macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install cgvglocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 16048
Install cgvg with Homebrew, apt, Nix
Command-line source browsing tool. Version 1.6.3 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install cgvg.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install cgvgDebian stable package indexes · cgvg · source: deb.debian.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#vgnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/vg/vg/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Command-line source browsing tool
Project links
Commands and aliases
- cg
- vg
history
Project history and usage
CGVG is a small pair of Perl command-line source browsing tools, cg and vg, built around recursive code search and jumping from search results into vi-like editors. Its history is typical of tarball-era Unix developer utilities: a personal workflow tool, released with a static homepage, README, and ChangeLog, then kept useful through occasional maintenance.
Project history
Joshua Uziel's README describes CGVG as a quick hack written mostly for his own source-code navigation needs, inspired by cscope but intentionally simpler and not language-specific. The official ChangeLog records an initial 1.0 release on June 8, 1999, followed by rapid 1999 iterations that renamed rg to cg, added vi/vim behavior, colors, manpages, a per-user ~/.cgvgrc file, and Perl-based searching.
Adoption history
CGVG's adoption evidence is modest but real: the 2002 ChangeLog thanks Sergio Talens-Oliag for Debian packaging, and the supplied input records packages in Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, and Nix. That makes it a classic niche developer utility whose distribution survived through operating-system package collections rather than a large project ecosystem.
How it is used
The cg command searches source trees and stores numbered matches; vg then opens the selected match in an editor at the recorded file and line. The README positions it as a convenience layer over the find/grep/ctags/cscope family, with persistent logs under ~/.cgvg and per-user display/search defaults in ~/.cgvgrc.
Why package nerds care
Package nerds care about CGVG because it preserves a pre-GitHub style of Unix tool distribution: a tiny Perl utility, a hand-written homepage, an upstream tarball, and downstream packages that keep an old developer workflow installable. It is also an example of how Homebrew and distribution package sets carry niche tools long after their active release cadence slows.
Timeline
- 1999: Initial 1.0 release of rg and vg.
- 1999: rg renamed to cg; ~/.cgvgrc, colors, manpages, and Perl-based search were added across 1.1 through 1.6.0.
- 2002: Version 1.6.2 thanked Debian packaging work and noted continued personal use despite cscope's open-source release.
- 2014: Version 1.6.3 modernized the scripts for newer Perl and added Python file support plus .git exclusion.
Related projects
- The official README directly relates CGVG to cscope, ctags, etags, find, grep, vi, and vim. Its niche is lighter than cscope and broader than tag-only navigation because it jumps to arbitrary uses as well as definitions.
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.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
~/.cgvgrc
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
cg | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
vg | 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 version1.6.3
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:cgvg |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.6.3 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://uzix.org/cgvg.html |
| 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.
Debian apt95%
cgvg 1.6.3-1
command-line source browsing tool
sudo apt install cgvg- Section: devel
- Architecture: all
- 3 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cgvg
Ubuntu apt95%
cgvg 1.6.2-4
command-line source browsing tool
http://linux.ucla.edu/~uzi/cgvg/cgvg-1.6.1.tar.gz
sudo apt install cgvg- Section: universe/devel
- Architecture: all
- 3 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cgvg
Nix92%
vg
nix profile install nixpkgs#vg- installed executable or alias match
- Matched by: Vg
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 configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation