# Install whalebrew with Homebrew Homebrew, but with Docker images. Version 0.5.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-25. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:whalebrew ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install whalebrew ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:whalebrew - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.5.0 - **Source summary:** Homebrew, but with Docker images - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-25T22:40:20+02:00 - **Generated:** 2026-08-04T22:13:35+00:00 ## Executables - whalebrew (cli) - whalebrew (alias) ## Build dependencies - go ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-04 - Package-manager version: 0.5.0 - Package-manager updated: 2026-07-25 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/whalebrew/whalebrew - Upstream latest detected: 0.5.0 (current) ## Project history and usage Whalebrew is a Go command-line tool that makes Docker images behave like native commands by installing executable wrappers for them. Its README summarizes the idea as Homebrew, but with Docker images: package a CLI in a container, then run it from the shell as though it were installed locally. The project sits at the intersection of Docker packaging and developer workstation hygiene. It was designed for tools such as awscli, ffmpeg, wget, and other CLIs whose dependencies can be awkward or intrusive when installed directly on a host. ### Project history The Whalebrew repository was created in January 2017, during the period when Docker had become a common developer packaging substrate beyond server deployment. The first GitHub release, 0.0.1, followed on 26 January 2017, and a 0.1.0 release appeared in March 2017. The README credits Justin Cormack's dockercommand-cli as the original idea, then extends that idea into a package-manager-like workflow: install an image, create a command wrapper, and run Docker with the current directory mounted into the container. Whalebrew releases continued over a long period, with 0.2.x releases in 2019-2020, 0.3.x in 2021, 0.4.x in 2022-2023, and 0.5.0 in August 2024. That slow release cadence reflects a mature niche tool rather than a rapidly changing application platform. ### Adoption history Whalebrew's adoption is strongest among developers who like the isolation of Docker images but want a local command UX. It maintains a set of known-compatible images under the whalebrew organization and also allows arbitrary Docker Hub images when their entrypoint and filesystem behavior fit the model. The project never needed to become a universal package manager to be useful. Its value is narrower: it gives teams and individuals a repeatable way to distribute CLIs with complex dependencies while leaving the host relatively clean. ### How it is used A user installs an image such as whalebrew/wget, after which Whalebrew writes an executable wrapper such as /usr/local/bin/wget or another configured install path. Running that command invokes Docker, binds the current working directory into /workdir, sets the working directory, and forwards arguments to the container entrypoint. Package authors make Whalebrew-friendly images by setting the command as the Docker image entrypoint and ensuring the tool works on files under /workdir. Optional Docker labels define the exposed command name, environment variables, volumes, ports, networks, working directory behavior, missing-volume behavior, and required Whalebrew version. ### Why package nerds care Whalebrew is package-nerd significant because it treats Docker images as package artifacts for command-line tools, not only as deployable services. It also shows the tension between native package managers and container packaging: native commands are fast and integrated, while containerized commands are isolated and portable but have startup and filesystem tradeoffs. The generated wrapper format is intentionally simple: an executable file with a Whalebrew shebang and YAML describing how to run the image. That makes the package boundary inspectable, which matters for users who care exactly what a packaged command is doing. ### Timeline - 2017-01-22: The Whalebrew repository is created. - 2017-01-26: GitHub release metadata records Whalebrew 0.0.1. - 2017-03-23: GitHub release metadata records Whalebrew 0.1.0. - 2019-2020: GitHub release metadata records the 0.2.x line. - 2021: GitHub release metadata records Whalebrew 0.3.0 and 0.3.1. - 2022-2023: GitHub release metadata records the 0.4.x line. - 2024-08-02: GitHub release metadata records Whalebrew 0.5.0. ### Related projects - dockercommand-cli is credited in the README as the original idea. - Docker Hub and the whalebrew image organization provide the package substrate. - Homebrew is the naming and UX analogy, while Docker is the execution substrate. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. - **Geiger risk:** blue / medium - broad file, network, media, or database tool signal ## 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 - Unix: ${WHALEBREW_CONFIG_DIR}/config.yaml, ~/.whalebrew/config.yaml, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/whalebrew/config.yaml, $XDG_DATA_DIRS/*/whalebrew/config.yaml ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** whalebrew - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Related links - [Cloud CLI packages](https://pkg.so/cloud-clis/) - Belongs to a cloud or infrastructure command family. - [Source-control packages](https://pkg.so/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Secret-risk packages](https://pkg.so/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://pkg.so/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [go](https://pkg.so/brew/go/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [docker](https://pkg.so/brew/docker/) - Shares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, containers, developer-tools, docker. - [docker-compose](https://pkg.so/brew/docker-compose/) - Shares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, containers, developer-tools, docker. - [docker-buildx](https://pkg.so/brew/docker-buildx/) - Shares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, containers, developer-tools, docker. - [lazydocker](https://pkg.so/brew/lazydocker/) - Shares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, containers, developer-tools, docker. - [docker-credential-helper-ecr](https://pkg.so/brew/docker-credential-helper-ecr/) - Shares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, containers, developer-tools, docker. - [docker-credential-helper](https://pkg.so/brew/docker-credential-helper/) - Shares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, containers, developer-tools, docker. - [docker-machine](https://pkg.so/brew/docker-machine/) - Shares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, containers, developer-tools, docker. - [devcontainer](https://pkg.so/brew/devcontainer/) - Shares pkgdb curated category or tags: cli, containers, developer-tools, docker. - [diffoci](https://pkg.so/brew/diffoci/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, containers, developer, developer-tools, docker. - [docker-clean](https://pkg.so/brew/docker-clean/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, containers, developer, developer-tools, docker. - [decompose](https://pkg.so/brew/decompose/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, containers, developer, developer-tools, docker. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/whalebrew.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/whalebrew.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - pkgdb category and tag curation - package relationship graph - cross-ecosystem install command graph