# Install witr with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, scoop, winget

Why is this running? Version 0.3.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-25. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#witr.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:witr
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install witr
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install witr
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/witr/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#witr
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/wi/witr/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Windows

- Scoop (92%):

```sh
scoop install main/witr
```

  Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/witr.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1

- winget (92%):

```sh
winget install --id PranshuParmar.witr -e
```

  Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: PranshuParmar.witr from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:witr
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.3.3
- **Source summary:** Why is this running?
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/pranshuparmar/witr>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/pranshuparmar/witr>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-25T22:40:21+02:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- witr (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.3.3
## Project history and usage

witr, short for the question 'Why is this running?', is a Go system-inspection CLI focused on explaining the cause behind running processes, open ports, containers, and file locks. The public repository was created in December 2025, and its README positions it as a causality layer above tools such as ps, top, lsof, ss, systemctl, and docker ps.

### Project history

The project appeared as a small single-purpose diagnostics tool and quickly acquired a broader interactive mode. Its README emphasizes both direct human-readable output and an interactive terminal dashboard with tabs for processes, ports, containers, and locks, reflecting a shift from one-shot inspection toward an operator-facing TUI.

### Adoption history

Although new, witr shows unusually strong early adoption signals for a system utility: the GitHub API showed more than 18,000 stars during this enrichment run, and the latest GitHub release at the time checked was v0.3.3, published on June 24, 2026. The README also points to packaging across multiple ecosystems, including Unix, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, and several package managers, which is notable for a young CLI.

### How it is used

witr is used when an operator sees a process, listening port, container, or lock and wants the chain of responsibility rather than another flat listing. It correlates process metadata, services, containers, shells, repositories, and related system state to explain where a running thing came from and how it was started.

### Why package nerds care

Its package-nerd appeal is the tidy premise: most Unix inspection tools expose facts, while witr tries to narrate cause. That makes it a modern companion to classic observability commands, especially for developers moving between local machines, containers, service managers, and language-specific dev servers.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/pranshuparmar/witr>
- <https://api.github.com/repos/pranshuparmar/witr/releases/latest>
- <https://github.com/pranshuparmar/witr>
- <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46392910>


## Security Notes

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for witr. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.


## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - witr: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/wi/witr/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- MacPorts - witr: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/witr/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Scoop - main/witr: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/witr.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- winget - PranshuParmar.witr: normalized package name match | Windows Package Manager source index: PranshuParmar.witr from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix


## Combined YAML source

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


## Sources

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