macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install surfrawprovider-native install command
brew / rank 9829
Install surfraw with Homebrew
Shell Users' Revolutionary Front Rage Against the Web. Version 2.3.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Shell Users' Revolutionary Front Rage Against the Web
Project links
Commands and aliases
- opensearch-discover
- opensearch-genquery
- sr
- surfraw
- surfraw-update-path
history
Project history and usage
Surfraw is a Unix shell interface for web search engines and site-specific searches. Its culture is deliberately command-line native: searches are exposed as small shell commands called elvi, with the browser treated as an output target rather than the main search UI.
Project history
The project began in 2000 as Surfaw 0.5.4 and was renamed Surfraw a few days later, according to the upstream NEWS file. By the 2003 Surfraw 2.0 release, a new development team had moved the project to Debian's Alioth infrastructure, added the short `sr` alias, added bookmark support, and reorganized elvi handling.
Surfraw continued to track the changing web by adding, fixing, and removing elvi as public search services appeared, changed interfaces, or disappeared. The 2018 2.3.0 release notes marked a move away from Debian's old platform to GitLab and noted that all elvi had moved to HTTPS.
Adoption history
Surfraw's adoption has been strongest in Unix and package-manager communities rather than as a mass-market application. The input package facts list packages across Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Alpine, Arch, Nix, MacPorts, and openSUSE, reflecting a long tail of distro packaging for shell-heavy users.
How it is used
Typical use is `sr elviname search terms`, for example invoking an elvis for a web search, package lookup, documentation search, or site search. The README documents `surfraw -elvi` and `sr -elvi` for listing installed elvi, direct elvi use, XDG configuration, private elvi, and bookmark files.
Why package nerds care
Surfraw matters to package nerds because it turns web search targets, package indexes, bug trackers, documentation sites, and archives into composable shell entry points. It is a small expression of a larger Unix preference: keep search, text processing, terminal multiplexers, text browsers, and package metadata close to the command line.
Timeline
- 2000: Initial Surfaw 0.5.4 release appears in upstream NEWS.
- 2000: Project renamed from Surfaw to Surfraw.
- 2003: Surfraw 2.0 ships with a new development team, `sr` alias, bookmark support, and expanded elvi.
- 2010: Surfraw 2.2.7 notes more than one hundred elvi.
- 2018: Surfraw 2.3.0 moves future development to GitLab and updates elvi to HTTPS.
Related projects
- Surfraw is related to text browsers such as links and w3m, terminal multiplexers such as screen, and package/search elvi for Debian, Arch, AUR, documentation, bug trackers, and code search.
Sources
- https://gitlab.com/surfraw/Surfraw/-/raw/master/NEWS
- https://gitlab.com/surfraw/Surfraw/-/raw/master/README
- input 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.
- Unix
/etc/xdg/surfraw/conf~/.config/surfraw/conf
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
opensearch-discover | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
opensearch-genquery | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
sr | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
surfraw | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
surfraw-update-path | 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 version2.3.0
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:surfraw |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.3.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://gitlab.com/surfraw/Surfraw |
| 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