macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install autojumpprovider-native install command
brew / rank 1310
Install autojump with Homebrew
Shell extension to jump to frequently used directories. Version 22.5.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Shell extension to jump to frequently used directories
Project links
Commands and aliases
- autojump
history
Project history and usage
autojump is a shell navigation helper that learns frequently visited directories and lets users jump to them with short fuzzy-ish commands. It belongs to the same productivity niche as z, fasd, and later smart-cd tools: small shell glue that changes daily terminal muscle memory.
Project history
The official README says autojump was originally written by Joel Schaerer and is maintained by William Ting. The GitHub repository was created in January 2009 and describes the tool as a cd command that learns from command-line directory usage.
The design is intentionally simple: the tool maintains a database of directories the user has visited, then ranks matches when the user invokes the j wrapper or autojump command.
Adoption history
The README documents first-class support for bash and zsh, first-class support for Linux and OS X, and community support for fish, tcsh, clink, Windows, and BSD. It also states that autojump is included in Debian-derived distributions, RedHat/Fedora/CentOS, ArchLinux, Gentoo, Frugalware, and Slackware, while Homebrew is the recommended OS X installation method.
The GitHub repository has accumulated substantial attention for a shell utility, with thousands of stars and hundreds of forks in the official GitHub metadata. The batch input also lists packaging across Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Scoop, and openSUSE.
How it is used
Users visit directories normally first; autojump records that history. The common wrapper j foo jumps to the highest-ranked directory containing foo, while jc, jo, and jco prefer child directories or open file managers instead of changing directories.
The README warns that shell integration matters: for bash, autojump tracks directories by modifying PROMPT_COMMAND, so users should append to that variable rather than overwrite it.
Why package nerds care
autojump is package-nerd catnip because it is a small utility whose value comes from shell integration and distribution packaging rather than a large application surface. Its install story shows why package maintainers care about shell completions, profile snippets, platform policies, and per-shell activation instructions.
Timeline
- 2009: GitHub repository created for wting/autojump.
- 2010s: autojump becomes packaged by major Linux distributions and macOS package managers.
- 2016: README copyright notice lists the Free Software Foundation and GPLv3-or-later licensing text.
Related projects
- z, fasd, zoxide, and shell-specific directory jumpers solve the same learned-navigation problem.
- clink is referenced by the README for Windows shell support.
Sources
- https://api.github.com/repos/wting/autojump
- https://github.com/wting/autojump#readme
- source_facts.package-manager
security posture
Risk level: yellow
generalized runtime or code generation signal.
Risk classifier
yellow risk · medium confidence · runtime
Why
- generalized runtime or code generation signal
Signals
- text:shell
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.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
autojump | 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 version22.5.3
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:autojump |
|---|---|
| Version | 22.5.3 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/wting/autojump |
| Repository | https://github.com/wting/autojump |
| Last updated | 2026-06-22T14:02:47-07:00 |
| 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 package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation