# Install checkpwn with Homebrew, Nix

Check Have I Been Pwned and see if it's time for you to change passwords. Version 0.6.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#checkpwn.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:checkpwn
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install checkpwn
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#checkpwn
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ch/checkpwn/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:checkpwn
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.6.0
- **Source summary:** Check Have I Been Pwned and see if it's time for you to change passwords
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/brycx/checkpwn>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/brycx/checkpwn>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- checkpwn (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.6.0
## Project history and usage

checkpwn is a Rust CLI for querying Have I Been Pwned account, paste, and password-breach data. It is small, but source-backed enough to document as a package-manager convenience wrapper around a security API.

### Project history

The brycx/checkpwn repository was created in May 2018. The README describes checkpwn as a tool to check Have I Been Pwned and determine whether passwords need changing.

The Cargo metadata identifies it as a command-line utility with password, security, and HIBP keywords. The project continued to receive releases through 0.6.0 in March 2026, when it moved to Rust Edition 2024 and updated dependencies.

### Adoption history

The README documents installation through Cargo and Homebrew, while the batch metadata also lists Nix. This is typical adoption for a focused Rust CLI: cargo install first, then package-manager formulas for repeatable workstation setup.

Adoption appears niche rather than ecosystem-defining, with modest GitHub star counts, but the tool solves a clear packageable task: local HIBP checks without writing API glue.

### How it is used

Users register a Have I Been Pwned API key with checkpwn register, which writes checkpwn.yml in the user's configuration directory, then use checkpwn acc for accounts or lists and checkpwn pass for passwords.

For account checks, the README says checkpwn queries both the HIBP paste and account databases. Password checking is separated from account checking, matching the common operational distinction between exposed accounts and compromised password material.

### Why package nerds care

checkpwn is package-nerd interesting as a compact Rust security CLI with Cargo, Homebrew, and Nix distribution. It shows the pattern of wrapping a popular web security service in a local command that stores minimal configuration and can be scripted.

Its config-path behavior also matters to packagers because API keys are user state, not package state.

### Timeline

- 2018: brycx/checkpwn repository created.
- 2020: 0.5.1 release published.
- 2022: 0.5.4 release published.
- 2026: 0.6.0 released with Rust Edition 2024.

### Related projects

- Have I Been Pwned is the upstream breach-data service that checkpwn queries.
- checkpwn_lib is the Rust library dependency used by the CLI according to Cargo metadata.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/brycx/checkpwn>
- <https://github.com/brycx/checkpwn/releases>
- <https://github.com/brycx/checkpwn/blob/master/Cargo.toml>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## 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

- Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/checkpwn/checkpwn.yml, ~/.config/checkpwn/checkpwn.yml
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/checkpwn/checkpwn.yml
- Windows: %APPDATA%\checkpwn\checkpwn.yml

## Credential files

- Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/checkpwn/checkpwn.yml, ~/.config/checkpwn/checkpwn.yml
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/checkpwn/checkpwn.yml
- Windows: %APPDATA%\checkpwn\checkpwn.yml
## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - checkpwn: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ch/checkpwn/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/checkpwn.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/checkpwn.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph