macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install whenlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install whenMacPorts ports tree · sysutils/when/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 9116
Install when with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix, pacman
Tiny personal calendar. Version 1.1.45 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install when.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add whenAlpine Linux edge package indexes · when · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install whenDebian stable package indexes · when · source: deb.debian.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#whennixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/wh/when/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S whenArch Linux sync databases · when · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
overview
Package summary
Tiny personal calendar
Project links
Commands and aliases
- when
history
Project history and usage
When is Ben Crowell's minimal personal calendar program for Unix users who prefer text files and terminal commands over larger personal-information-manager applications. The official page describes it as extremely simple, dependency-free beyond Perl, and editable in a favorite text editor.
Project history
The reproduced man page and source identify Ben Crowell as the author and give a copyright range beginning in 2003. The page's included man page is for When 1.1.46 dated 21 December 2011, while the Bitbucket repository now carries the source history and tags.
Bitbucket repository metadata shows the current public repository was created in January 2023, but tags exposed through the Bitbucket API include version 1.1.30 in January 2013 and later 1.1.39 through 1.1.45 releases from 2020 to 2022. The project therefore predates its current hosting location.
Adoption history
When's official page documents packaging across traditional Unix-like systems, including Debian and Ubuntu, Gentoo, FreeBSD, and Slackware-family packaging. That adoption pattern fits the tool's design: a small Perl script with no library dependencies is easy for distributions and ports trees to carry.
How it is used
The basic workflow is to run when, let it create initial setup information, edit the plain-text calendar with when e, and then run when to print upcoming items. The default report covers the next two weeks, while commands can show weekly, monthly, or yearly ranges, wall-calendar grids, the current date, or modified Julian days.
Calendar entries are simple text lines such as a date followed by a comma and description. The program also supports recurring date expressions, language handling, UTF-8 input, pager and terminal styling options, and a prefilter mechanism for splitting larger calendars through tools such as m4.
Why package nerds care
When is package-nerd significant as a small, inspectable Unix productivity tool: it stores user data in text, delegates editing to the user's editor, and avoids library dependencies. It is the kind of program that survives in package archives because it is easy to understand, easy to patch, and compatible with old-school shell workflows.
Timeline
- 2003: The copyright range in the official man page and source begins.
- 2011-12-21: The official page reproduces the When 1.1.46 man page dated this day.
- 2013-01-10: Bitbucket tag metadata records version 1.1.30.
- 2020-2022: Bitbucket tag metadata records versions 1.1.39 through 1.1.45.
- 2023-01-25: The current Bitbucket repository metadata records repository creation.
Related projects
- Traditional Unix calendar/reminder tools, plain-text personal information managers, and editor-centered workflows are the closest relatives.
- iCalendar and vCalendar are mentioned by the official page as formats for possible external converters rather than native storage formats.
Sources
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.
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
~/.when/preferences~/.when/calendar
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
when | 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 version1.1.45
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:when |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.1.45 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://www.lightandmatter.com/when/when.html |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none 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%
when 1.1.45-1
tiny personal calendar
https://www.lightandmatter.com/when/when.html
sudo apt install when- Section: misc
- Architecture: all
- 1 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: When
Nix95%
when
nix profile install nixpkgs#when- normalized package name match
- Matched by: When
Ubuntu apt95%
when 1.1.45-1
tiny personal calendar
https://www.lightandmatter.com/when/when.html
sudo apt install when- Section: universe/utils
- Architecture: all
- 1 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: When
apk95%
when 1.1.45-r1
Extremely simple personal calendar program
https://www.lightandmatter.com/when/when.html
sudo apk add when- License: GPL-2.0-only OR Artistic-1.0-Perl
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: when
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: When
apk95%
when-doc 1.1.45-r1
Extremely simple personal calendar program (documentation)
https://www.lightandmatter.com/when/when.html
sudo apk add when-doc- License: GPL-2.0-only OR Artistic-1.0-Perl
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: when
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: When
pacman95%
when 1.1.45-2
A simple commandline personal calendar program
http://www.lightandmatter.com/when/when.html
sudo pacman -S when- License: GPL
- Architecture: any
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: When
MacPorts95%
when
sudo port install when- normalized package name match
- Matched by: When
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
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation