macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install sheldonlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 1947
Install sheldon with Homebrew, apk, Nix, pacman, zypper
Fast, configurable, shell plugin manager. Version 0.8.5 via Homebrew; verified 2026-09-12. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#sheldon.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add sheldonAlpine Linux edge package indexes · sheldon · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#sheldonnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/sh/sheldon/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S sheldonArch Linux sync databases · sheldon · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install sheldonopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · sheldon · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Fast, configurable, shell plugin manager
Project links
Commands and aliases
- sheldon
history
Project history and usage
Sheldon is a Rust-based command-line manager that downloads shell plugins and renders a startup script from declarative TOML configuration.
Project history
Sheldon was developed as a fast, configurable manager for shell plugins. It supports GitHub repositories, Gists, arbitrary Git repositories, remote files, local directories, and inline plugin definitions.
The project evolved toward XDG-compatible state management and supports configurable templates for generating Bash or Zsh startup code.
Adoption history
Sheldon is packaged by Homebrew, Alpine Linux, Arch Linux, Nix, and openSUSE according to the supplied package metadata. The project also publishes prebuilt Linux and macOS binaries and supports installation through Cargo.
Version 0.7.0 standardized the XDG directory layout, replacing the older default under `~/.sheldon`.
How it is used
Users run `sheldon init` to create `plugins.toml`, declare Git, GitHub, Gist, remote, local, or inline plugins, and add `eval "$(sheldon source)"` to their Bash or Zsh startup file.
`sheldon lock` installs or updates sources and writes a lock file; `sheldon source` verifies the lock state and emits the configured shell script.
Why package nerds care
Sheldon applies a compiled Rust implementation and parallel installation to the shell-plugin-manager niche while keeping shell startup integration to a generated script. Its declarative TOML model makes plugin sources, revisions, templates, and loading behavior reproducible and inspectable.
Timeline
- 2020-10-16: Version 0.6.0 added XDG directory support.
- 2022-10-13: Version 0.7.0 made XDG directories the default.
- 2022-11-01: Version 0.7.1 fixed custom-config-file handling.
Related projects
- Oh My Zsh is a commonly managed plugin collection and framework.
- Antigen, Zinit, zplug, and other shell plugin managers occupy the same ecosystem, while Sheldon emphasizes a compiled binary, TOML configuration, and parallel installation.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: yellow
generalized runtime or code generation signal.
Risk classifier
yellow risk · medium confidence · runtime
Why
- generalized runtime or code generation signal
Signals
- text:shell
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 8 platform targets.
- Installs with 3 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
~/.config/sheldon/plugins.toml
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
sheldon | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-09-19
manager version0.8.5
manager updated2026-09-12
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detected0.8.5
https://github.com/rossmacarthur/sheldon
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:sheldon |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.8.5 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/sheldon |
| Homepage | https://sheldon.cli.rs |
| Repository | https://github.com/rossmacarthur/sheldon |
| Upstream docs | https://sheldon.cli.rs |
| License | Apache-2.0 OR MIT |
| Source archive | https://github.com/rossmacarthur/sheldon/archive/refs/tags/0.8.5.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-09-12T23:09:08Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | libgit2, libssh2, openssl@3 |
| Build dependencies | pkgconf, rust |
| Uses from macOS | curl |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | sheldon |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Nix95%
sheldon
nix profile install nixpkgs#sheldon- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Sheldon
apk95%
sheldon 0.8.1-r0
Fast, configurable, shell plugin manager
https://github.com/rossmacarthur/sheldon
sudo apk add sheldon- License: MIT OR Apache-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: sheldon
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Sheldon
apk95%
sheldon-bash-completion 0.8.1-r0
Bash completions for sheldon
https://github.com/rossmacarthur/sheldon
sudo apk add sheldon-bash-completion- License: MIT OR Apache-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: sheldon
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Sheldon
apk95%
sheldon-zsh-completion 0.8.1-r0
Zsh completions for sheldon
https://github.com/rossmacarthur/sheldon
sudo apk add sheldon-zsh-completion- License: MIT OR Apache-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: sheldon
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Sheldon
pacman95%
sheldon 0.8.5-3
A fast and configurable shell plugin manager
sudo pacman -S sheldon- License: Apache-2.0 AND MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Sheldon
zypper95%
sheldon 0.8.5-1.5
Fast, configurable, shell plugin manager
sudo zypper install sheldon- License: MIT OR Apache-2.0 AND MIT AND Zlib AND LGPL-2.1-or-later AND CC-BY-SA-4.0 AND Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception AND BSD-4-clause AND OpenSSL AND Unicode AND
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: sheldon
- 7 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Sheldon
zypper95%
sheldon-bash-completion 0.8.5-1.5
Bash completion for sheldon
sudo zypper install sheldon-bash-completion- License: MIT OR Apache-2.0 AND MIT AND Zlib AND LGPL-2.1-or-later AND CC-BY-SA-4.0 AND Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception AND BSD-4-clause AND OpenSSL AND Unicode AND
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: sheldon
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Sheldon
zypper95%
sheldon-zsh-completion 0.8.5-1.5
ZSH completion for sheldon
sudo zypper install sheldon-zsh-completion- License: MIT OR Apache-2.0 AND MIT AND Zlib AND LGPL-2.1-or-later AND CC-BY-SA-4.0 AND Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception AND BSD-4-clause AND OpenSSL AND Unicode AND
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: sheldon
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Sheldon
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation