# 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

```sh
sudo av install brew:since
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install since
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install since
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: since from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install since
```

  Evidence: 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 facts

- **Package key:** brew:since
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.1
- **Source summary:** Stateful tail: show changes to files since last check
- **Homepage:** <http://welz.org.za/projects/since>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- since (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.1
## 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.

### Sources

- <http://welz.org.za/projects/since>
- <http://welz.org.za/projects/since/since-1.1.tar.gz>
- source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - since - 1.1-7: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: since from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | tail(1) work-alike that saves and uses state information | http://welz.org.za/projects/since
- Ubuntu apt - since - 1.1-7: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: since from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | tail(1) work-alike that saves and uses state information | http://welz.org.za/projects/since
- dnf - since - 1.1-34.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: since from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Stateful tail replacement | http://welz.org.za/projects/since


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/since.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/since.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph