pkg.sopackage field notes

brew / rank 8834

Install ain with Homebrew

HTTP API client for the terminal. Version 1.6.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-26.

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install ain

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

HTTP API client for the terminal

Commands and aliases

  • ain

history

Project history and usage

Ain is a terminal HTTP API client that uses template files to assemble requests and then delegates the actual call to curl, wget, or httpie. The README describes it as an alternative to Postman, Paw, or Insomnia for users who prefer files, folders, scripts, and pipes.

Project history

The public GitHub repository was created in October 2020. The project is written in Go and centers on a small `.ain` template format with sections such as Host, Query, Headers, Method, Body, Config, Backend, and BackendOptions.

Ain's design goal is explicit in the README: enable scripting of input and further processing of output through terminal pipes. Rather than building its own HTTP stack as the user-facing primitive, it makes curl, wget, or httpie the backend and focuses on request organization.

Adoption history

Official installation instructions cover `go install`, Homebrew, Scoop, AUR binary packages, and manual downloads from GitHub releases. The input package facts also list Homebrew, MacPorts, and Nix packages.

Homebrew listed version 1.6.0 as stable and reported 107 installs over 365 days when checked, suggesting a small but packaged Unix-tool audience.

How it is used

Users write one or more `.ain` template files, pass them to `ain`, optionally provide variables, and receive output from the selected backend. Templates can be layered across files and directories, making it useful for API collections that still behave like shell files.

Ain has no separate credentials store in the official README. Secrets are normally represented through template variables, environment variables, `.env`-style workflows, scripts, or headers inside user-controlled `.ain` files.

Why package nerds care

Ain is a classic package-manager-friendly CLI: a single Go executable, no service account, no desktop app, and a plain-text file format. Its appeal is to users who want API-client ergonomics without leaving the shell or losing composability with find, fzf, pipes, curl, wget, and httpie.

Timeline

  • 2020: Public GitHub repository created.
  • 2020s: README documents Go, Homebrew, Scoop, AUR, and binary-release installation paths.
  • 2026: Homebrew lists 1.6.0 as stable in checked metadata.

Related projects

  • curl, wget, and httpie, used as request backends.
  • Postman, Paw, and Insomnia, named by the README as GUI/API-client alternatives.
  • Shell tools such as find, fzf, and environment-variable based workflows.

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

  • broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

  • text:http,client

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
*.ain

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
ainexecutableindexed executableDiscovered 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 version1.6.0
manager updated2026-07-26
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:ain
Version1.6.0
Package managerHomebrew
Homepagehttps://github.com/jonaslu/ain
Repositoryhttps://github.com/jonaslu/ain
Last updated2026-07-26T13:19:49+02:00
Pulseupdated
Bottlenot recorded
Servicenone 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.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • curated configuration and credential file locations
  • curated package history
  • pkgdb category and tag curation