macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install mcflyprovider-native install command
brew / rank 2438
Install mcfly with Homebrew
Fly through your shell history. Version 0.9.4 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Fly through your shell history
Project links
Commands and aliases
- mcfly
history
Project history and usage
McFly is a shell-history replacement for reverse search, designed to make Ctrl-R results context-aware instead of purely chronological. The project describes itself as an upgraded Ctrl-R that considers the current directory, command exit status, timestamps, and prior shell history.
Project history
The official GitHub repository was created in July 2018, and the first listed GitHub release, v0.1.0, was published on 2018-10-12. It is written in Rust and integrates with Bash, Zsh, Fish, and PowerShell rather than replacing the shell itself.
McFly's README emphasizes reversibility: it augments shell history in a SQLite database while maintaining the normal shell history file, so users can stop using McFly without losing the conventional history path. That design choice helped it fit into conservative shell setups.
Adoption history
The supplied package-manager facts list McFly across Homebrew, MacPorts, Alpine, Arch, Nix, Scoop, WinGet, and openSUSE/Zypper, showing broad packaging across Unix-like and Windows-adjacent ecosystems.
The README documents Homebrew, MacPorts, WinGet, install-script, manual release, source, and Zinit installation paths. It also includes release-process notes for Homebrew, reflecting long-running package-manager maintenance rather than a one-off binary upload.
How it is used
Typical use is rebinding Ctrl-R in a shell startup file so McFly opens a full-screen history search UI. The tool stores enhanced history metadata in an OS-specific SQLite database and can dump history to stdout for scripting or inspection.
McFly's settings are mostly environment-variable based, with color settings stored in a config.toml under the McFly data directory. The README documents the macOS application-support path, Linux XDG data path, and a legacy ~/.mcfly fallback.
Why package nerds care
McFly is package-nerd interesting because it modernized an old shell muscle-memory path without requiring a new shell or large framework. It is a Rust CLI with many package-manager entries, a small executable surface, and visible cross-shell integration details.
Its use of SQLite for enriched history also makes it part of the broader trend of CLIs turning plain-text shell workflows into indexed local databases while preserving escape hatches back to ordinary files.
Timeline
- 2018-07: GitHub repository created.
- 2018-10: v0.1.0 published on GitHub releases.
- 2023-2025: Continued 0.8 and 0.9 release series.
- 2025-12: v0.9.4 published on GitHub releases.
Related projects
- Related shell-history tools include fzf-based Ctrl-R bindings, atuin, hstr, and shell-native history search. McFly's official positioning is specifically an intelligent replacement for Ctrl-R rather than a full shell environment.
Sources
- https://github.com/cantino/mcfly
- https://github.com/cantino/mcfly#readme
- https://github.com/cantino/mcfly/releases
- source_facts.package-manager
security posture
Risk level: yellow
generalized runtime or code generation signal.
Risk classifier
yellow risk · medium confidence · runtime
Why
- generalized runtime or code generation signal
Signals
- text:shell
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.
- Linux
$XDG_DATA_DIR/mcfly/config.toml~/.local/share/mcfly/config.toml~/.mcfly/config.toml- macOS
~/Library/Application Support/McFly/config.toml~/.mcfly/config.toml
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
mcfly | 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 version0.9.4
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:mcfly |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.9.4 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/cantino/mcfly |
| Repository | https://github.com/cantino/mcfly |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
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
- Nucleus package database
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation