macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install api-linterlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install api-linter with Homebrew, Nix
Linter for APIs defined in protocol buffers. Version 2.3.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#api-linternixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ap/api-linter/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Linter for APIs defined in protocol buffers
Project links
Commands and aliases
- api-linter
history
Project history and usage
Google API Linter is a Go command-line linter for APIs defined in protocol buffers. It checks protobuf API surfaces against Google's API Improvement Proposals, making Google's API design guidance enforceable in local development and CI.
Project history
The public GitHub repository was created in 2019 under googleapis. The README and official documentation frame the tool as a companion to Google's AIP guidance: it can identify common mistakes in API surfaces, offer fixes where possible, and document individual lint rules.
The project explicitly does not follow strict semantic versioning. Its README explains that new or corrected lint rules can be breaking for users because previously clean files may begin reporting findings, so release numbers reflect the linter's core interface rather than a pure compatibility promise.
Adoption history
api-linter is most naturally adopted by teams designing protobuf APIs in the Google style. The README documents installation with Go and notes a Google-internal released binary for internal source control users, while the batch input shows Homebrew and Nix packaging for external command-line installation.
How it is used
The basic invocation is api-linter followed by one or more proto files. It supports proto import paths, descriptor sets, rule listing, structured output formats such as YAML, JSON, GitHub, and summary, and a set-exit-status flag for CI enforcement.
Configuration is supplied explicitly through the --config flag or inline proto comments. The official configuration docs show JSON and YAML config examples that enable or disable rules by included or excluded path, but they do not document a default config-file path, so no config-file-location is recorded here.
Why package nerds care
For package-manager users, api-linter is a compact example of policy-as-CLI: it packages a large body of API-design convention into a reproducible binary. It matters to protobuf-heavy shops because it can be pinned, run in presubmit checks, and upgraded deliberately when new lint rules land.
Timeline
- 2019: Public googleapis/api-linter repository created.
- 2025: Version 2.0.0 released, marking a major core-interface version.
- 2026: Versions 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 continued rule and interface evolution.
Related projects
- The linter is tied to API Improvement Proposals at aip.dev and to Protocol Buffers API definitions. It is adjacent to protobuf compilers, buf-based linting workflows, and API governance tooling.
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.
- 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.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
api-linter | 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 version2.3.1
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv2.3.1
https://github.com/googleapis/api-linter
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:api-linter |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.3.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/api-linter |
| Homepage | https://linter.aip.dev/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/googleapis/api-linter |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/googleapis/api-linter#readme |
| License | Apache-2.0 |
| Source archive | https://github.com/googleapis/api-linter/archive/refs/tags/v2.3.1.tar.gz |
| Build dependencies | go |
| 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 | api-linter |
| 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 |
|
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%
api-linter
nix profile install nixpkgs#api-linter- normalized package name match
- Matched by: API Linter
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
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment