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cask

Install kaleidoscope with Homebrew Cask

Spot and merge differences in text and image files or folders. Version 7.0.2,11016 via Homebrew Cask; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrew Caskverified · 100%
brew install --cask kaleidoscope

local Homebrew cask metadata

overview

Package summary

Spot and merge differences in text and image files or folders

Commands and aliases

No executable aliases were found in the local package database.

history

Project history and usage

Kaleidoscope is a proprietary macOS application for comparing and merging text, images, and folders, with dedicated Git and developer-tool integrations.

Project history

Made by Sofa originally developed Kaleidoscope. After Facebook acquired that company in 2011, Black Pixel continued the product and delivered version 2 in 2013. The product was acquired again in 2020 by the team that later formed Leitmotif GmbH.

Later major releases moved beyond the separately licensed v2 and v3 editions to the current subscription product.

Adoption history

Kaleidoscope became established among Mac developers as a polished visual diff client with integrations for Git and other version-control systems. Version 2 reached the Mac App Store in January 2013.

The app changed ownership at the end of 2020. Its new team resumed active development, initially targeting developers and improving performance, Xcode integration, and source-control workflows.

How it is used

Users open files or folders in the graphical application, invoke comparisons from other Mac apps, or install the bundled ksdiff client for shell scripts and version-control workflows.

The official integration window configures ksdiff and integrations with Git, Subversion, Mercurial, Xcode, VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, and other tools.

Why package nerds care

Kaleidoscope represents the commercial, Mac-native end of the diff-tool spectrum: it complements command-line version control with carefully designed text, image, folder, and Git-history views.

Its Homebrew cask gives terminal-oriented Mac users a reproducible installation route even though the application itself is proprietary and distributed as a signed app bundle.

Timeline

  • 2011: Made by Sofa was acquired by Facebook, after which Black Pixel continued Kaleidoscope.
  • 2013: Kaleidoscope 2 launched and entered the Mac App Store.
  • 2020: A new independent team acquired Kaleidoscope.
  • 2021: Kaleidoscope 3 restored major-version development.
  • 2023: The product moved toward subscription licensing with Kaleidoscope 4.

Related projects

  • Git, Subversion, Mercurial, Xcode, and the ksdiff command-line client are documented integration points.

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for kaleidoscope. Package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
No executable data was present.

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 generated2026-11-04
manager version7.0.2,11016
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://kaleidoscope.app/

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
  • infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://kaleidoscope.app/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keycask:kaleidoscope
Version7.0.2,11016
Package managerHomebrew Cask
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/cask/kaleidoscope
Homepagehttps://kaleidoscope.app/
Upstream docshttps://kaleidoscope.app/
Source archivehttps://updates.kaleidoscope.app/v7/prod/Kaleidoscope-7.0.2-11016.app.zip
SHA-256f2fc4286dcd30cec6ac1d0e3f6b7cbae64eaf246ff1cd4f73ce1ae8c41e37231
Bottlenot recorded
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew cask API
Taphomebrew/cask
Full Tokenkaleidoscope
Names
  • Kaleidoscope
Depends On
Macos
>=: 13
Conflicts With
Cask
kaleidoscope@2, kaleidoscope@3
Artifacts
App
1
Postflight Steps
1
Target
1
Uninstall
1
Zap
1
Auto Updatesyes
Deprecatedno
Disabledno

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Same workflow

  • kaleidoscope@2Both packages work with overlapping file formats or content types. Shared terms: differences, files, folders, image, kaleidoscope.
  • kaleidoscope@3Both packages work with overlapping file formats or content types. Shared terms: differences, files, folders, image, kaleidoscope.
  • xmenuLocal package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: files, folders, or, text.

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.

Used sources

  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated package history
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment