Install ktor with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• ktor

Project history

Ktor itself reached 1.0 on 2018-11-19, when JetBrains described it as a Kotlin framework for asynchronous servers and clients in connected systems. The standalone ktor-cli repository was created on 2021-12-06, adding a package-manager-friendly command-line surface beside the web project generator and IntelliJ IDEA workflows.

The Ktor framework continued through major releases that shaped the CLI's context: Ktor 2.0 was announced on 2022-04-11 after roughly a year of work, and Ktor 3.0 was announced in October 2024 with Kotlin 2.0 alignment and a move to kotlinx-io.

Adoption history

The CLI README documents Homebrew installation for Linux and macOS and WinGet installation for Windows. It also points users to the web generator at start.ktor.io, making the CLI one of several official project-creation paths rather than the only frontend to Ktor scaffolding.

The tool is useful for Kotlin developers who want repeatable project generation outside IntelliJ IDEA, including shell scripts, teaching material, CI experiments, and OpenAPI-driven service skeletons.

How it is used

The `ktor new` command creates a project, `ktor openapi` generates from an OpenAPI specification, `ktor add` adds Ktor dependencies to a Gradle project, and `ktor dev` runs a project in development mode with rebuilds. The README also documents proxy support through the `HTTPS_PROXY` environment variable.

Why package nerds care

Ktor CLI is package-nerd notable because it packages an official framework bootstrapper as a small executable rather than assuming an IDE or browser. It also sits at an interesting language boundary: the Ktor framework is Kotlin-first, while the CLI repository builds the command-line executable with Go.

Timeline

• 2018-11-19: JetBrains announced Ktor 1.0.
• 2021-12-06: ktorio/ktor-cli repository created on GitHub.
• 2022-04-11: JetBrains announced Ktor 2.0.
• 2024-10: JetBrains announced Ktor 3.0 with Kotlin 2.0 and kotlinx-io changes.

Related projects

• Ktor CLI is related to the Ktor framework, Kotlin, start.ktor.io, the Ktor IntelliJ IDEA plugin, Gradle, OpenAPI tooling, and JetBrains' broader Kotlin server-development ecosystem.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/ktorio/ktor-cli
• https://blog.jetbrains.com/kotlin/2018/11/ktor-1-0/
• https://blog.jetbrains.com/kotlin/2024/10/ktor-3-0/
• https://blog.jetbrains.com/ktor/2022/04/11/ktor-2-0-released/
• https://github.com/ktorio/ktor-cli
• https://ktor.io/docs/server-create-a-new-project.html
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ktorio/ktor-cli/main/README.md