Installation¶

Prerequisites¶

• Python 3.12 or newer (tested on 3.12, 3.13, and 3.14)
• LaTeX if you want a PDF report. Install pdflatex using the instructions below. You can run cgt-calc without it by using --no-report.

Install cgt-calc¶

Install the calculator with uv:

uv tool install cgt-calc

Alternatively, install it with pipx:

pipx install cgt-calc

Or use pip inside an active Python virtual environment:

python -m pip install cgt-calc

Or run it directly without installing:

uvx cgt-calc

Nix¶

The Nix community maintains a cgt-calc package in nixpkgs, which bundles pdflatex so no separate LaTeX install is needed:

nix run nixpkgs#cgt-calc

Installing LaTeX¶

macOS¶

brew install --cask mactex-no-gui

Debian/Ubuntu¶

apt install texlive-latex-base

Windows¶

Install MiKTeX.

Check the installation¶

Run:

cgt-calc --version

If you use uvx instead of installing cgt-calc, run uvx cgt-calc --version. Once the command prints a version, choose your broker and follow the report guide.

If the command is not found¶

If installation succeeded but your terminal cannot find cgt-calc, use the step for your install method, then try cgt-calc --version again:

• uv: run uv tool update-shell, then open a new terminal. This adds uv's tool directory to the places your shell searches for commands; see uv's instructions.
• pipx: run pipx ensurepath, then open a new terminal.
• pip: activate the same Python virtual environment you used to install cgt-calc.

Upgrade cgt-calc¶

Use the same method you used to install it:

Run cgt-calc --version afterwards to check the installed version. If you use uvx, run uvx cgt-calc@latest --version to fetch and check the latest release, then use uvx cgt-calc@latest with your usual report options. Docker users should follow Updating the image.

Shell completions (optional)¶

cgt-calc can generate a tab completion script for bash, zsh, fish, tcsh and PowerShell. Create the directory and save the script for your shell:

# bash
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions
cgt-calc --print-completion bash > ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/cgt-calc

# zsh (the target directory must be in your $fpath)
mkdir -p ~/.zfunc
cgt-calc --print-completion zsh > ~/.zfunc/_cgt-calc

# fish
mkdir -p ~/.config/fish/completions
cgt-calc --print-completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/cgt-calc.fish

For PowerShell, create the completions directory if needed and generate the script:

$completionDir = "$HOME\.config\powershell\completions"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $completionDir | Out-Null
cgt-calc --print-completion powershell > "$completionDir\cgt-calc.ps1"

Then add the following line to your PowerShell profile ($PROFILE):

. "$HOME\.config\powershell\completions\cgt-calc.ps1"

Regenerate the script after upgrading to pick up new options.