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Install cram with Homebrew
Functional testing framework for command-line applications. Version 0.7 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Functional testing framework for command-line applications
Project links
Commands and aliases
- cram
history
Project history and usage
Cram is a functional testing framework for command-line applications, built around test files that look like annotated interactive shell sessions.
Project history
Cram's official site describes tests as snippets of interactive shell sessions: commands are run, and their actual output is compared with expected output stored in `.t` files.
Adoption history
The project's NEWS file shows a compact release history from 0.1 in 2010 through 0.7 in 2016. Over that period it gained interactive update support, regex and glob matching, temporary-directory isolation, Python 3 support, `.cramrc`, shell selection, and xUnit XML output.
How it is used
Developers use Cram for black-box CLI tests where shell commands and expected output are easier to review than imperative test code. It prints unified diffs for failures, can write `.err` files, and can interactively merge observed output back into tests.
Why package nerds care
Cram has lasting package-manager appeal because it tests command-line behavior at the packaging boundary. A formula or distro maintainer can exercise installed commands exactly as users run them, without importing the application as a library.
Timeline
- 2010: Version 0.1 was released.
- 2010: Versions 0.3 and 0.4 added environment isolation, interactive updates, regex and glob matching.
- 2013: Version 0.6 added `.cramrc`, shell selection, and Arch Linux package metadata.
- 2016: Version 0.7 added debug mode, shell options, and xUnit XML output.
Related projects
- Cram is conceptually close to shell transcript testing and Mercurial-style `.t` tests, but is distributed as its own Python command-line test runner.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
cram | 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 version0.7
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:cram |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.7 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://bitheap.org/cram |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
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
- Nucleus package database
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation