# Install aqua with Homebrew, chocolatey, scoop, winget

Declarative CLI Version manager. Version 2.62.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-08-02. Also installable with chocolatey: choco install aqua.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:aqua
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install aqua
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Windows

- Chocolatey (92%):

```sh
choco install aqua
```

  Evidence: Chocolatey community package catalog: aqua from http://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/Packages?$filter=IsLatestVersion&$select=Id&$top=1000&$skiptoken='8.6212','homebank'

- Scoop (92%):

```sh
scoop install main/aqua
```

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

- winget (92%):

```sh
winget install --id aquaproj.aqua -e
```

  Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: aquaproj.aqua from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:aqua
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.62.3
- **Source summary:** Declarative CLI Version manager
- **Homepage:** <https://aquaproj.github.io/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/aquaproj/aqua>
- **Last updated:** 2026-08-02T06:16:19Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- aqua (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.62.3
## Project history and usage

aqua is a declarative CLI version manager written in Go. It installs and switches command-line tools from YAML configuration, aiming at the same daily workflow space as asdf-style tool managers but with a registry, lazy install behavior, and Renovate-friendly version declarations.

### Project history

The official aqua repository was created in August 2021. The repository description calls it a declarative CLI version manager with lazy install, a registry, Renovate support, and seamless command version switching.

The documentation centers on `aqua.yaml` and registry-backed package definitions. The config reference documents local and global config discovery, standard and local registries, JSON Schema support, checksum settings, and security toggles for provenance verification.

### Adoption history

aqua is distributed through Homebrew, Chocolatey, Scoop, and winget in the input metadata. The official repository metadata shows active development, a four-digit star count, and topics around CLI tooling and version management.

The project explicitly documents Renovate integration, YAML language-server schemas, a standard registry, and using aqua together with other version managers such as asdf. That makes its adoption story especially package-manager-native: it is designed for repositories to declare the tools they need and let bots update those declarations.

### How it is used

Users add packages such as `helm/helm@v3.7.0` or `golangci/golangci-lint@v1.42.1` to aqua configuration, pin a standard registry ref, and let aqua install or lazily install the requested executables.

Configuration discovery is intentionally repository-friendly: aqua checks `$AQUA_CONFIG`, then `.aqua.yaml`, `aqua.yaml`, `aqua/aqua.yaml`, and `.aqua/aqua.yaml` while walking up from the current directory, with `$AQUA_GLOBAL_CONFIG` for global tools.

### Why package nerds care

aqua is interesting because it treats command-line tools themselves as lockable, reviewable project dependencies. The registry and Renovate conventions put CLI installation into the same maintenance loop as library dependencies, which is exactly the sort of thing package nerds care about.

### Timeline

- 2021: The official aqua repository was created.
- 2021: The documentation copyright begins and the project published docs under aquaproj.github.io.
- 2023: The config reference notes aqua v1.33.0 support for keeping configuration files in `.aqua` directories.
- 2024: The config reference documents v2-era provenance and policy controls such as Cosign, SLSA, and GitHub Artifact Attestation toggles.
- 2026: The repository remains actively maintained in the 2.x release line.

### Related projects

- Related projects and systems include aqua-registry, Renovate, GitHub Actions, YAML Language Server, Cosign, SLSA Provenance, GitHub Artifact Attestations, ghtkn, Keyring, and asdf.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/aquaproj/aqua>
- <https://aquaproj.github.io/docs>
- <https://aquaproj.github.io/docs/reference/config>
- source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.

- **Geiger risk:** orange / medium
- infrastructure mutation or orchestration 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: $AQUA_CONFIG, aqua.yaml, .aqua.yaml, aqua/aqua.yaml, .aqua/aqua.yaml, $AQUA_GLOBAL_CONFIG
## Other Package-Manager Records

- Chocolatey - aqua: normalized package name match | Chocolatey community package catalog: aqua from http://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/Packages?$filter=IsLatestVersion&$select=Id&$top=1000&$skiptoken='8.6212','homebank'
- Scoop - main/aqua: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/aqua.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- winget - aquaproj.aqua: normalized package name match | Windows Package Manager source index: aquaproj.aqua from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix


## Combined YAML source

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