# Install chicken with Homebrew

Compiler for the Scheme programming language. Version 5.4.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:chicken
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install chicken
```

  Evidence: provider-native install command

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:chicken
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 5.4.0
- **Source summary:** Compiler for the Scheme programming language
- **Homepage:** <https://www.call-cc.org/>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00

## Executables

- chicken (alias)
- chicken-do (alias)
- chicken-install (alias)
- chicken-profile (alias)
- chicken-status (alias)
- chicken-uninstall (alias)
- feathers (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 5.4.0
## Project history and usage

CHICKEN is a Scheme implementation centered on a compiler that translates Scheme to portable C, plus an interpreter, extension library ecosystem, manual, wiki, and package tooling.

### Project history

The official getting-started manual says CHICKEN combines an optimizing compiler with a reasonably fast interpreter, generates portable C, supports tail recursion, continuations, lightweight threads, and a flexible interface to C libraries.

The same manual records that CHICKEN was developed by Felix L. Winkelmann from 2000 through 2007, and that in early 2008 the community took over responsibility for development and maintenance while Winkelmann remained involved.

### Adoption history

CHICKEN's adoption is tied to its practical build story: Scheme code becomes C, then a C compiler produces a standalone executable, making it easier to package and deploy than many pure interpreter workflows.

The input package metadata lists Alpine, Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, MacPorts, Arch, and openSUSE packages. Homebrew reported 28,712 trailing-365-day installs at research time.

### How it is used

The official homepage demonstrates both interpreted use with `csi -s hello-world.scm` and compiled use with `csc hello-world.scm`, then running the resulting executable.

The manual documents `$HOME/.csirc` as an initialization file loaded before the read-eval-print loop unless disabled, which is the relevant user-level config file.

### Why package nerds care

CHICKEN is package-nerd-significant because it bridges Lisp/Scheme culture and Unix packaging: source goes to C, extensions are distributed as Eggs, and the runtime fits normal compiler/package-manager workflows.

For package maintainers, CHICKEN's split between core compiler/interpreter tools and a large extension ecosystem makes it a classic language-runtime package rather than a single app.

### Timeline

- 2000: Felix L. Winkelmann began the development period described by the official manual.
- 2008: Community maintenance responsibility began, according to the official manual.
- 2026: Homebrew tracked CHICKEN 5.4.0 from the official call-cc.org release archive.

### Related projects

- Eggs are CHICKEN's contributed extension/library ecosystem and are linked directly from the official homepage.
- CHICKEN sits in the Scheme implementation family alongside systems such as Chez Scheme and Chibi-Scheme, but its package identity is especially shaped by C output and the `csc`/`csi` workflow.

### Sources

- <https://www.call-cc.org/>
- <https://wiki.call-cc.org/manual>
- <https://wiki.call-cc.org/man/5/Getting%20started>
- <https://wiki.call-cc.org/man/5/Using%20the%20interpreter>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/chicken.json>


## Security Notes

generalized runtime or code generation signal.

- **Geiger risk:** yellow / medium
- generalized runtime or code generation signal


## 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

- Unix: ~/.csirc

## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/chicken.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/chicken.yml)


## Sources

- Nucleus package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation