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TCAFTask-Contract AI Development Framework
TCAF 0.4.0 · public preview

Install TCAF

Install one versioned TCAF runtime outside your projects and expose the tcaf command.

TCAF is installed once per computer as a versioned runtime. It stays outside your application repositories so framework instructions remain separate from project evidence.

Prerequisites

You need:

  • Python 3;
  • a local copy of the TCAF release repository;
  • permission to write to user-level installation and binary directories.

From the TCAF release root, run:

python install.py --adapter auto

The installer validates the release before installing it.

Choose an adapter

Automatic selection is the default. You can also record a preference:

python install.py --adapter codex
python install.py --adapter cline
python install.py --adapter generic-cli
python install.py --adapter generic-chat

In v0.4.0, Codex native usage is verified. Cline’s documented manual-envelope path is verified with limitations. Broader generic-host combinations do not yet have equivalent acceptance coverage.

See Select an adapter.

Default installation locations

Typical user-level locations are:

Linux runtime: ~/.local/share/tcaf
macOS runtime: ~/Library/Application Support/tcaf
Command:       ~/.local/bin/tcaf

Windows uses the user-local application data and Python scripts directories.

You can override locations:

python install.py --home <runtime-home> --bin-dir <command-directory>

A v0.4.0 runtime is stored under a version-specific directory such as:

<runtime-home>/versions/0.4.0

Verify the installation

If needed, add the command directory to PATH, then run:

tcaf version
tcaf doctor

A healthy installation should report PASS and identify the active version, runtime root and adapter.

Reinstall the same version

The installer refuses to overwrite an installed version by default. For an intentional reinstall only:

python install.py --replace

Run tcaf doctor first when diagnosing an unexplained installation problem.

Install once, then work project by project

For each project, start with one of these:

tcaf bootstrap --target <new-project> --request <starting-request>
tcaf adopt --target <existing-project>

Then use tcaf plan for work that needs decomposition, tcaf task for one bounded change, and tcaf sync when project state changes outside the current run.

Ordinary project material remains source evidence; it does not need to be rewritten into a TCAF-specific format before bootstrap or adoption.

Safety boundary

Do not copy the installed framework into the application repository or treat framework templates as project truth. The runtime supplies TCAF rules; the target project supplies the evidence about the software.