install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install gurk

provider-native install command

overview

Package summary

Signal Messenger client for terminal

Project links

Homepage

Commands and aliases

gurk

history

Project history and usage

gurk is a terminal Signal Messenger client written in Rust. It provides a text UI for linked-device Signal use and stores its configuration in `gurk.toml` under XDG-style or home-directory paths.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in July 2020, and an early v0.2.0 release was published in July 2021. The README describes first-run linking through a QR code, after which the program creates a configuration file at the default config location.

The project cannot publish its binary through crates.io according to the README because it depends on official Signal libraries that are not available there, so distribution relies on release binaries, source installs, and OS package managers.

Adoption history

The README documents installation through GitHub release binaries, `cargo binstall`, `cargo install --git`, Arch Linux packages, Nix/NixOS, and FreeBSD packages or ports. Homebrew and Arch package metadata make it available as a named package for terminal and messaging users.

Its adoption is necessarily niche: it is useful to users who want Signal in a terminal workflow and are comfortable with linked-device semantics, local configuration, and terminal keybindings.

How it is used

Users run `gurk`, link it as a Signal device via QR code on first launch, and then interact through keyboard-driven channel, message, selection, file upload, URL, reaction, mute, and help commands.

Configuration supports custom keybindings and default-keybinding control in `gurk.toml`; the same config locations may contain sensitive linked-client settings, which is why credentials and configuration locations are the same for curation purposes.

Why package nerds care

gurk is notable as a package because it sits at an awkward boundary: a Rust TUI application with Signal protocol dependencies that cannot use the ordinary crates.io binary path. That pushes distributors toward GitHub releases, git-based Cargo installs, and OS package recipes.

For terminal users, it is an example of packaging a messaging client as a keyboard-first command rather than a desktop application.

Timeline

2020: GitHub repository created.
2021: v0.2.0 release published.

Related projects

Signal Messenger is the service and protocol ecosystem gurk connects to.
presage is referenced by the README as a related Signal client library.
libsignal-related libraries are part of the dependency reason the binary is not published on crates.io.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:client

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.

local files

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

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gurk/gurk.toml$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gurk.toml~/.config/gurk/gurk.toml~/.gurk.toml

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Unix: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gurk/gurk.toml$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gurk.toml~/.config/gurk/gurk.toml~/.gurk.toml

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`gurk`	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 version0.10.1

manager updated2026-07-26

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:gurk
Version	0.10.1
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://github.com/boxdot/gurk-rs
Repository	https://github.com/boxdot/gurk-rs
Last updated	2026-07-26T12:01:16Z
Pulse	updated
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/gurk.yml

Used sources

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

Install gurk with Homebrew