# Install edbrowse with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts Command-line editor and web browser. Version 3.8.17 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install edbrowse. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:edbrowse ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install edbrowse ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install edbrowse ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: www/edbrowse/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add edbrowse ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: edbrowse from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install edbrowse ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: edbrowse from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:edbrowse - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 3.8.17 - **Source summary:** Command-line editor and web browser - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-25T13:37:40+02:00 - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - edbrowse (alias) - edbrowse-plugin-mpv (alias) - edbrowse-plugin-telnet (alias) - edbrowse-plugin-zip (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 3.8.17 ## Project history and usage Edbrowse is a command-line editor, browser, mail client, IRC client, and database front end built around an ed-like line interface. Its history is tightly connected to accessibility: the project was originally written for blind users, while also attracting users who want scriptable web interaction from a text command language. ### Project history The official user guide says Karl Dahlke wrote the first version of edbrowse in Perl in 2001 and remains the principal developer. The homepage says the original Perl version was portable but lacked many of the features that later arrived in the C implementation. Karl Dahlke rewrote version 2 in C and initially wrote a JavaScript compiler and engine from scratch. The homepage says version 3.1.1 moved to Mozilla's SpiderMonkey JavaScript engine, and later releases migrated through Duktape, QuickJS, and QuickJS-NG as the JavaScript ecosystem changed. The project is now maintained by the edbrowse organization on GitHub. The official site describes it as a work in progress and asks for developers, while the repository metadata shows ongoing activity through June 2026. ### Adoption history Edbrowse adoption has always been specialized. The homepage says it was originally written for blind users, while sighted users have used its unusual scripting abilities for batch jobs, cron jobs, web forms, email, and database access. The package appears in multiple Unix-like package managers and also provides statically linked Linux executables for users who do not want to build from source. That matches its audience: users who need a working command-line web tool more than a modern graphical browser. ### How it is used Edbrowse starts from an ed-like editing model, then adds URL loading, HTML rendering, links, forms, JavaScript, mail, IRC, SQL access through ODBC, and directory editing. The guide explicitly says familiarity with ed helps. Configuration uses an edbrowse configuration file containing functions similar to shell startup files. The batch input records common Unix paths as `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/edbrowse/ebrc` and `~/.ebrc`, and the user guide documents scripts, mail, IRC, and database configuration in that file. ### Why package nerds care Edbrowse is significant because it is not merely a text browser. It is an accessible, scriptable, ed-shaped environment for interacting with the web, mail, databases, and local files, which makes it a rare package in the space between editor, browser, and automation tool. It is also a packaging challenge in miniature: a command-line tool that depends on networking, HTML handling, JavaScript engines, SSL, PCRE, curl, ODBC, and platform accessibility expectations while preserving a terse line interface. ### Timeline - 2001: Karl Dahlke writes the first version of edbrowse in Perl. - Version 2: Edbrowse is rewritten in C with a home-grown JavaScript engine. - Version 3.1.1: Edbrowse adopts Mozilla SpiderMonkey for JavaScript. - Later 3.x: Edbrowse migrates from Duktape to QuickJS and then QuickJS-NG. - 2026: GitHub repository metadata shows active development. ### Related projects - ed is the interface model edbrowse intentionally resembles. - SpiderMonkey, Duktape, QuickJS, and QuickJS-NG are JavaScript engines used across edbrowse's history. - curl and PCRE are named by the project documentation as important dependencies. - The Perl edbrowse implementation remains available as an unsupported historical version. ### Sources - - - ## 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 - Unix: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/edbrowse/ebrc, ~/.ebrc ## Credential files - Unix: ~/.ebrc, ~/.netrc ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - edbrowse - 3.8.12-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: edbrowse from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | /bin/ed-alike webbrowser written in C | https://edbrowse.org/ - Ubuntu apt - edbrowse - 3.7.7-5build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: edbrowse from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | /bin/ed-alike webbrowser written in C | https://edbrowse.org/ - apk - edbrowse - 3.8.17-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: edbrowse from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Line-oriented editor, web browser, and mail client | https://edbrowse.org/ - apk - edbrowse-doc - 3.8.17-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: edbrowse-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Line-oriented editor, web browser, and mail client (documentation) | https://edbrowse.org/ - apk - edbrowse-plugins - 3.8.17-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: edbrowse-plugins from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Line-oriented editor, web browser, and mail client (plugins) | https://edbrowse.org/ - MacPorts - edbrowse: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: www/edbrowse/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/edbrowse.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/edbrowse.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