# Install bower with Homebrew, apk, chocolatey, pacman Package manager for the web. Version 1.8.14 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:bower ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install bower ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add bower ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: bower from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S bower ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: bower from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz ### Windows - Chocolatey (92%): ```sh choco install bower ``` Evidence: Chocolatey community package catalog: bower from http://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/Packages?$filter=IsLatestVersion&$select=Id&$top=1000&$skiptoken='9.1916','tektoncd-cli' ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:bower - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.8.14 - **Source summary:** Package manager for the web - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - bower (cli) - bower (alias) ## Dependencies - node ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.8.14 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://bower.io/ - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage Bower was one of the defining front-end package managers of the early 2010s: a Git-backed, browser-asset-oriented tool built before npm, Yarn, webpack, Vite, and modern bundlers absorbed most client-side dependency management. ### Project history The official About page says Bower was created at Twitter by @fat and @maccman and released as part of Twitter's open source effort in 2012. The public GitHub repository was created in September 2012 and describes the project as a package manager for the web. Bower's design targeted front-end assets rather than Node modules. The README and homepage emphasize a generic, unopinionated solution, no shared system-wide dependencies, a flat dependency tree, Git-based package resolution, and package-agnostic components containing JavaScript, CSS, fonts, images, or other web assets. ### Adoption history Bower became widely used by front-end projects that wanted predictable browser dependency installation before the npm ecosystem fully embraced front-end packages. Its registry, `bower.json`, `.bowerrc`, and `bower_components/` directory became common project artifacts. By 2017, the official Bower site and blog were already recommending Yarn and build tools for new front-end projects. The migration blog explains that Yarn 1.x could install many Bower packages but not resolve Bower dependencies directly, leading to compatibility helpers such as `bower-away` for legacy projects. ### How it is used Users installed Bower globally with npm, then ran commands such as `bower install`, `bower search`, `bower info`, `bower update`, and `bower register`. Dependencies were recorded in `bower.json`, installed into `bower_components/`, and controlled with `.bowerrc` settings. Bower intentionally did not concatenate, minify, or bundle code; it installed the requested versions and left integration to tools such as Grunt, gulp, RequireJS, webpack, or later build systems. ### Why package nerds care Bower matters because it captures a transitional moment in JavaScript packaging: browser packages still often lived as Git repositories with dist files, npm was not yet the universal front-end registry, and flat dependency graphs looked attractive for avoiding duplicate browser payloads. Its decline is equally instructive. The official recommendation to use Yarn and bundlers for new projects marks the shift from asset-package managers toward npm-centered dependency graphs, lockfiles, checksums, and integrated build pipelines. ### Timeline - 2012: Created at Twitter and released as part of Twitter's open source effort. - 2012: Public GitHub repository created. - 2014: GitHub Releases include the 1.x release line. - 2017: Official Bower blog published migration guidance away from Bower. - 2020s: Maintained mainly for legacy projects while the site recommends Yarn and modern build tools for new work. ### Related projects - npm is the package manager whose registry and package format eventually absorbed much front-end package distribution. - Yarn is the replacement recommended by the official Bower site for many new or migrated front-end projects. - webpack, Vite, Parcel, Grunt, gulp, and RequireJS are related build or module tools that either complemented Bower or replaced the workflow around it. ### Sources - - - - - - - ## Security Notes infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal. - **Geiger risk:** orange / medium - infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal ## 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 - Unix: .bowerrc, ~/.bowerrc, /.bowerrc ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** bower - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Conflicts With:** bower-mail - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - apk - bower - 1.1.1-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: bower from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | curses frontend for the Notmuch email system | https://github.com/wangp/bower - apk - bower-doc - 1.1.1-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: bower-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | curses frontend for the Notmuch email system (documentation) | https://github.com/wangp/bower - pacman - bower - 1.8.14-3: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: bower from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | A package manager for the web | https://bower.io/ - Chocolatey - bower: normalized package name match | Chocolatey community package catalog: bower from http://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/Packages?$filter=IsLatestVersion&$select=Id&$top=1000&$skiptoken='9.1916','tektoncd-cli' ## Related links - [Package publisher tools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/package-publishers/) - Belongs to a package publishing or registry command family. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [node](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/node/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pulp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pulp/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [pnpm](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pnpm/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, javascript, package-management, package-manager. - [spago](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/spago/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, javascript, package-management, package-manager. - [akku](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/akku/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [cabal-install](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cabal-install/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [clib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/clib/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [composer](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/composer/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [conan](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/conan/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [conda-lock](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/conda-lock/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, package-management, package-manager. - [bower](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/npm/bower/) - Same normalized package name appears in another local ecosystem. Shared terms: bower, manager. - [corepack](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/corepack/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: cli, developer, developer-tools, javascript, management. - [bower](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/npm/bower/) - Same normalized package name in another local ecosystem. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/bower.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/bower.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph