A stateless, zero-config CLI distribution proxy. Install any tool from GitHub Releases with a single command.

alt install user/repo

No sudo. No package manager. No config files. Just one command and the binary is on your PATH.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altlimit/alt/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

powershell -Command "iwr https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altlimit/alt/main/scripts/install.ps1 -useb | iex"

Run any tool instantly — alt is installed automatically on first use:

Linux & macOS:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altlimit/alt/main/scripts/run.sh | sh -s -- user/repo [args...]

Windows (PowerShell):

powershell -Command "$env:ALT_RUN='user/repo [args...]'; iwr https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altlimit/alt/main/scripts/run.ps1 -useb | iex"

# Install tools (supports multiple at once)
alt install altlimit/sitegen altlimit/taskr

# Install a specific version
alt install altlimit/[email protected]

# Run a tool without installing it
alt run altlimit/sitegen -serve

# Force re-download
alt install -f altlimit/sitegen

# Create a short alias
alt link altlimit/sitegen sg

# Update everything
alt update

# See what's installed
alt list altlimit

# Find a binary
alt which taskr

# Free up old versions and run cache
alt clean

# Remove an alias
alt unlink sg

# Remove completely
alt purge altlimit/taskr

When you run alt install user/repo, alt:

1. Fetches the latest release from the GitHub Releases API
2. Scores each asset for compatibility with your OS and architecture
3. Downloads the best match (skips if already cached)
4. Verifies the checksum (if the release includes one)
5. Extracts the binary (if it's an archive)
6. Links it to your PATH

That's it. No package manifests, no build steps, no elevated permissions.

alt automatically picks the right binary for your machine using a scoring algorithm:

Score = (OS × 100) + (Arch × 100) + Preference

Checksum files (.sha256, checksums.txt, SHA256SUMS) are automatically filtered out.

Flags:

• -f, --force — Force re-download even if cached (install only)
• -h, --help — Show help
• -v, --version — Show version

All files are stored in user space — no root/admin required.

~/.local/share/alt/
├── manifest.json
├── bin/             # symlinks to active binaries
├── internal/        # alt binary itself
├── run/             # cached one-shot binaries (cleaned by alt clean)
└── storage/
    └── github.com/
        └── user/
            └── repo/
                ├── v1.0.0/
                └── v1.1.0/

On Windows, %LOCALAPPDATA%\alt\ is used instead with the same structure.

• Checksums: Validated automatically when the release includes a checksums.txt or .sha256 file
• User-space: Never requests sudo or admin privileges
• Transparency: Downloads directly from official GitHub Release URLs
• Zero dependencies: Single static binary, no runtime dependencies

Your users can install your tool with:

# One-time setup
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altlimit/alt/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

# Install your tool
alt install your-username/your-repo

Or let them run it instantly with zero setup:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altlimit/alt/main/scripts/run.sh | sh -s -- your-username/your-repo

Just publish your binaries as GitHub Release assets. alt handles OS/architecture detection automatically.

MIT — see LICENSE.