# Install mage with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper, scoop, winget Make/rake-like build tool using Go. Version 1.17.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-29. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install golang-github-magefile-mage-dev. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:mage ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install mage ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install mage ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: devel/mage/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add mage ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mage from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install mage ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: mage from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#mage ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ma/mage/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S mage ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: mage from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install mage ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: mage from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst ### Windows - Scoop (92%): ```sh scoop install main/mage ``` Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/mage.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - winget (92%): ```sh winget install --id Magefile.mage -e ``` Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: Magefile.mage from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:mage - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.17.2 - **Source summary:** Make/rake-like build tool using Go - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-29T17:04:50+02:00 - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - mage (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.17.2 ## Project history and usage Mage is a Go-native make/rake-style task runner. Its package identity is simple: a small `mage` CLI finds Go functions in mage files and exposes them as build targets, giving Go projects a build script that is compiled and type-checked as ordinary Go. ### Project history The public GitHub repository was created in September 2017, and the project reached its v1 release in October 2017. The official site describes the core idea as Makefile-like runnable targets written as plain Go functions, with no runtime dependency beyond Go itself. Mage evolved around Go workflow conventions. Release notes and documentation added support for Go modules, versioned `go install` use, optional and variadic arguments, multiline help text, tab completion, and the `magefiles/` directory convention for keeping build files separate from normal application code. ### Adoption history Mage became a common package-manager install for developers who wanted a cross-platform replacement for Make in Go-heavy repositories. The official installation page documents Homebrew, MacPorts, Scoop, GitHub releases, `go install`, and asdf, while the Homebrew input data also lists Linux distribution, Nix, pacman, winget, and zypper package names. The repository has several thousand GitHub stars and hundreds of forks, which is a useful adoption signal for a developer tool whose main audience is maintainers wiring project automation into local builds and CI. ### How it is used A typical project adds a mage file with the `mage` build tag and exported functions. Running `mage -l` lists targets, `mage ` executes one, and comments on functions become command help. Mage is also used in CI and in vendored or zero-install workflows. The zero-install documentation shows how a project can run Mage through `go run` so contributors do not need a preinstalled `mage` binary. ### Why package nerds care Mage is package-nerd interesting because it trades Make's whitespace-sensitive shell DSL for Go code while still looking like a tiny command-line build tool to package managers. It sits in the same cultural slot as Make, Rake, Just, and Task, but its dependency story is unusually boring for Go users: install one CLI, write Go. Its packaging footprint is broad for a niche build tool, and the docs explicitly cover binary releases and multiple package managers, which makes it easy to pin in CI images or bootstrap on contributor machines. ### Timeline - 2017: Public GitHub repository created. - 2017: v1 release published. - 2018: Go modules support documented in release history. - 2021: `magefiles/` directory support released. - 2026: v1.17.x releases continue the 1.x line with tab completion and help improvements. ### Related projects - Make and Rake are the direct inspirations named by the project description. - Go task runners such as Task and Just occupy adjacent package-manager space, but Mage's distinguishing feature is that tasks are ordinary Go functions. ### Sources - - - - - - source_facts.package-manager - source_facts.repo ## Security Notes generalized runtime or code generation signal. - **Geiger risk:** yellow / medium - generalized runtime or code generation signal ## 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 - Unix: magefile.go, Magefile.go - Windows: magefile.go, Magefile.go ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - golang-github-magefile-mage-dev - 1.15.0+ds-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: golang-github-magefile-mage-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Make/rake-like dev tool using Go (library) | https://github.com/magefile/mage - Debian apt - mage - 1.15.0+ds-2+b3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: mage from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Make/rake-like dev tool using Go (program) | https://github.com/magefile/mage - Nix - mage: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ma/mage/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - apk - mage - 1.17.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mage from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | make-like build tool using Go | https://magefile.org/ - pacman - mage - 1.15.0-2: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: mage from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | A Make/rake-like build tool using Go | https://magefile.org - zypper - mage - 1.15.0-2.8: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: mage from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | A make-like build tool using Go | https://github.com/magefile/mage - MacPorts - mage: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: devel/mage/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Scoop - main/mage: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/mage.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - winget - Magefile.mage: normalized package name match | Windows Package Manager source index: Magefile.mage from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/mage.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/mage.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph