install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install ain

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install ain

MacPorts ports tree · www/ain/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#ain

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

overview

Package summary

HTTP API client for the terminal

Project links

Commands and aliases

ain

history

Project history and usage

Ain is a terminal HTTP API client that uses template files to assemble requests and then delegates the actual call to curl, wget, or httpie. The README describes it as an alternative to Postman, Paw, or Insomnia for users who prefer files, folders, scripts, and pipes.

Project history

The public GitHub repository was created in October 2020. The project is written in Go and centers on a small `.ain` template format with sections such as Host, Query, Headers, Method, Body, Config, Backend, and BackendOptions.

Ain's design goal is explicit in the README: enable scripting of input and further processing of output through terminal pipes. Rather than building its own HTTP stack as the user-facing primitive, it makes curl, wget, or httpie the backend and focuses on request organization.

Adoption history

Official installation instructions cover `go install`, Homebrew, Scoop, AUR binary packages, and manual downloads from GitHub releases. The input package facts also list Homebrew, MacPorts, and Nix packages.

Homebrew listed version 1.6.0 as stable and reported 107 installs over 365 days when checked, suggesting a small but packaged Unix-tool audience.

How it is used

Users write one or more `.ain` template files, pass them to `ain`, optionally provide variables, and receive output from the selected backend. Templates can be layered across files and directories, making it useful for API collections that still behave like shell files.

Ain has no separate credentials store in the official README. Secrets are normally represented through template variables, environment variables, `.env`-style workflows, scripts, or headers inside user-controlled `.ain` files.

Why package nerds care

Ain is a classic package-manager-friendly CLI: a single Go executable, no service account, no desktop app, and a plain-text file format. Its appeal is to users who want API-client ergonomics without leaving the shell or losing composability with find, fzf, pipes, curl, wget, and httpie.

Timeline

2020: Public GitHub repository created.
2020s: README documents Go, Homebrew, Scoop, AUR, and binary-release installation paths.
2026: Homebrew lists 1.6.0 as stable in checked metadata.

Related projects

curl, wget, and httpie, used as request backends.
Postman, Paw, and Insomnia, named by the README as GUI/API-client alternatives.
Shell tools such as find, fzf, and environment-variable based workflows.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:http,client

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 8 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 1 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: *.ain

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`ain`	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 version1.6.0

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv1.6.0

https://github.com/jonaslu/ain

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:ain
Version	1.6.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ain
Homepage	https://github.com/jonaslu/ain
Repository	https://github.com/jonaslu/ain
Upstream docs	https://github.com/jonaslu/ain
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/jonaslu/ain/archive/refs/tags/v1.6.0.tar.gz
Build dependencies	go
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, 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	ain
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%

ain

nix profile install nixpkgs#ain

normalized package name match
Matched by: Ain

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

MacPorts95%

ain

sudo port install ain

normalized package name match
Matched by: Ain

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: www/ain/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/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/ain.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 ain with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix