macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install detachlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 11474
Install detach with Homebrew, Nix
Execute given command in detached process. Version 0.2.3 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#detach.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#detachnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/de/detach/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Execute given command in detached process
Project links
Commands and aliases
- detach
history
Project history and usage
detach is a small Unix-style command for starting another process outside the control of the current terminal. Its official page frames it as a portable utility that forks, detaches from the terminal, and then executes the requested command.
Project history
Robbert Haarman's official detach page is dated 2010-12-11 and still presents the project as a minimalist command-line tool. The page offers an initial 0.1.0 source release and a later 0.2.3 release that added pidfiles, explicit stdin/stdout/stderr files, and a foreground mode.
Adoption history
detach occupies the old-school Unix packaging niche: tiny source tarball, Makefile installation, and availability through package managers for users who want a command rather than a shell built-in. Its official documentation emphasizes portability across OpenBSD, NetBSD, GNU/Linux, and Mac OS X rather than a large plugin ecosystem.
How it is used
The common use case is launching a command so it survives terminal exit without depending on shell job control. The official examples compare it with setsid, disown, and nohup, and show why a standalone executable can be useful from scripts or other programs.
Why package nerds care
For package nerds, detach is interesting because it packages one precise process-control behavior as a tiny, portable C utility. It sits in the same mental drawer as nohup, setsid, daemon helpers, and shell job-control commands, but with a deliberately narrow interface.
Timeline
- 2010: Official detach page dated 2010-12-11 documents the tool and source releases.
- 2010: Initial 0.1.0 release provided the minimal command-running behavior.
- 2010: Release 0.2.3 added pidfiles, stream-file options, and foreground execution.
Related projects
- The official documentation directly compares detach with util-linux setsid, shell disown built-ins, and POSIX-style nohup.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
detach | 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 version0.2.3
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:detach |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.2.3 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://inglorion.net/software/detach/ |
| 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.
Nix95%
detach
nix profile install nixpkgs#detach- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Detach
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