Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install alpine with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper

News and email agent. Version 2.26 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install alpine

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install alpine

MacPorts ports tree · mail/alpine/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add alpine

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · alpine · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install alpine

Debian stable package indexes · alpine · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install alpine

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · alpine · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#alpine

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

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install alpine

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · alpine · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

News and email agent

Commands and aliases

  • pico
  • pilot
  • rpdump
  • rpload

history

Project history and usage

Alpine is a text-mode email and news client descended from the University of Washington Pine family. The current Alpine distribution includes the Alpine mailer, Pico editor, Pilot file navigator, Web Alpine components, IMAP tooling, and utilities for remote pinerc/address-book upload and download.

Project history

The official repository README credits the University of Washington for 2006-2009 copyright and Eduardo Chappa for 2013-2026 copyright. The same README describes the distribution as Alpine/Pico/Pilot/Web Alpine/Imapd and says user-level documentation is contained in the programs themselves as context-sensitive help.

Alpine retained Pine compatibility in visible ways. The official UW FAQ says Unix Alpine still uses `.pinerc` as the personal configuration file because that was the file name used by Pine and Alpine is an upgrade of Pine. The current homepage continues to publish source and Windows binaries and states that the site is for releases and extra documentation, while the binary contains the configuration documentation needed to run Alpine.

Adoption history

Alpine's adoption comes from institutional Unix email culture, long-time Pine users, terminal users, and administrators who value keyboard-driven IMAP, NNTP, local folders, and remote configuration support. The official UW FAQ's explanation that Alpine is an upgrade of Pine captures the continuity that kept Pine users' configuration and habits relevant.

The current project is maintained outside the old UW release channel by Eduardo Chappa, with official releases at alpineapp.email and source at repo.or.cz. Package-manager adoption is broad across Unix-like systems because Alpine remains a compact terminal mail/news client with familiar companion tools such as Pico and Pilot.

How it is used

Users run `alpine` for interactive mail and news. The distribution also builds `pico`, `pilot`, `rpload`, `rpdump`, `mailutil`, IMAP test/server tools, and Web Alpine components, though package formulas may expose only some executables.

On Unix, Alpine uses a personal `~/.pinerc`, plus optional system files `/usr/local/lib/pine.conf` and `/usr/local/lib/pine.info`. Official documentation says Alpine can generate a blank personal configuration with `alpine -pinerc` and system-wide config output with `alpine -conf`.

For credentials, modern Alpine can be built with password-file support. Official release notes for Alpine 2.20 and 2.21 mention RPM builds with default password file `~/.alpine.pwd`, and the 2.26 homepage notes Unix builds with password-file support by default when built with SMIME support.

Why package nerds care

Alpine is historically important because it carries Pine-era terminal email conventions into modern package sets while preserving small Unix tools around the mailer. Its config paths still say `pine`, which is exactly the kind of legacy detail package metadata needs to avoid 'fixing'.

It is also a licensing and stewardship story: old UW Pine/Alpine heritage, Apache-licensed current releases, and a modern maintainer publishing signed tarballs and Windows binaries from alpineapp.email. Package maintainers care because source releases, repo.or.cz Git, and bundled companion tools do not map one-to-one to a single executable.

Timeline

  • 2006-2009: Repository README credits University of Washington copyright for Alpine.
  • 2013-2026: Repository README credits Eduardo Chappa copyright for ongoing Alpine maintenance.
  • 2014: Official Alpine 2.20 release notes mention RPM builds with default password file `~/.alpine.pwd`.
  • 2026: Homepage lists Alpine 2.26 as the latest release and publishes source, signatures, Windows binaries, and release notes.

Related projects

  • Pine is Alpine's predecessor and explains the retained `.pinerc`, `pine.conf`, and `pine.info` names.
  • Pico and Pilot are companion text editor and file navigator tools included in the Alpine distribution.
  • UW IMAP Toolkit/C-Client, Web Alpine, `rpload`, `rpdump`, and `mailutil` are distributed with the source tree.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.
  • Installs with 1 runtime 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
~/.pinerc/usr/local/lib/pine.conf/usr/local/lib/pine.info

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Unix
~/.alpine.pwd

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
picocliglobal executable
pilotcliglobal executable
rpdumpcliglobal executable
rploadcliglobal 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 version2.26
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://alpineapp.email

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:alpine
Version2.26
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/alpine
Homepagehttps://alpineapp.email
Repositoryhttps://repo.or.cz/alpine.git
Upstream docshttps://alpineapp.email/
LicenseApache-2.0
Source archivehttps://alpineapp.email/alpine/release/src/alpine-2.26.tar.xz
Last updated2026-06-22T14:02:42-07:00
Pulseupdated
Dependenciesopenssl@3
Uses from macOSkrb5, ncurses, openldap
Bottleavailable (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namealpine
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Head VersionHEAD
Conflicts With
  • macpine
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
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.

Debian apt95%

alpine 2.26+dfsg-3

Text-based email client, friendly for novices but powerful

https://alpineapp.email/

sudo apt install alpine
  • Section: mail
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 7 dependencies
  • 5 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: alpine from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

alpine-doc 2.26+dfsg-3

Text-based email client's documentation

https://alpineapp.email/

sudo apt install alpine-doc
  • Section: doc
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 1 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: alpine-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

alpine-pico 2.26+dfsg-3

Simple text editor from Alpine, a text-based email client

https://alpineapp.email/

sudo apt install alpine-pico
  • Section: editors
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: alpine-pico from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

pilot 2.26+dfsg-3

Simple file browser from Alpine, a text-based email client

https://alpineapp.email/

sudo apt install pilot
  • Section: utils
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: pilot from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

alpine

nix profile install nixpkgs#alpine
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/al/alpine/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

alpine 2.26+dfsg-1build3

Text-based email client, friendly for novices but powerful

http://alpine.x10host.com/alpine/

sudo apt install alpine
  • Section: universe/mail
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 8 dependencies
  • 5 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: alpine from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

alpine-doc 2.26+dfsg-1build3

Text-based email client's documentation

http://alpine.x10host.com/alpine/

sudo apt install alpine-doc
  • Section: universe/doc
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 1 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: alpine-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

alpine-pico 2.26+dfsg-1build3

Simple text editor from Alpine, a text-based email client

http://alpine.x10host.com/alpine/

sudo apt install alpine-pico
  • Section: universe/editors
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: alpine-pico from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

pilot 2.26+dfsg-1build3

Simple file browser from Alpine, a text-based email client

http://alpine.x10host.com/alpine/

sudo apt install pilot
  • Section: universe/utils
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 2 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: pilot from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

alpine 2.26-r5

Text-based email client, friendly for novices but powerful

https://repo.or.cz/alpine.git

sudo apk add alpine
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: alpine from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

alpine-dbg 2.26-r5

Text-based email client, friendly for novices but powerful (debug symbols)

https://repo.or.cz/alpine.git

sudo apk add alpine-dbg
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: alpine-dbg from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

alpine-doc 2.26-r5

Text-based email client, friendly for novices but powerful (documentation)

https://repo.or.cz/alpine.git

sudo apk add alpine-doc
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: alpine-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

alpine 2.26-21.fc44

powerful, easy to use console email client

https://alpineapp.email/

sudo dnf install alpine
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 14 dependencies
  • 3 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: alpine from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

alpine 2.26-30.4

Mail User Agent

https://alpineapp.email/

sudo zypper install alpine
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Category: Productivity/Networking/Email/Clients
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 9 dependencies
  • 4 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: alpine from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

pico 5.09-30.4

A small, easy to use editor

https://alpineapp.email/

sudo zypper install pico
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Category: Productivity/Editors/Other
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 2 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: pico from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

pilot 2.99-30.4

Simple file system browser

https://alpineapp.email/

sudo zypper install pilot
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Category: Productivity/File utilities
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: alpine
  • 2 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Alpine
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: pilot from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Related tools

  • openssl@3Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • aercShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, productivity, terminal.
  • alotShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, productivity, terminal.
  • neomuttShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, productivity, terminal.
  • popShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, productivity, terminal.
  • urlscanShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, productivity, terminal.
  • extract_urlShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, productivity.

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.

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