Download Benthic

Free and open source. This page detects your system and marks the version that fits.

Benthic is available for macOS 13 or later. Versions for Windows and Linux are planned.

Matches your system

macOS

Version 1.0.0 · macOS 13 or later · Apple Silicon and Intel

Download for macOS

One file for Apple Silicon and Intel. On first launch you allow Benthic once, here is how.

Your system

Windows

Planned

Benthic for Windows is planned. Votes on the roadmap show how urgent it is.

Not available yet Follow it on the roadmap

Your system

Linux

Planned

Benthic for Linux is planned. Votes on the roadmap show how urgent it is.

Not available yet Follow it on the roadmap

How to install Benthic

Open
Double-click the downloaded file Benthic-1.0.0.dmg.
Drag
Drag Benthic onto the Applications folder.
Allow
Launch Benthic once. macOS blocks the first launch. In System Settings, under Privacy & Security, scroll down, click “Open Anyway” and confirm.
Launch
Benthic starts. A short assistant asks for your language, name, e-mail address, university access and download folder.

Connect your AI assistant

Benthic's tools run in the app on your Mac. In the app, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT with Codex, Antigravity and Gemini CLI connect in one click, under Settings › AI connection. Or install Benthic straight from your assistant:

Claude Code

claude plugin marketplace add isoglu/benthic
claude plugin install benthic@benthic

Codex

codex plugin marketplace add isoglu/benthic
codex plugin add benthic@benthic

Gemini CLI

gemini extensions install https://github.com/isoglu/benthic

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code Add to LM Studio

Any other assistant starts Benthic as a stdio server with this command: /Applications/Benthic.app/Contents/Resources/bin/benthic-mcp

Send from your browser and other apps

Select references and Benthic checks them. In any app's context menu under Services › “Check References with Benthic”, and in the browser with this bookmark. Drag it to your bookmarks bar, select the references on a page (including ChatGPT or Gemini in the browser) and click it.

Check with Benthic

The bookmark opens Benthic through the link benthic://check?text=…; the browser asks the first time whether it may open Benthic. Long texts go through the clipboard.

Why macOS asks

Apple notarises apps whose developers pay for its developer programme. Benthic is free and does without it. So macOS does not know the app and only runs it once you allow it. Updates from inside the app need no new approval.

You can still check it: the source code is open on GitHub, and the checksum on the right shows whether your file is exactly the published one. In Terminal:

shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Benthic-1.0.0.dmg

To be completely sure, build Benthic yourself from the source code.

Good to know

System: macOS 13 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel
Language: English and German, chosen at first launch and in Settings.
Updates: Benthic shows new versions at launch and updates itself in one click.
New in 1.0.0: Release notes
Checksum: SHA-256 is listed in the release manifest.
Source code: isoglu/benthic, AGPL-3.0 licence
Privacy: The app needs no account and sends no telemetry.