# Install twtxt with Homebrew, apk, Nix Decentralised, minimalist microblogging service for hackers. Version 1.3.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-10. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#twtxt. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:twtxt ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install twtxt ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add twtxt ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: twtxt from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#twtxt ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/tw/twtxt/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:twtxt - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.3.1 - **Source summary:** Decentralised, minimalist microblogging service for hackers - **Homepage:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-10T10:41:25-04:00 - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - twtxt (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.3.1 ## Project history and usage twtxt is both a CLI client and a minimalist text-file format for decentralized microblogging. Its basic model is that a public URL to a plain text feed acts as a user's identity. ### Project history The official documentation frames twtxt as microblogging for people who would rather publish a readable file than join a closed platform. The client tracks public twtxt files like a feed reader and builds a timeline from followed URLs. The project reached 1.0.0 in the GitHub release metadata in February 2016, then settled into maintenance-style releases. ReadTheDocs identifies the maintained documentation as 1.3.2-dev, and GitHub release metadata records 1.3.1 in 2022. ### Adoption history twtxt's adoption is visible less as a large centralized network and more as a small ecosystem. The official README lists directories, registries, alternate clients in Perl, C, Tcl/Tk, Emacs, and other languages, bridges from Twitter and WordPress, and related Yarn.social user lists. The installation documentation points to pip, pipx, virtualenv use, Arch AUR, and Homebrew, while the supplied package facts also show Alpine and Nix packaging. That is the classic small-tool distribution pattern: easy to install from a language package index, then picked up by Unix-oriented package managers. ### How it is used A user creates a local twtxt file, publishes it somewhere reachable by URL, follows other feed URLs, and uses the CLI to post, follow, unfollow, view timelines, and edit configuration. The documentation highlights shell integration, including direct appends using standard tools such as `date` and `echo`. ### Why package nerds care twtxt is significant to package nerds because it turns microblogging into a file format plus a CLI. It rewards simple hosting, text processing, scp hooks, feed readers, registries, and small alternate implementations rather than a single service dependency. ### Timeline - 2016: GitHub release metadata records twtxt 1.0.0. - 2017: ReadTheDocs footer and release metadata show the 1.2.x documentation era. - 2022: GitHub release metadata records twtxt 1.3.1. ### Related projects - Yarn.social: listed by the README as maintaining a curated list of active twtxt users. - htwtxt: listed as a web-based twtxt feed hoster. - txtnix and txtnish: Perl clients listed by the official README. - getwtxt-ng and rustwtxt: registry/server and parsing projects listed by the official README. ### Sources - - - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## 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 - Linux: ~/.config/twtxt/config - macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/twtxt/config ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - twtxt: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/tw/twtxt/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - apk - twtxt - 1.3.1-r4: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: twtxt from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Decentralised, minimalist microblogging service for hackers | https://github.com/buckket/twtxt - apk - twtxt-pyc - 1.3.1-r4: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: twtxt-pyc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Precompiled Python bytecode for twtxt | https://github.com/buckket/twtxt ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/twtxt.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/twtxt.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph