Install boring with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository

Commands and aliases

• boring

Project history

The public GitHub repository was created in September 2024, and its earliest GitHub release in the public release feed is 0.4.0 from October 2024. The official site describes it as a simple command-line SSH tunnel manager with TOML configuration, ssh_config compatibility, and automatic reconnections.

The project keeps its scope narrow: it manages tunnel definitions and process lifecycle around SSH rather than trying to replace OpenSSH or become a general VPN system.

Adoption history

Adoption is early and package-manager-focused. The batch input records Homebrew and Nix packaging, which is typical for a modern single-binary CLI aimed at developers who frequently need repeatable port forwards.

Because boring delegates authentication and host identity to SSH configuration, it fits into existing developer workflows without asking users to maintain a separate credential store.

How it is used

Users define named tunnels in a TOML file, then use the CLI to list, open, close, and group them. The README documents local, remote, SOCKS, and socks-remote modes plus fields for host, user, identity, port, keep-alive, and grouping.

The tool reads standard SSH configuration where possible and falls back to familiar defaults such as the current user, port 22, ssh-agent, and standard identity files.

Why package nerds care

boring is package-nerd interesting because it is a deliberately small wrapper around a ubiquitous system tool: it packages as one CLI, but its real value is making OpenSSH port-forwarding state reproducible and inspectable.

Its platform-specific default config paths are a useful curation detail, since Linux follows XDG while macOS and Windows use a home-directory TOML file.

Timeline

• 2024-09: Official GitHub repository metadata shows the public repository created.
• 2024-10: GitHub release metadata shows release 0.4.0 published.
• 2026: Repository metadata and package input show ongoing development and packaging in Homebrew and Nix.

Related projects

• OpenSSH is the underlying transport and tunneling mechanism.
• ssh_config is part of the expected configuration workflow because boring can match hosts against SSH config.
• autossh and other SSH tunnel managers are adjacent tools, but boring focuses on named TOML-managed tunnels.

Sources

• https://alebeck.github.io/boring/
• https://api.github.com/repos/alebeck/boring
• https://api.github.com/repos/alebeck/boring/releases?per_page=100
• https://github.com/alebeck/boring
• source_facts.package-manager