Install archey4 with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• archey

Project history

The repository was created on 2017-04-27 and its README says that it remains a fork of djmelik's original Archey project, even though it was detached from the original GitHub fork network on 2017-09-21 with GitHub staff help. That makes the project history unusually transparent: Archey 4 exists to keep a familiar lightweight system-info tool maintained rather than to invent a new category.

The project kept the old one-command terminal identity but turned it into a Python package with optional standalone builds, JSON output, custom entries, broad Unix-like platform support, and external configuration added in v4.3.0.

Adoption history

Official packaging instructions name GitHub release packages, PyPI, AUR, Homebrew, and FreeBSD ports. The README badges also track PyPI, AUR, Homebrew, and GitHub release/download signals, showing that the tool is meant to be consumed through package managers rather than only cloned from source.

For package users, Archey 4 is a classic low-risk utility: it has one executable, simple Python dependencies, and optional config paths that follow Unix conventions. That makes it easy to package and easy for users to compare across systems.

How it is used

The command is `archey`; it prints system information and can be invoked directly or as `python3 -m archey` from source. The README documents optional helpers such as `procps`, `dnsutils`, `lm-sensors`, `pciutils`, and macOS temperature tools for richer output.

Configuration is optional and searched in `/etc/archey4/config.json`, `~/.config/archey4/config.json`, and `./config.json`, with later local/user files overriding broader defaults unless configured otherwise.

Why package nerds care

Archey 4 is significant less because it is large and more because it represents the maintained-fork lifecycle of terminal culture tools: small utility, abandoned ancestor, distro/user demand, and a fork that packages cleanly across ecosystems.

Its config search order and package list are also a neat example of a Python CLI that behaves like a native Unix utility.

Timeline

• 2017-04-27: GitHub repository created.
• 2017-05-05: First GitHub release in the releases API, v4.0.0.
• 2017-09-21: README notes the repository was detached from the original fork network while remaining a fork.
• 2024-09-30: Latest GitHub release observed for this batch, v4.15.0.0.

Related projects

• The README names djmelik's original Archey as the upstream project.
• It occupies the same practical niche as other terminal system information display tools, but the official sources focus on Archey lineage rather than those neighboring projects.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/HorlogeSkynet/archey4
• https://api.github.com/repos/HorlogeSkynet/archey4/releases
• https://github.com/HorlogeSkynet/archey4