install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install aiken

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#aiken

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

overview

Package summary

Modern smart contract platform for Cardano

Project links

Commands and aliases

aiken

history

Project history and usage

Aiken is a modern smart-contract language and toolchain for Cardano. The official repository describes it as a modern smart contract platform for Cardano, and the docs cover installation, language concepts, modules, packages, playground usage, and the built-in language server.

Project history

The public Aiken repository was created in April 2022. The project is organized around a compiler/toolchain, a website, a standard library, a package registry, a playground, and `aikup`, a version-management installer for Aiken releases.

Aiken's README says the name comes from Howard Aiken, the American physicist and computing pioneer. The project presents itself as a developer-friendly Cardano smart-contract stack rather than just a compiler binary.

Adoption history

Aiken is published through multiple developer package channels. The official README links to crates.io and npm badges, the npm registry lists `@aiken-lang/aiken`, and Homebrew packages the `aiken` formula. The official installation page now recommends `aikup` and documents npm, Homebrew, shell, PowerShell, and MSI paths.

Homebrew listed version 1.1.23 as stable and the npm registry listed 1.1.23 as latest when checked. The input package facts also list Nix packaging, showing adoption among reproducible-build users.

How it is used

Aiken users create Cardano smart-contract projects, write modules, use the language server, and build/test contracts through the command-line toolchain. The docs identify `aiken.toml` as the project root pattern for language-server integration.

No credentials file is part of ordinary Aiken operation; it is a compiler/toolchain rather than a hosted-service client.

Why package nerds care

Aiken is interesting as a blockchain language package because it spans several ecosystems at once: Rust/crates.io for implementation culture, npm and Homebrew for user installation, Nix for reproducibility, and its own package registry for language libraries.

For package maintainers, the important object is not only the `aiken` executable but the surrounding developer platform: version manager, LSP, standard library, package registry, playground, and `aiken.toml` project convention.

Timeline

2022: Public Aiken GitHub repository created.
2024: npm package record for `@aiken-lang/aiken` created.
2026: npm and Homebrew list 1.1.23 as current/latest.

Related projects

Cardano and Plutus smart-contract tooling.
aikup, the official Aiken version manager.
Aiken standard library, packages site, and playground.

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

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

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.

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: aiken.toml in project root

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`aiken`	cli	global executable

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 generated2026-07-08

manager version1.1.23

manager updated2026-06-26

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv1.1.23

https://github.com/aiken-lang/aiken

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:aiken
Version	1.1.23
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/aiken
Homepage	https://aiken-lang.org/
Repository	https://github.com/aiken-lang/aiken
Upstream docs	https://aiken-lang.org/
License	Apache-2.0
Source archive	https://github.com/aiken-lang/aiken/archive/refs/tags/v1.1.23.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-26T19:14:50Z
Pulse	updated
Build dependencies	pkgconf, rust
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	aiken
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

aiken

nix profile install nixpkgs#aiken

normalized package name match
Matched by: Aiken

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

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.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/aiken.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install aiken with Homebrew, Nix