# Install kbt with Homebrew, Nix, pacman

Keyboard tester in terminal. Version 2.1.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#kbt.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:kbt
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install kbt
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#kbt
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/kb/kbt/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S kbt
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: kbt from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:kbt
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.1.0
- **Source summary:** Keyboard tester in terminal
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/bloznelis/kbt>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/bloznelis/kbt>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- kbt (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.1.0
## Project history and usage

kbt is a Rust terminal keyboard tester whose upstream README expands the name as keyboard tester and frames it as a terminal alternative to online keyboard-test pages.

### Project history

The repository was created in March 2023 and published release builds during 2023, with 1.0.0 appearing on July 23, 2023 and 2.1.0 on January 6, 2024. The README presents the project as a deliberately small terminal utility motivated by frustration with semi-broken web-based keyboard testers.

### Adoption history

The package reached CLI users through several package-manager channels recorded in the batch input, including Homebrew, Nix, Arch Linux, and Cargo installation.

### How it is used

kbt is run as an interactive terminal UI for checking keyboard input and layouts. The README notes Linux, macOS, and Windows support, a Wayland limitation, and a macOS first-run Accessibility permission requirement.

### Why package nerds care

For package collectors, kbt is a tidy example of the post-ratatui Rust TUI wave: a small hardware-adjacent diagnostic tool that moved from Cargo-style distribution into mainstream Unix package managers.

### Timeline

- 2023: Repository created for a terminal keyboard tester.
- 2023-07-23: kbt 1.0.0 release published.
- 2024-01-06: kbt 2.1.0 release published.

### Related projects

- The README credits ratatui as the TUI library used to build the interface.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/bloznelis/kbt>
- <https://github.com/bloznelis/kbt/releases>
- <https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - kbt: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/kb/kbt/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- pacman - kbt - 2.1.0-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: kbt from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Keyboard tester in terminal | https://github.com/bloznelis/kbt


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/kbt.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/kbt.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph