# Install braid with Homebrew Simple tool to help track vendor branches in a Git repository. Version 1.1.10 via Homebrew; verified 2026-04-20. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:braid ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install braid ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:braid - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.1.10 - **Source summary:** Simple tool to help track vendor branches in a Git repository - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-04-20T01:21:19Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - braid (cli) - braid (alias) ## Dependencies - ruby ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.1.10 - Package-manager updated: 2026-04-20 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/cristibalan/braid - Upstream latest detected: v1.1.10 (current) ## Project history and usage Braid is a Ruby command-line tool for tracking vendored Git repositories inside another Git repository. It records vendored mirrors in .braids.json and provides commands to add, update, diff, and push changes back. ### Project history The GitHub repository for Braid was created in February 2008. Its official site frames the project around the old vendoring problem: projects often copied third-party source into their tree, then struggled to update it or send local changes upstream. Braid's solution is to keep metadata about the external repository, branch, tag, revision, or subdirectory in .braids.json. That gives a plain Git repository enough memory to update a vendored copy later without converting the vendored directory into a nested repository. ### Adoption history The official documentation presents RubyGems installation with gem install braid, while the input facts record Homebrew packaging. Its audience is narrower than Git itself: teams that deliberately vendor source and need repeatable updates. Braid remained useful where teams preferred checked-in source copies over package-manager references, especially when local patches or co-evolution with the upstream library made binary package dependencies awkward. ### How it is used Typical usage starts with braid add , which vendors a remote Git repository into a project path and updates .braids.json. Later, braid update pulls upstream changes, braid diff emits local changes as a patch, and braid push can send local changes back to a source branch. The documentation also covers pinning to branches, tags, or revisions and selecting subdirectories from a remote repository, making Braid a lightweight alternative to manual copy-and-patch vendoring. ### Why package nerds care Braid is interesting because it sits at the boundary between dependency management and version control. It preserves vendored source inside one repository while adding just enough metadata to make updates reproducible. For package historians, it captures a pre-monorepo, pre-lockfile style of dependency handling common in Ruby and web projects: when package registries existed, but teams still wanted patched source in-tree. ### Timeline - 2008-02: The Braid GitHub repository was created. - 2022-01: The documentation described supported environments as Linux, macOS, and Windows with recent Git and Ruby dependencies. - 2024: The GitHub repository still showed recent activity in official repository metadata. ### Related projects - Git is the underlying version-control system Braid extends. - RubyGems is the installation channel shown in Braid's official documentation. - Manual vendoring by copying source trees is the workflow Braid was built to improve. ### Sources - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## 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: /.braids.json ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** braid - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 2 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [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. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [ruby](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ruby/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [codeberg-cli](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/codeberg-cli/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, git, version-control. - [dura](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dura/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, git, version-control. - [gcli](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gcli/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, git, version-control. - [git-branchless](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-branchless/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, git, version-control. - [git-cinnabar](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-cinnabar/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, git, version-control. - [git-cola](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-cola/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, git, version-control. - [git-gui](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-gui/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, git, version-control. - [git-lfs](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-lfs/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, git, version-control. - [sugarjar](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sugarjar/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: cli, control, developer, developer-tools, git. - [git-delete-merged-branches](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-delete-merged-branches/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: branches, cli, control, developer, developer-tools. - [git-series](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-series/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, control, developer, developer-tools, git. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/braid.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/braid.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 - cross-ecosystem install command graph