install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install amber

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install amber

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

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add amber

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

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install amber

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

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#amber

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

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install extras/amber

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/amber.json · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Crystal web framework. Bare metal performance, productivity and happiness

Project links

Commands and aliases

amber

history

Project history and usage

Amber is a Crystal web application framework and CLI that packages the familiar full-stack MVC framework experience for Crystal developers. Its own README says it is inspired by Kemal, Rails, Phoenix, and other popular frameworks, with a focus on productivity, performance, and developer happiness.

Project history

The amberframework/amber repository was created in April 2017, during the period when Crystal's web ecosystem was forming around small fast HTTP libraries, Rails-like frameworks, and experiments in compiled-language productivity. Amber positioned itself as the cohesive, batteries-included option, not just a minimal web server shard.

Official documentation describes Amber as a server-side MVC framework with generators, database management, CLI commands, deployment tools, Docker support, encrypted secrets, websockets, and a conventional application layout. The README names Dru Jensen, Elias Perez, Isaac Sloan, Faustino Aguilar, Nick Franken, Mark Siemers, and Robert Carpenter among visible contributors.

Adoption history

Amber's adoption has largely followed the Crystal community rather than mainstream web-framework volume. It was packaged for Homebrew and other package managers because it provides a real CLI binary, project generator, and local development workflow, not just a library dependency in shard.yml.

The release stream reached v1.0 release-candidate status in 2021 and stable 1.4.x releases in 2023. Its documentation and README continued to emphasize familiar framework ergonomics for developers coming from Rails, Phoenix, Django, or Kemal.

How it is used

Users install the amber CLI, generate or manage an Amber project, and keep project-specific framework configuration under the application's config directory. The official configuration guide says each Amber project has config/environments YAML files such as development, test, and production, selected at runtime using AMBER_ENV.

Amber also has a built-in encrypt command for environment settings. Official docs say amber encrypt production decrypts and edits config/environments/.production.enc using .encryption_key or ENV[AMBER_ENCRYPTION_KEY], and warn that the encryption key should not be committed.

Why package nerds care

Amber is package-interesting because it is both a framework dependency and a generator CLI. Installing it from Homebrew gives users a global executable, while generated projects still depend on Crystal shards and checked-in application templates.

It also represents the Crystal ecosystem's recurring question for packagers: should framework tools be installed globally as native binaries, vendored through shards, or built per project with shards build amber?

Timeline

2017-04-17: amberframework/amber repository is created.
2021-06-15: v1.0.0rc2 release is published.
2022-10-26: v1.3.0 release is published.
2023-08-01: v1.4.0 release is published.
2023-08-02: v1.4.1 release is published.

Related projects

Crystal is the language runtime and shard ecosystem Amber targets.
Kemal, Rails, Phoenix, Django, and Hanami are named by Amber docs or README as inspirations or comparable framework traditions.
Amber's separate docs repository and site-assets repository support its documentation and project branding.

Sources

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 6 platform targets.
Installs with 7 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: config/environments/development.ymlconfig/environments/production.ymlconfig/environments/.production.enc

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Unix: .encryption_keyconfig/environments/.production.enc

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`amber`	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 generated2026-07-07

manager version1.4.1

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv1.4.1

https://github.com/amberframework/amber

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:amber
Version	1.4.1
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/amber
Homepage	https://amberframework.org/
Repository	https://github.com/amberframework/amber
Upstream docs	https://docs.amberframework.org/amber
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/amberframework/amber/archive/refs/tags/v1.4.1.tar.gz
Dependencies	bdw-gc, crystal, libevent, libyaml, openssl@3, pcre2, sqlite
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	amber
Version Scheme	0
Revision	2
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	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%

amber 0.0~git20171010.cdade1c-2+b16

Elegant HTML templating engine for Go, inspired from HAML and Jade (CLI tool)

https://github.com/eknkc/amber

sudo apt install amber

Section: text
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: golang-github-eknkc-amber
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Amber

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: amber from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

amber

nix profile install nixpkgs#amber

normalized package name match
Matched by: Amber

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

Ubuntu apt95%

amber 0.0~git20171010.cdade1c-2build1

Elegant HTML templating engine for Go, inspired from HAML and Jade (CLI tool)

https://github.com/eknkc/amber

sudo apt install amber

Section: universe/text
Architecture: amd64
Source Package: golang-github-eknkc-amber
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Amber

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: amber from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

apk95%

amber 0.5.1_alpha-r0

Programming language compiled to bash

https://amber-lang.com

sudo apk add amber

License: GPL-3.0-or-later
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: amber
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Amber

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: amber from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

MacPorts95%

amber

sudo port install amber

normalized package name match
Matched by: Amber

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: www/amber/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Scoop95%

extras/amber

scoop install extras/amber

normalized package name match
Matched by: Amber

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · api.github.com · Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/amber.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Extras/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/amber.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 amber with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix, scoop