# Install amber with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix, scoop

Crystal web framework. Bare metal performance, productivity and happiness. Version 1.5.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-08-01. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install amber.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:amber
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install amber
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install amber
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: www/amber/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- apk (92%):

```sh
sudo apk add amber
```

  Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: amber from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install amber
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: amber from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#amber
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/am/amber/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Windows

- Scoop (92%):

```sh
scoop install extras/amber
```

  Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/amber.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Extras/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:amber
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.5.0
- **Source summary:** Crystal web framework. Bare metal performance, productivity and happiness
- **Homepage:** <https://amberframework.org/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/amberframework/amber>
- **Last updated:** 2026-08-01T21:29:33Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- amber (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.5.0
## Project history and usage

Amber is a Crystal web application framework and CLI that packages the familiar full-stack MVC framework experience for Crystal developers. Its own README says it is inspired by Kemal, Rails, Phoenix, and other popular frameworks, with a focus on productivity, performance, and developer happiness.

### Project history

The amberframework/amber repository was created in April 2017, during the period when Crystal's web ecosystem was forming around small fast HTTP libraries, Rails-like frameworks, and experiments in compiled-language productivity. Amber positioned itself as the cohesive, batteries-included option, not just a minimal web server shard.

Official documentation describes Amber as a server-side MVC framework with generators, database management, CLI commands, deployment tools, Docker support, encrypted secrets, websockets, and a conventional application layout. The README names Dru Jensen, Elias Perez, Isaac Sloan, Faustino Aguilar, Nick Franken, Mark Siemers, and Robert Carpenter among visible contributors.

### Adoption history

Amber's adoption has largely followed the Crystal community rather than mainstream web-framework volume. It was packaged for Homebrew and other package managers because it provides a real CLI binary, project generator, and local development workflow, not just a library dependency in shard.yml.

The release stream reached v1.0 release-candidate status in 2021 and stable 1.4.x releases in 2023. Its documentation and README continued to emphasize familiar framework ergonomics for developers coming from Rails, Phoenix, Django, or Kemal.

### How it is used

Users install the amber CLI, generate or manage an Amber project, and keep project-specific framework configuration under the application's config directory. The official configuration guide says each Amber project has config/environments YAML files such as development, test, and production, selected at runtime using AMBER_ENV.

Amber also has a built-in encrypt command for environment settings. Official docs say amber encrypt production decrypts and edits config/environments/.production.enc using .encryption_key or ENV[AMBER_ENCRYPTION_KEY], and warn that the encryption key should not be committed.

### Why package nerds care

Amber is package-interesting because it is both a framework dependency and a generator CLI. Installing it from Homebrew gives users a global executable, while generated projects still depend on Crystal shards and checked-in application templates.

It also represents the Crystal ecosystem's recurring question for packagers: should framework tools be installed globally as native binaries, vendored through shards, or built per project with shards build amber?

### Timeline

- 2017-04-17: amberframework/amber repository is created.
- 2021-06-15: v1.0.0rc2 release is published.
- 2022-10-26: v1.3.0 release is published.
- 2023-08-01: v1.4.0 release is published.
- 2023-08-02: v1.4.1 release is published.

### Related projects

- Crystal is the language runtime and shard ecosystem Amber targets.
- Kemal, Rails, Phoenix, Django, and Hanami are named by Amber docs or README as inspirations or comparable framework traditions.
- Amber's separate docs repository and site-assets repository support its documentation and project branding.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/amberframework/amber>
- <https://api.github.com/repos/amberframework/amber/releases?per_page=8>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/amberframework/amber/master/README.md>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/amberframework/docs/master/README.md>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/amberframework/docs/master/cli/encrypt.md>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/amberframework/docs/master/guides/configuration.md>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## 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: config/environments/development.yml, config/environments/production.yml, config/environments/.production.enc

## Credential files

- Unix: .encryption_key, config/environments/.production.enc
## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - amber - 0.0~git20171010.cdade1c-2+b16: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: amber from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Elegant HTML templating engine for Go, inspired from HAML and Jade (CLI tool) | https://github.com/eknkc/amber
- Nix - amber: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/am/amber/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - amber - 0.0~git20171010.cdade1c-2build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: amber from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Elegant HTML templating engine for Go, inspired from HAML and Jade (CLI tool) | https://github.com/eknkc/amber
- apk - amber - 0.5.1_alpha-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: amber from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Programming language compiled to bash | https://amber-lang.com
- MacPorts - amber: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: www/amber/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Scoop - extras/amber: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/amber.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Extras/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/amber.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/amber.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph