macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install actprovider-native install command
brew / rank 539
Install act with Homebrew
Run your GitHub Actions locally. Version 0.2.89 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-15.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Run your GitHub Actions locally
Project links
Commands and aliases
- act
history
Project history and usage
act is a command-line runner for executing GitHub Actions workflows locally. It became a standard package-manager-friendly developer tool because it turns repository workflow files into a local Docker-backed feedback loop.
Project history
The nektos/act repository was created in January 2019, shortly after GitHub Actions entered the broader developer-tooling conversation. Its README describes the core idea as reading workflows from .github/workflows, preparing Docker images, and running the jobs locally with filesystem and environment behavior modeled on GitHub-hosted runners.
The first GitHub release, v0.0.1, was published on 2019-01-15. Later releases continued the same basic CLI shape while expanding compatibility with GitHub Actions features, runner images, secrets, variables, and workflow execution options.
Adoption history
act spread through CLI package ecosystems because it solved a common GitHub Actions pain point: testing workflow changes without committing and waiting for hosted CI. The supplied package-manager facts list packages in Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, Scoop, winget, and zypper.
GitHub repository metadata showed more than 70,000 stars by June 2026, making act one of the highest-visibility local GitHub Actions tools in package-manager catalogs.
How it is used
Users typically run act from a repository to execute jobs defined under .github/workflows. The tool can read command-line options from actrc files, load secrets from a .secrets file, and use Docker to run workflow steps in local containers.
Why package nerds care
Package maintainers care about act because it is a small CLI with a large CI surface area: it depends on Docker behavior, tracks GitHub Actions semantics, and is often used in pre-push or local validation loops. Its many package-manager entries make version freshness and reproducible installation especially visible.
Timeline
- 2019-01-02: nektos/act repository created on GitHub.
- 2019-01-15: v0.0.1 published as the first GitHub release.
- 2026-06: GitHub API metadata showed active maintenance and broad star/fork adoption.
Related projects
- act is closely tied to GitHub Actions, Docker, GitHub-hosted runner images, and editor integrations such as GitHub Local Actions for VS Code.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- 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.
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
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/act/actrc~/.actrc./.actrc
Credential files
Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.
- Unix
./.secrets
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
act | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
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 generated2026-08-03
manager version0.2.89
manager updated2026-06-15
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:act |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.2.89 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://nektosact.com |
| Repository | https://github.com/nektos/act |
| Last updated | 2026-06-15T10:20:09-04:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
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
- Nucleus package database
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation