install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install ed

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

Classic UNIX line editor

Project links

Homepage

Commands and aliases

ed
red

history

Project history and usage

GNU ed is the GNU implementation of the classic Unix line editor. In package-manager terms it is tiny, old-fashioned, standardized, scriptable, and still worth shipping because the `ed` utility is part of the Unix/POSIX tool vocabulary.

Project history

The POSIX specification defines `ed` as a line-oriented text editor with command and input modes. That standardized interface is the historically important part of the package: `ed` is a small command language for editing text through standard input, not a screen editor.

The GNU package supplies the Free Software Foundation's maintained implementation, including both `ed` and the restricted variant `red`. GNU FTP release archives show the modern GNU release stream at least from ed 1.0 in August 2008 through ed 1.22.5 in February 2026.

Adoption history

ed persists because it is standardized, scriptable, and expected on Unix-like systems even though most interactive editing moved to screen editors long ago. Its Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine, Arch, Nix, MacPorts, Scoop, and openSUSE packaging in the batch input reflects that baseline utility role.

GNU ed's adoption is therefore less about visible user enthusiasm and more about compatibility: scripts, recovery procedures, minimal systems, teaching material, and standards conformance still need a line editor named `ed`.

How it is used

POSIX documents `ed [ -p string ] [ -s ] [ file ]`, with commands read from standard input. In command mode, input is interpreted as editing commands; in input mode, input is inserted as text.

GNU ed also ships `red`, a restricted form useful in constrained editing contexts. The utility is commonly used non-interactively in scripts or as a lowest-common-denominator editor on small systems.

Why package nerds care

ed is package-manager bedrock: a tiny utility that looks obsolete until a bootstrap environment, recovery shell, POSIX test, or ancient script expects it. Shipping it is a compatibility decision as much as a feature decision.

For people who care about Unix history, `ed` is also a living fossil in the best sense: the interface in modern packages is still recognizably the line-editor model described by POSIX.

Timeline

2008-08: GNU FTP archive lists ed 1.0.
2015-03: GNU FTP archive lists ed 1.11.
2020-02: GNU FTP archive lists ed 1.16.
2024-04: GNU FTP archive lists ed 1.20.2.
2026-02: GNU FTP archive lists ed 1.22.5.

Related projects

POSIX defines the portable `ed` utility interface.
`red` is the restricted editor installed with GNU ed.
Screen editors such as vi and Emacs largely displaced ed for daily interactive editing, but not for the standardized utility role.

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
`ed`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`red`	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 version1.22.5

manager updated

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:ed
Version	1.22.5
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://www.gnu.org/software/ed/ed.html
Bottle	not recorded
Service	none declared

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

combined/ed.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
curated package history
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install ed with Homebrew