macOS
brew install minicomlocal Homebrew formula metadata
sudo port install minicomMacPorts ports tree · comms/minicom/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 1296
Menu-driven communications program. Version 2.11.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-04. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install minicom.
install
brew install minicomlocal Homebrew formula metadata
sudo port install minicomMacPorts ports tree · comms/minicom/Portfile · source: api.github.com
sudo apk add minicomAlpine Linux edge package indexes · minicom · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
sudo apt install minicomDebian stable package indexes · minicom · source: deb.debian.org
sudo dnf install minicomFedora Rawhide package metadata · minicom · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
nix profile install nixpkgs#minicomnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/mi/minicom/package.nix · source: api.github.com
sudo pacman -S minicomArch Linux sync databases · minicom · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
sudo zypper install minicomopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · minicom · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Menu-driven communications program
history
Minicom is one of the long-running Unix serial-communications programs that carried DOS-style modem workflows into text-mode Unix environments. Source headers in the codebase identify Miquel van Smoorenburg as the original author for the 1991-1996 minicom communications package, and Debian describes the program as modeled on the MS-DOS Telix interface: a full-screen, menu-driven terminal for modems and serial consoles.
Its role expanded beyond dial-up modem use into a general serial-console tool. The feature set documented by Debian and the man page includes ANSI and VT102 terminal emulation, dialing directories with auto-redial, UUCP-style serial-device locks, capture-to-file logging, remappable keys, startup scripting, and external X/Y/ZMODEM file-transfer helpers. That made it useful both for historical modem work and for hardware bring-up, embedded devices, lab equipment, routers, and other systems reached through a serial port.
In package-manager terms, minicom occupies the classic ncurses serial-terminal niche next to smaller tools such as picocom and multipurpose terminal programs such as screen. Its wide distro packaging reflects that niche: it is boring infrastructure for people who need a configurable serial console rather than a graphical terminal emulator.
security posture
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
ascii-xfr | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
minicom | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
runscript | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
xminicom | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
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.
install metadata
| Package key | brew:minicom |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.11.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://packages.debian.org/sid/minicom |
| Last updated | 2026-06-04T20:44:29Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
minicom 2.10-1
Friendly menu driven serial communication program
https://salsa.debian.org/minicom-team/minicom
sudo apt install minicomminicom
nix profile install nixpkgs#minicomminicom 2.9-4
Friendly menu driven serial communication program
https://salsa.debian.org/minicom-team/minicom
sudo apt install minicomminicom 2.10-r0
menu driven communications program for terminals
https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/minicom
sudo apk add minicomminicom-doc 2.10-r0
menu driven communications program for terminals (documentation)
https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/minicom
sudo apk add minicom-docminicom-lang 2.10-r0
Languages for package minicom
https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/minicom
sudo apk add minicom-langminicom 2.11.1-2.fc45
A text-based modem control and terminal emulation program
https://salsa.debian.org/minicom-team/minicom
sudo dnf install minicomminicom 2.11.1-3
A serial communication program
https://salsa.debian.org/minicom-team/minicom
sudo pacman -S minicomminicom 2.11.1-2.3
A Terminal Program
https://salsa.debian.org/minicom-team/minicom
sudo zypper install minicomminicom-lang 2.11.1-2.3
Translations for package minicom
https://salsa.debian.org/minicom-team/minicom
sudo zypper install minicom-langminicom
sudo port install minicomsource trail
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View the package source record on GitHub.