Installation

Runlet is one universal app for Apple silicon and Intel Macs. Download it from GitHub, move it to Applications, and allow it once in Privacy & Security. After that, Runlet updates itself.

Requirements

• macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.
• PHP is optional. Runlet uses Herd, Homebrew, or the php on your PATH when it finds one. Without PHP, it offers to download its own.
• Docker and SSH are optional. You need them only for Docker and SSH targets.

Your projects can run on PHP 7.4 to 8.5, on your Mac, in a container, or on a server. The bundled Laravel sandbox needs PHP 8.3 or later on your Mac, Runlet's own PHP, or Docker.

Supported Environments

	Supported
macOS	15 or later, Apple silicon or Intel (one universal app)
PHP for your projects	7.4 to 8.5, on your Mac, in a container, or on a server
Laravel sandbox	Laravel 13.34.0 on SQLite. Needs PHP 8.3 or later on your Mac, Runlet's own PHP, or Docker (a php:8.4-cli container)
Frameworks	Laravel, Lumen, Laravel Zero, Symfony, WordPress, and Composer projects are detected; anything else through a project driver
Docker	Docker Desktop or OrbStack, through the Docker CLI's current context
SSH	Your system ssh and ~/.ssh/config: keys, ssh-agent, 1Password, passwords, two-factor codes, jump hosts
Profile Run	PHP with the Excimer extension (Runlet's own PHP includes it)

What the run inspector records without any setup depends on the framework:

Project	Queries	Mail	Logs
Laravel, Lumen, Laravel Zero	Yes	Yes, with interception	Yes
Eloquent without Laravel	Yes	–	–
Symfony	Doctrine connections	Symfony Mailer (interception on 6.3+)	–
WordPress	Yes ($wpdb)	–	–
Standalone Doctrine DBAL, plain PDO	One line in a project driver	–	–

Testbench, Craft, Drupal, Magento, and other frameworks have no built-in driver yet; a project driver can boot them. Known limitations are in Framework Drivers.

Downloading Runlet

Download Runlet-<version>.dmg or the .zip from the latest release, and drag Runlet to your Applications folder. There is no Homebrew cask yet.

Each release lists the SHA-256 checksums of its files in SHA256SUMS.txt. To check your download before you open it:

shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Runlet-<version>.dmg

Opening Runlet the First Time

Runlet is ad-hoc signed and not notarized by Apple yet, so macOS blocks it the first time you open it. You allow it once:

1. Open Runlet. macOS says it can't verify the app.
2. Open System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security, click Open Anyway next to the message about Runlet, and confirm.

Or remove the quarantine flag in Terminal instead:

/usr/bin/xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Runlet.app

Browsers mark downloaded files with the com.apple.quarantine attribute, and macOS checks quarantined apps for Apple's notarization before their first launch. Removing the attribute tells macOS you trust this copy.

WARNING

Only remove the quarantine flag from a download you trust. Compare its checksum with the release's SHA256SUMS.txt first, or build Runlet from source.

You do this once: updates installed from inside Runlet remove the flag themselves.

Your First Run

The Laravel sandbox is ready in the first tab: a fresh Laravel app on SQLite, bundled with Runlet. Press ⌘R to run its snippet.

If your Mac has no PHP, click Download PHP 8.5.8 in the banner above the editor first. Runlet downloads its own PHP (about 26 MB) only when you click, checks it against a SHA-256 checksum built into the app, and keeps it in Runlet's data folder. You can manage or remove it in Settings ▸ PHP. PHP you installed yourself always comes first.

To open one of your own projects, choose File ▸ Open Project… (⇧⌘O) and pick its folder. The Quickstart walks you through both.

Updating Runlet

Runlet updates itself from GitHub Releases:

• Checking. Runlet checks at launch and once a day while it runs. To check now, choose Runlet ▸ Check for Updates… (also in Open Anything, ⌘P). A check is one request for the list of releases, with nothing about you or your Mac.
• The offer. A new version shows its release notes and download size, with Install and Relaunch, Later, and Skip This Version. Runlet never offers an update while code runs, and never installs one until you choose.
• Installing. Install and Relaunch checks the update's signature, so only releases signed with Runlet's key install. It replaces the app, removes the quarantine flag, and opens the new version. If the new version doesn't start, Runlet puts back the one you had.
• Channels. In Settings ▸ General ▸ Updates, choose Stable (releases only) or Beta (pre-releases too), or turn automatic checks off. A beta build starts on Beta.

When Runlet can't replace itself, it tells you what to do:

• Running from the disk image: Runlet asks you to move it to Applications first.
• An Applications folder you can't change: macOS asks for an administrator's password.

NOTE

Runlet 0.3.0 and earlier, and 0.4.0 betas 1 to 6, can't update themselves. Download the newest release and replace the app by hand, once. Runlet 0.4.0 needs macOS 26; on macOS 15, install 0.4.1 or later.

Your tabs, snippets, history, and targets stay in ~/Library/Application Support/Runlet across updates. Runlet's own PHP updates separately, in Settings ▸ PHP.

Installing the Command-Line Tool

The runlet command opens folders and files in Runlet from a terminal. To install it, choose Runlet ▸ Install Command-Line Tool…, pick a folder on your PATH, and press Install. Runlet creates one symbolic link to the tool inside the app.

Then open the current folder as a project:

cd ~/Code/my-app
runlet .

The command-line tool page has everything it can do.