Install bombadillo with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• bombadillo

Project history

Bombadillo was created in the tilde/Gopher revival milieu and is hosted on tildegit. Official repository metadata records the repository creation in March 2019, and the official README describes a terminal browser with vim-like keybindings, a document pager, configurable settings, and command selection.

The project reached version 1.0.0 in September 2019. Its README later documents a release process where, starting with version 2.0.0, releases merged to `master` are version-tagged while development proceeds through a `develop` branch and work branches.

Bombadillo's protocol set made it a natural fit for the Gemini era: it handles Gopher and Gemini as first-class protocols, keeps HTTP/HTTPS opt-in, and can delegate web rendering to programs such as Lynx, w3m, or elinks.

Adoption history

Bombadillo's adoption is concentrated among terminal users, tilde community members, Gemini and Gopher users, and people who prefer small-network browsing over the modern web. The input package facts list Alpine, Homebrew, Debian, MacPorts, Nix, and Ubuntu packaging, showing that it escaped its niche enough to become a normal Unix package.

The official README notes that development is largely handled by Sloum with help from asdf, jboverf, and community input, which matches the small-community maintenance model common in tilde and Gemini software.

How it is used

Common usage is simply running `bombadillo`, then navigating protocol URLs inside a full-screen terminal interface. Installed documentation is primarily the `bombadillo` man page; built-in help navigates to the project's Gopher-hosted user guide.

Administrators can build from source with `make install`, override `PREFIX`, and customize defaults in `defaults.go`; the `configlocation` default controls where `.bombadillo.ini` is stored.

Why package nerds care

Bombadillo is package-nerd significant because it represents a non-web browser packaged like a normal Unix CLI: man page, Makefile install, config file, source builds, and prebuilt releases. It is also a useful marker for the Gopher/Gemini revival reaching mainstream repositories.

For packagers, it is a tidy example of Go terminal software that still behaves like traditional Unix software: simple binary, man page, config file, optional external helpers, and distribution across Linux, BSD-style, and macOS package systems.

Timeline

• 2019: The tildegit repository is created.
• 2019: Bombadillo 1.0.0 is released.
• 2020s: Bombadillo supports Gopher, Gemini, Finger, and local files as first-class protocols.
• 2.0.0 onward: Releases merged into `master` are version-tagged according to the official README.

Related projects

• Related projects include Gopher clients, Gemini browsers such as amfora, terminal web browsers such as Lynx, w3m, and elinks, and tilde-community software hosted on tildegit.

Sources

• https://bombadillo.colorfield.space/
• https://bombadillo.colorfield.space/releases
• https://tildegit.org/api/v1/repos/sloum/bombadillo
• https://tildegit.org/sloum/bombadillo
• input.source_facts.package-manager