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brew / rank 1315

Install wakeonlan with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, winget

Sends magic packets to wake up network-devices. Version 0.42 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install wakeonlan.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install wakeonlan

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install wakeonlan

MacPorts ports tree · net/wakeonlan/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add wakeonlan

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · wakeonlan · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install wakeonlan

Debian stable package indexes · wakeonlan · source: deb.debian.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#wakeonlan

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/wa/wakeonlan/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S wakeonlan

Arch Linux sync databases · wakeonlan · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

Windows

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id NewCloud.WakeOnLan -e

Windows Package Manager source index · NewCloud.WakeOnLan · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com

overview

Package summary

Sends magic packets to wake up network-devices

Commands and aliases

  • wakeonlan

history

Project history and usage

`wakeonlan` is a Perl command-line tool for sending Wake-on-LAN magic packets to network adapters that can power on or wake a sleeping computer. The package is a small utility, but it sits on top of a widely deployed hardware and network-management convention.

Project history

Wake-on-LAN itself comes from AMD and Hewlett-Packard's Magic Packet technology, proposed in a November 1995 AMD white paper and later adopted broadly by PC and network vendors. The mechanism was designed so a powered-down system could leave enough network-interface circuitry active to recognize a specific Ethernet-frame payload and signal the machine to wake.

The `wakeonlan` script is older than its GitHub repository: the README lists copyright years from 2000 through 2024 and credits Jose Pedro Oliveira and Ico Doornekamp as authors. The GitHub repository was created on November 11, 2011, preserving and maintaining the Perl script as a simple Unix-friendly WoL sender.

Adoption history

The tool's longevity comes from being boring in the best way: Wake-on-LAN packets have a fixed, simple structure, and administrators often want a scriptable sender more than a GUI. As of July 2, 2026, GitHub API metadata showed the repository with about 414 stars and 38 forks, modest numbers that fit a mature single-purpose networking utility.

How it is used

A normal invocation sends a magic packet to a target MAC address, using the limited broadcast address by default. The README shows `wakeonlan 01:02:03:04:05:06`, subnet-directed broadcasts with `-i 192.168.1.255`, and custom destination ports with `-p`; the default UDP destination is the discard port, 9.

The README explains the practical networking caveat: local subnet broadcasts are straightforward, while waking a machine behind routers may require directed-broadcast forwarding or sending to another live host on the remote subnet so the sleeping adapter can still see the packet on the local link.

Why package nerds care

For package maintainers, `wakeonlan` is the canonical tiny WoL sender: portable Perl, no daemon, no discovery service, and a stable interface that maps directly onto the magic-packet format. It is most useful in scripts, router admin workflows, lab management, and home-server setups where the MAC address is known.

Timeline

  • 1995: AMD and Hewlett-Packard proposed Magic Packet technology in an AMD white paper.
  • 1996-1997: Wake-on-LAN saw wider industry adoption through PC manageability efforts involving IBM and Intel.
  • 2000: the `wakeonlan` README copyright range begins, indicating the script's long pre-GitHub life.
  • November 11, 2011: the jpoliv/wakeonlan repository was created on GitHub.
  • 2024: the README still listed active copyright coverage through 2024.

Related projects

  • Related tools include `ether-wake`, router firmware Wake-on-LAN pages, and packet analyzers such as Wireshark, whose WOL dissector recognizes both UDP and EtherType-style magic packets. The broader related technology is the Wake-on-LAN hardware feature in NICs, BIOS/UEFI settings, and operating-system power management.

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

  • broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

  • text:network

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
wakeonlanexecutableindexed 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 version0.42
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:wakeonlan
Version0.42
Package managerHomebrew
Homepagehttps://github.com/jpoliv/wakeonlan
Repositoryhttps://github.com/jpoliv/wakeonlan
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%

wakeonlan 0.41-14

Sends 'magic packets' to wake-on-LAN enabled ethernet adapters

https://github.com/jpoliv/wakeonlan

sudo apt install wakeonlan
  • Section: net
  • Architecture: all
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Wakeonlan
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: wakeonlan from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

wakeonlan

nix profile install nixpkgs#wakeonlan
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Wakeonlan
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/wa/wakeonlan/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

wakeonlan 0.41-12.1

Sends 'magic packets' to wake-on-LAN enabled ethernet adapters

https://github.com/jpoliv/wakeonlan

sudo apt install wakeonlan
  • Section: net
  • Architecture: all
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Wakeonlan
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: wakeonlan from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

wakeonlan 0.42-r0

Perl script for waking up computers via Wake-On-LAN magic packets

https://github.com/jpoliv/wakeonlan

sudo apk add wakeonlan
  • License: Artistic-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: wakeonlan
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Wakeonlan
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: wakeonlan from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

wakeonlan-doc 0.42-r0

Perl script for waking up computers via Wake-On-LAN magic packets (documentation)

https://github.com/jpoliv/wakeonlan

sudo apk add wakeonlan-doc
  • License: Artistic-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: wakeonlan
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Wakeonlan
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: wakeonlan-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
pacman95%

wakeonlan 0.42-3

Perl script for waking up computers via Wake-On-LAN magic packets

https://github.com/jpoliv/wakeonlan/

sudo pacman -S wakeonlan
  • License: Artistic-2.0
  • Architecture: any
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Wakeonlan
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: wakeonlan from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
MacPorts95%

wakeonlan

sudo port install wakeonlan
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Wakeonlan
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: net/wakeonlan/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
winget95%

NewCloud.WakeOnLan

winget install --id NewCloud.WakeOnLan -e
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Wakeonlan
Windows Package Manager source index · cdn.winget.microsoft.com · Windows Package Manager source index: NewCloud.WakeOnLan from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

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