macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install openvilocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 8698
Install openvi with Homebrew, apk, Nix
Portable OpenBSD vi for UNIX systems. Version 7.9.33 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#openvi.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add openviAlpine Linux edge package indexes · openvi · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#openvinixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/op/openvi/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Portable OpenBSD vi for UNIX systems
Project links
Commands and aliases
- oex
- ovi
- oview
history
Project history and usage
OpenVi is a portable packaging of the OpenBSD vi/ex editor for Unix-like systems outside OpenBSD. Its significance is preservation and portability rather than a new editor model: it gives package users a small BSD-licensed vi derived from OpenBSD base-system code.
Project history
The OpenVi README describes the project as a fork of the vi/ex editor included with OpenBSD. That editor descends from nvi 1.79, the Berkeley ex/vi reimplementation associated with Keith Bostic, Sven Verdoolaege, and other CSRG contributors, and nvi itself traces back through Steve Kirkendall's Elvis editor.
OpenVi follows the common OpenBSD-portable pattern: take audited base-system code, add portability glue, and make it build on other Unix systems. Its README emphasizes readable code, secure C library idioms such as strlcpy, snprintf, mkstemp, and pledge where available, and a permissive BSD/ISC licensing mix.
Adoption history
OpenVi's adoption footprint is niche. It is packaged by Homebrew, Alpine, and Nix for users who want OpenBSD's vi behavior without installing OpenBSD, but it does not appear to be a general editor ecosystem on the scale of Vim, Neovim, or nvi2.
Its most natural audience is package minimalists, BSD users working on non-BSD hosts, and developers who want a small vi with OpenBSD ancestry rather than plugin systems, scripting runtimes, or GUI layers.
How it is used
The package installs ovi, oex, and oview so users can edit files, run ex commands, and inspect files with a vi-family tool. It is useful in lightweight shell environments, recovery setups, containers, and systems where a traditional vi is wanted with few moving parts.
Why package nerds care
OpenVi is interesting because it packages a lineage rather than a feature race: Berkeley vi to nvi to OpenBSD vi to a portable downstream. For package nerds, that makes it a compact case study in base-system code being exported into package-manager space.
Timeline
- 1996: nvi 1.79 becomes the ancestor named by the OpenVi README for OpenBSD vi.
- 2020s: OpenVi is distributed as a portable OpenBSD vi for Unix-like systems and appears in package managers including Homebrew, Alpine, and Nix.
- 2026: Homebrew packages OpenVi 7.7.32 with ovi, oex, and oview.
Related projects
- OpenVi is related to OpenBSD vi, nvi, nvi2, Elvis, Vim, Neovim, and other small Unix editor ports that preserve traditional ex/vi behavior.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
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.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
oex | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
ovi | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
oview | 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 version7.9.33
manager updated2026-06-25
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:openvi |
|---|---|
| Version | 7.9.33 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/johnsonjh/OpenVi |
| Repository | https://github.com/johnsonjh/OpenVi |
| Last updated | 2026-06-25T04:20:44Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Nix95%
openvi
nix profile install nixpkgs#openvi- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openvi
apk95%
openvi 7.9.33-r0
OpenVi is a fork of the vi / ex editor included with OpenBSD
https://github.com/johnsonjh/OpenVi
sudo apk add openvi- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: openvi
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openvi
apk95%
openvi-doc 7.9.33-r0
OpenVi is a fork of the vi / ex editor included with OpenBSD (documentation)
https://github.com/johnsonjh/OpenVi
sudo apk add openvi-doc- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: openvi
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Openvi
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
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation