macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install iamblocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 5580
Install iamb with Homebrew, apk, Nix, zypper, winget
Matrix client for Vim addicts. Version 0.0.11 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#iamb.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add iambAlpine Linux edge package indexes · iamb · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#iambnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ia/iamb/package.nix · source: api.github.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install iambopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · iamb · source: download.opensuse.org
Windows
Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id ulyssa.iamb -eWindows Package Manager source index · ulyssa.iamb · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com
overview
Package summary
Matrix client for Vim addicts
Project links
Commands and aliases
- iamb
history
Project history and usage
iamb is a terminal Matrix client built for people who want Vim-like editing, window navigation, and chat management. Its package-manager identity is a modern Rust TUI application: a chat client that belongs in terminals, dotfiles, and distribution package indexes rather than only in app stores.
Project history
The GitHub repository was created on August 25, 2021. The public origin issue, opened on December 30, 2022, states the goal plainly: a Matrix client for the terminal that uses Vim keybindings for editing messages and managing windows.
The documentation describes iamb as a terminal-based Matrix client for Vim users, with features including threads, spaces, end-to-end encryption, read receipts, image previews, notifications, room management, message editing and redaction, custom keybindings, and multiple profiles. It also notes that much of the Vim emulation comes from the author's modalkit crate.
The release stream visible on GitHub begins with v0.0.7 in March 2023 and includes v0.0.8 in July 2023, v0.0.9 in March 2024, v0.0.10 in August 2024, and v0.0.11 in January 2026.
Adoption history
iamb's adoption follows the route of Rust terminal applications: crates.io installation, source builds with Cargo, and distribution packages. The README lists package-manager installation paths for Arch AUR, FreeBSD, Gentoo GURU, Homebrew, NetBSD, Nix/NixOS, openSUSE Tumbleweed, and Snap.
Homebrew packages iamb as a Matrix client for Vim addicts and records Rust and pkgconf as build-time dependencies. Repository metadata showed more than a thousand stars by 2026, consistent with a recognizable terminal-chat niche.
How it is used
Users configure iamb with a TOML file under the XDG config directory, defining profiles with Matrix user IDs and optional homeserver URLs. The application is then used as an interactive terminal client for rooms, direct messages, spaces, invitations, message sending, editing, reactions, and navigation.
Its strongest usage pattern is keyboard-first chat for users who already expect Vim motions and split/window metaphors. The feature set also makes it interesting for terminal environments that support richer image protocols such as sixel, Kitty, or iTerm2.
Why package nerds care
Package nerds care about iamb because it is a good example of the newer Rust TUI packaging wave: a networked end-user app, not only a developer utility, distributed through Cargo and several operating-system package managers.
Its PACKAGING.md also gives maintainers explicit guidance about system SQLite/TLS linking, LTO, desktop metadata, icons, examples, and man pages, which is exactly the sort of upstream packaging surface that makes distribution maintainers' lives easier.
Timeline
- 2021: GitHub repository created.
- 2022: Origin issue opened for a Vim-keybinding Matrix terminal client.
- 2023: v0.0.7 and v0.0.8 releases published.
- 2024: v0.0.10 added features including direct-message room marking, external editor suffix configuration, notification controls, alias commands, and packaging metadata work.
- 2026: v0.0.11 release published; Homebrew packaged iamb as a Rust-built Matrix terminal client.
Related projects
- iamb is built around Matrix and relates to the Matrix Rust SDK ecosystem.
- modalkit supplies much of its Vim-style editing and window-management behavior; terminal UI and image-preview dependencies are part of the surrounding Rust TUI ecosystem.
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
${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/iamb/config.toml
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
iamb | 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 version0.0.11
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:iamb |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.0.11 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://iamb.chat |
| Repository | https://github.com/ulyssa/iamb |
| 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%
iamb
nix profile install nixpkgs#iamb- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Iamb
apk95%
iamb 0.0.11-r1
Rust Matrix chat client with Vim keybindings
sudo apk add iamb- License: Apache-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: iamb
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Iamb
apk95%
iamb-doc 0.0.11-r1
Rust Matrix chat client with Vim keybindings (documentation)
sudo apk add iamb-doc- License: Apache-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: iamb
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Iamb
zypper95%
iamb 0.0.10-2.7
A Matrix client for Vim addicts
https://github.com/ulyssa/iamb
sudo zypper install iamb- License: Apache-2.0
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: iamb
- 7 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Iamb
winget95%
ulyssa.iamb
winget install --id ulyssa.iamb -e- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Iamb
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 configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation