pkg.soopen package index

brew / rank 14040

Install since with Homebrew, apt, dnf

Stateful tail: show changes to files since last check. Version 1.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install since.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install since

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Stateful tail: show changes to files since last check

Commands and aliases

  • since

history

Project history and usage

since is a small Unix utility for stateful log tailing: it prints only the content appended to files since the last run.

Project history

The official homepage describes since as a tail-like Unix utility for monitoring growing log files. The official source archive includes a manpage dated July 1998, and the homepage offers an old stable 0.5 source archive plus a 1.1 rewrite with more features.

Adoption history

The official homepage links to Debian and FreeBSD distribution pages, and the input records packages for Homebrew, Debian, Fedora/DNF, and Ubuntu. That adoption pattern fits a tiny admin utility preserved by Unix package collections.

How it is used

Users run since against log files, commonly under /var/log, to see only new lines after a previous check. The manpage documents follow mode, quiet and relaxed modes, compressed-extension skipping, and an explicit state-file option.

Why package nerds care

Package nerds care because since is a minimal example of a Unix command that does one operational job, stores simple state, and avoids a larger log-monitoring stack when a shell session is enough.

Timeline

  • 1998: Official manpage in the source archive is dated July 1998.
  • 2000s: Official homepage lists 0.5 as old and stable and 1.1 as a rewrite with more features.
  • 2026: Input package-manager facts list Homebrew, Debian, Fedora/DNF, and Ubuntu packages.

Related projects

  • Related tools include tail, logger, stat, shell aliases for log monitoring, and other stateful log-following scripts.

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

CommandKindExposureNote
sinceexecutableindexed executableDiscovered 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 version1.1
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:since
Version1.1
Package managerHomebrew
Homepagehttp://welz.org.za/projects/since
Bottlenot recorded
Servicenone 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.

Debian apt95%

since 1.1-7

tail(1) work-alike that saves and uses state information

http://welz.org.za/projects/since

sudo apt install since
  • Section: text
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Since
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: since from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Ubuntu apt95%

since 1.1-7

tail(1) work-alike that saves and uses state information

http://welz.org.za/projects/since

sudo apt install since
  • Section: universe/text
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Since
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: since from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
dnf95%

since 1.1-34.fc45

Stateful tail replacement

http://welz.org.za/projects/since

sudo dnf install since
  • License: GPL-3.0-or-later
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: since
  • 2 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Since
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: since from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

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