macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install hilitelocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install hiliteMacPorts ports tree · sysutils/hilite/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 11554
Install hilite with Homebrew, MacPorts
CLI tool that runs a command and highlights STDERR output. Version 1.5 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with macports: sudo port install hilite.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
CLI tool that runs a command and highlights STDERR output
Project links
Commands and aliases
- hilite
history
Project history and usage
hilite is a small SourceForge-era command wrapper that runs another command and highlights anything that command writes to standard error. Its official project description frames it mainly as a build-output aid for making warnings and errors stand out.
Project history
The official SourceForge file RSS lists `hilite/1.5/hilite.c` with a November 2001 publication date, indicating a compact single-C-file release style rather than a large repository-driven project.
A 2001 project news post discusses attempts to push this standard-error-highlighting idea deeper into shells, xterms, ttys, and pseudo-terminal handling, which explains both the utility's purpose and the practical limits that kept it as an explicit wrapper command.
Adoption history
The input package map shows hilite packaged by Homebrew and MacPorts. That is suitable for a tiny build-output helper: it has enough command-line utility to live in package managers, but not enough official project material to support a broad ecosystem history.
How it is used
The intended use is to prefix a build or other noisy command with `hilite`, letting normal output pass while visually distinguishing text written to standard error.
The project news notes that running an interactive shell under hilite is possible in a limited sense, but terminal job-control and pseudo-terminal behavior make full transparent shell integration difficult.
Why package nerds care
hilite is package-nerd interesting as a tiny Unix filter around the stdout/stderr distinction. It represents the class of small tools that package managers keep around because they solve one terminal annoyance with almost no ceremony.
Its thinness is also the limit: official sources support the purpose, release artifact, and tty discussion, but not a deep roadmap or active ecosystem.
Timeline
- 2001: SourceForge news post discusses the shell/tty limits around transparent stderr highlighting.
- 2001: SourceForge file feed lists hilite 1.5 source as `hilite.c`.
Related projects
- Shells, xterm-style terminals, and pseudo-terminal handling are the related operating-system concepts discussed by the project's own news post.
- Build tools such as make are the natural use case because they produce warning and error streams where stderr highlighting helps.
Sources
- File feed: https://sourceforge.net/projects/hilite/rss?path=/
- News post: https://sourceforge.net/rest/p/hilite/news/2001/08/the-struggle-continues/
- Project REST metadata: https://sourceforge.net/rest/p/hilite
- Project page: https://sourceforge.net/projects/hilite/
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
hilite | 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 version1.5
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:hilite |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.5 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://sourceforge.net/projects/hilite/ |
| 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.
MacPorts95%
hilite
sudo port install hilite- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Hilite
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