macOS
Homebrew Caskverified · 100%
brew install --cask truetreelocal Homebrew cask metadata
cask / rank 5128
Install truetree with Homebrew Cask
Command-line tool for pstree-like output. Version 0.8 via Homebrew Cask; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Command-line tool for pstree-like output
Project links
Commands and aliases
- TrueTree
history
Project history and usage
TrueTree is a small macOS command-line process-tree utility aimed at incident responders and threat hunters who need a more useful process ancestry view than ordinary PID/PPID output.
Project history
The project grew out of Jaron Bradley's February 2020 write-up of the 'TrueTree' concept: on macOS, launchd and XPC often make ordinary process trees look flat or misleading, so the tool uses additional operating-system process metadata to reconstruct more helpful ancestry.
Its README later documented platform drift: after macOS 11 introduced runningboardd behavior that changed parentage observations, TrueTree was updated to use Application Services for some true-parent discovery while accepting that some terminated parents can no longer be recovered.
Adoption history
TrueTree appears to have remained a specialist macOS security tool rather than a broad Unix replacement for pstree. Its Homebrew cask packaging made a compiled release easy to install on analyst Macs, while the GitHub project stayed compact and focused.
How it is used
The tool is used from a root shell to print an enhanced process tree, optionally showing timestamps, parent-data sources, network information, or a standard PID/PPID tree for comparison.
In package-manager culture it is the kind of niche binary that belongs in a forensic or IR workstation bootstrap list: install it with Homebrew, run it during macOS triage, and compare its output with ps, Activity Monitor, and launchctl procinfo.
Why package nerds care
TrueTree matters to package nerds because it packages a very macOS-specific diagnostic idea as a single CLI. It is not a general-purpose process viewer; its value is that Homebrew users can install a purpose-built process-ancestry helper without compiling an Xcode project.
Timeline
- 2020: The TrueTree concept is published for macOS threat hunting and incident response.
- 2024: GitHub shows TrueTree 0.8 as the latest release.
Related projects
- pstree and ps provide the traditional Unix process-tree baseline that TrueTree compares itself against.
- launchctl procinfo is the macOS source of several parentage clues described in the project write-up.
Sources
security posture
No protected-tool coverage found yet
No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for truetree. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.
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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
TrueTree | binary | Homebrew cask binary | TrueTree |
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 version0.8
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | cask:truetree |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.8 |
| Package manager | Homebrew Cask |
| Homepage | https://themittenmac.com/the-truetree-concept/ |
| SHA-256 | 10fcc907a053b8d89f31de2695a714f06732cc539b4af4f7cf22c0ce198b9098 |
| Download URL | https://github.com/themittenmac/TrueTree/releases/download/V0.8/TrueTree.zip |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
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
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation