# Install with-readline with Homebrew

Allow GNU Readline to be used with arbitrary programs. Version 0.1.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:with-readline
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install with-readline
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:with-readline
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.1.1
- **Source summary:** Allow GNU Readline to be used with arbitrary programs
- **Homepage:** <https://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/sw/withreadline.html>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- with-readline (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.1.1
## Project history and usage

with-readline is a small Unix utility by Richard Kettlewell that wraps arbitrary terminal programs with GNU Readline editing. Its homepage describes the original use case plainly: improve programs that do not themselves link Readline, such as adding line editing and history to an sftp session.

### Project history

The project dates back to at least 2005 according to its copyright notice, with later source releases and a GitHub mirror created in 2013. It is intentionally narrow software: a compatibility wrapper for terminal programs rather than a shell, terminal emulator, or application framework.

### How it is used

The package is useful in the old Unix tradition of wrapping one program with another to add interactive behavior. Its niche is strongest for simple command-line clients that read from a pseudo-terminal but lack editing conveniences; the project documentation notes testing on Linux and Mac OS X and possible portability to other Unix platforms.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/ewxrjk/with-readline>
- <https://github.com/ewxrjk/with-readline>
- <https://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/sw/withreadline.html>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

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


## Combined YAML source

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


## Sources

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