macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install ccatlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 4693
Install ccat with Homebrew, scoop
Like cat but displays content with syntax highlighting. Version 1.1.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with scoop: scoop install main/ccat.
install
Additional install commands
Windows
Scoopverified · 92%
scoop install main/ccatScoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/ccat.json · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Like cat but displays content with syntax highlighting
Project links
Commands and aliases
- ccat
history
Project history and usage
ccat is a small Go command-line utility that reimagines cat as a syntax-highlighting terminal viewer. Its official README describes it as a colorizing cat that works like cat while displaying source files with syntax highlighting.
Project history
The upstream GitHub repository was created in May 2015 and published MIT-licensed Go code. The README positions ccat as a native-speed, single-binary alternative to syntax highlighters such as Pygments and GNU source-highlight.
Adoption history
The README documents Homebrew installation on macOS, Arch Linux/AUR installation, standalone binaries, and source installation with Go. The supplied package facts also show distribution through Homebrew and Scoop.
How it is used
Typical usage is the cat-like form ccat FILE1 FILE2, reading from standard input, producing HTML output, selecting dark-background colors, changing token colors, or aliasing cat=ccat for interactive terminal use.
Why package nerds care
ccat matters as an example of the mid-2010s wave of single-purpose Go CLIs shipped as static-ish binaries and immediately wrapped by package managers. It is also a predecessor-in-spirit to later terminal viewers that made syntax-highlighted source display feel routine.
Timeline
- 2015: GitHub repository created.
- 2015: README documented Homebrew, AUR, standalone binary, and go get installation paths.
- 2022: Repository metadata shows later maintenance activity.
Related projects
- The README credits Sourcegraph's syntaxhighlight package and names Pygments and GNU source-highlight as alternatives.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
ccat | 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 version1.1.0
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:ccat |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.1.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/owenthereal/ccat |
| Repository | https://github.com/owenthereal/ccat |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Scoop95%
main/ccat
scoop install main/ccat- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ccat
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
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation