use the release packages below.

Download

All platforms

To download the latest version, use one of these release pages:

Release assets are published in these package formats:

  • Windows:

    • quardCRT_windows_Vxxx_x86_64_setup.exe

    • quardCRT_windows_Vxxx_x86_64_msvc_setup.exe

  • macOS:

    • quardCRT_macos_Vxxx_x86_64.dmg

    • quardCRT_macos_Vxxx_arm64.dmg

  • Linux:

    • quardCRT_Linux_Vxxx_x86_64.AppImage

    • quardCRT_Linux_Vxxx_x86_64.deb

  • Source code:

    • quardCRT_Vxxx_source.tar.gz

    • quardCRT_Vxxx_source.zip

Windows

Download either quardCRT_windows_Vxxx_x86_64_setup.exe or quardCRT_windows_Vxxx_x86_64_msvc_setup.exe.

  • setup.exe: MinGW build with broad compatibility for regular end users.

  • msvc_setup.exe: MSVC build, recommended if you need runtime compatibility with MSVC-built plugins or related native components.

Install

Run the installer and follow the setup wizard:

  1. Select the language, and click OK.

Install example under Windows

  1. Click Next.

Install example under Windows

  1. Select the installation directory, and click Next.

Install example under Windows

  1. Select the create shortcuts, and click Next.

Install example under Windows

  1. Click Install.

Install example under Windows

  1. Click Finish.

Install example under Windows

After installation, you can launch quardCRT from the Start menu or the optional desktop shortcut.

macOS

Download quardCRT_macos_Vxxx_x86_64.dmg for Intel Macs or quardCRT_macos_Vxxx_arm64.dmg for Apple Silicon Macs.

Install

Open the DMG and install the app in the standard macOS way:

  1. Double-click the quardCRT icon.

  2. Drag the quardCRT icon to the Applications folder.

Install example under macOS

Note: The prebuilt macOS packages are currently not signed by Apple. On first launch, macOS may warn that the app is from an unidentified developer. If you trust the downloaded package, you can remove the quarantine attribute with xattr -cr /Applications/quardCRT.app. If you do not trust the binary package, do not bypass the warning and build the project from source instead.

Linux

For Linux, choose between:

  • quardCRT_Linux_Vxxx_x86_64.AppImage for a portable single executable

  • quardCRT_Linux_Vxxx_x86_64.deb for Debian, Ubuntu, Deepin, and other Debian-based distributions

Install

  • AppImage

The AppImage package does not require installation. Mark it executable and run it directly:

chmod +x quardCRT_Linux_Vxxx_x86_64.AppImage
./quardCRT_Linux_Vxxx_x86_64.AppImage

  • deb

You can install the Debian package with a graphical package manager or on the command line.

Graphical install:

  1. Double-click the package.

  2. Click Install Package.

Install example under Linux

  1. Enter the password, and click Authenticate.

  2. Click Close.

Install example under Linux

Command-line install:

sudo dpkg -i quardCRT_Linux_Vxxx_x86_64.deb

If your distribution reports dependency issues, use your package manager to resolve them, for example:

sudo apt install ./quardCRT_Linux_Vxxx_x86_64.deb

First launch

After installation, the usual first steps are:

  1. Open quardCRT.

  2. Pick the application language if your platform package prompts for it.

  3. Create a connection from the session manager or quick connect dialog.

  4. Open Options > Global Options if you want to change theme, font, transfer paths, or advanced settings.

Continue with the usage guide for the main window layout and common workflows.