# Install blink1 with Homebrew, Nix, scoop
Control blink(1) indicator light. Version 2.5.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-18. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#blink1-tool.
## Install
```sh
sudo av install brew:blink1
```
Additional install commands:
### macOS
- Homebrew (100%):
```sh
brew install blink1
```
Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata
### Linux
- Nix (92%):
```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#blink1-tool
```
Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/bl/blink1-tool/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
### Windows
- Scoop (92%):
```sh
scoop install main/blink1-tool
```
Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/blink1-tool.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1
## Package facts
- **Package key:** brew:blink1
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.5.0
- **Source summary:** Control blink(1) indicator light
- **Homepage:**
- **Repository:**
- **Last updated:** 2026-05-18T02:22:18Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00
## Executables
- blink1-tool (alias)
## Install behavior
- Bottle: not available
## Freshness
- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.5.0
## Project history and usage
blink(1) is ThingM's USB RGB notification light, and `blink1-tool` is the official command-line and C/C++ tooling for controlling it. The Homebrew package represents the Unix-friendly side of a physical status indicator: scriptable color, blink, pattern, and firmware/device operations.
### Project history
The upstream README calls the repository the official collection of C/C++ command-line tools for the blink(1) USB RGB LED. It lists `blink1-tool`, `blink1-tiny-server`, `blink1control-tool`, `blink1-lib`, `blink1-mini-tool`, and `blink1raw` as current tools.
GitHub releases show continued maintenance from the 2.x line through 2026, including releases for both `blink1-tool` and `blink1-tiny-server`.
### Adoption history
blink(1) was adopted by developers and operations users as a physical notifier for builds, alerts, chat status, and ambient monitoring. Package-manager facts list Homebrew, Nix, and Scoop, which matches a cross-platform hardware utility used from scripts rather than a single desktop app.
### How it is used
`blink1-tool` can list devices, set RGB/HSB colors, blink or flash, play/write/read patterns, save startup behavior, query firmware, select device IDs, and run quiet or verbose for scripts. Linux users may need udev rules so non-root processes can access the USB HID device.
The tooling supports macOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Raspberry Pi OS, BeagleBone, OpenWRT/DD-WRT, and other systems with GNU Make and a C compiler, with HIDAPI and simpler HIDDATA/libusb-oriented build options.
### Why package nerds care
blink(1) is a neat package-manager artifact because installing one CLI turns a USB gadget into a Unix endpoint. It bridges shell scripts, CI systems, and physical computing without a daemon or cloud service.
It is also a tiny example of hardware packaging done right: udev rules, static-build concerns, HID backend choices, release binaries, a C library, and a CLI all live close together.
### Timeline
- 2018-05-12: v2.0.1 release published on GitHub.
- 2022-01-27: v2.3.0 release published on GitHub.
- 2025-11-24: v2.4.0 release published on GitHub.
- 2026-04-16: v2.5.0 release published for blink1-tool and blink1-tiny-server.
### Related projects
- Related projects include Blink1Control, `blink1-tiny-server`, HIDAPI, libusb, udev-based Linux device access, and other USB notification-light integrations used by build and monitoring systems.
### Sources
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- input source_facts.package-manager
## Security Notes
No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for blink1. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.
## Other Package-Manager Records
- Nix - blink1-tool: installed executable or alias match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/bl/blink1-tool/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Scoop - main/blink1-tool: installed executable or alias match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/blink1-tool.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1
## Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/blink1.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/blink1.yml)
## Sources
- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph