Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install buku with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix

Powerful command-line bookmark manager. Version 5.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-13.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install buku

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install buku

MacPorts ports tree · python/buku/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add buku

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

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install buku

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

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install buku

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · buku · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#buku

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

overview

Package summary

Powerful command-line bookmark manager

Commands and aliases

  • buku
  • bukuserver

history

Project history and usage

buku is a command-line bookmark manager built around a private, portable SQLite bookmark database. It sits in the Unix tradition of personal information tools that are scriptable, editor-friendly, and intentionally local-first.

Project history

The `jarun/buku` repository was created on 2015-11-01. In the README, the author explains that buku was written because they could not find a flexible command-line bookmark manager with a private, portable, mergeable database and seamless GUI integration.

Over time buku grew beyond simple URL storage into a bookmark database with browser import, automatic title/tag/description fetching, regex and fielded search, Wayback Machine lookups, import/export formats, manual encryption, shell completion, a Python API, and the optional `bukuserver` web UI.

Adoption history

buku's adoption followed the path of many beloved CLI productivity tools: distribution through PyPI and operating-system package managers, then auxiliary frontends and integrations around the core database. The input package facts list Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Alpine, MacPorts, Nix, and PyPI-adjacent installation routes.

The upstream README lists related projects such as a browser WebExtension, rofi frontend, search-as-you-type CLI frontend, and Android app, plus press/tutorial mentions. That ecosystem points to adoption by users who wanted browser bookmarks to become a portable, searchable personal dataset.

How it is used

Users add, edit, tag, search, open, import, export, and refresh bookmarks from the terminal. Common workflows include importing browser bookmarks, adding URLs with fetched metadata, searching by tags or URL/title/comment markers, exporting subsets to HTML/XBEL/Markdown/Org/RSS, and using an editor for bookmark entry.

`bukuserver` gives users a local web UI, while the Python API and related tools allow custom integrations. The database location can be redirected through `BUKU_DEFAULT_DBDIR` or XDG paths, which makes syncing and backups straightforward.

Why package nerds care

buku is package-nerd catnip because it turns a browser-owned feature into a plain local database with a normal CLI. It is small enough to understand, useful enough to package everywhere, and scriptable enough to become part of shell workflows.

Its charm is that it treats bookmarks like data: searchable, exportable, mergeable, syncable, and private by default rather than bound to one browser profile or cloud account.

Timeline

  • 2015: Public `jarun/buku` repository is created.
  • 2010s: buku gains packaging across Python and Linux/macOS package managers.
  • 2010s: Related projects appear around browser integration, rofi, Android, and web UI workflows.
  • 2026: The repository remains active and continues to document package-manager installation and a broad feature set.

Related projects

  • buku is related to `bukuserver`, bukubrow, oil, buku_run, buku-dmenu, buku-android, browser bookmark import/export formats, SQLite, PyPI packaging, and XDG data-directory conventions.

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for buku. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
  • Installs with 5 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
$BUKU_DEFAULT_DBDIR/bookmarks.db$XDG_DATA_HOME/buku/bookmarks.db~/.local/share/buku/bookmarks.db./bookmarks.db
Windows
%APPDATA%\buku\bookmarks.db.\bookmarks.db

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
bukucliglobal executable
bukuservercliglobal 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 version5.1
manager updated2026-06-13
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv5.1

https://github.com/jarun/buku

  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:buku
Version5.1
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/buku
Homepagehttps://github.com/jarun/buku
Repositoryhttps://github.com/jarun/buku
Upstream docshttps://buku.readthedocs.io/en/latest
LicenseGPL-3.0-or-later
Source archivehttps://github.com/jarun/buku/archive/refs/tags/v5.1.tar.gz
Last updated2026-06-13T11:21:14-07:00
Pulseupdated
Dependenciescertifi, cryptography, libyaml, python@3.14, rpds-py
Uses from macOSlibffi
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namebuku
Version Scheme0
Revision5
Head VersionHEAD
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • head
  • 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%

buku 4.9+ds-1

Powerful command-line bookmark manager

https://github.com/jarun/Buku

sudo apt install buku
  • Section: misc
  • Architecture: all
  • 6 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: buku from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

buku

nix profile install nixpkgs#buku
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/bu/buku/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

buku 4.8+ds-1

Powerful command-line bookmark manager

https://github.com/jarun/Buku

sudo apt install buku
  • Section: universe/misc
  • Architecture: all
  • 6 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: buku from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

buku 5.1-r0

Cmdline bookmark management utility

https://github.com/jarun/Buku

sudo apk add buku
  • License: GPL-3.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: buku
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: buku from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

buku-bash-completion 5.1-r0

Bash completions for buku

https://github.com/jarun/Buku

sudo apk add buku-bash-completion
  • License: GPL-3.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: buku
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: buku-bash-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

buku-doc 5.1-r0

Cmdline bookmark management utility (documentation)

https://github.com/jarun/Buku

sudo apk add buku-doc
  • License: GPL-3.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: buku
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: buku-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

buku-fish-completion 5.1-r0

Fish completions for buku

https://github.com/jarun/Buku

sudo apk add buku-fish-completion
  • License: GPL-3.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: buku
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: buku-fish-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

buku-pyc 5.1-r0

Precompiled Python bytecode for buku

https://github.com/jarun/Buku

sudo apk add buku-pyc
  • License: GPL-3.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: buku
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: buku-pyc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

buku-zsh-completion 5.1-r0

Zsh completions for buku

https://github.com/jarun/Buku

sudo apk add buku-zsh-completion
  • License: GPL-3.0-or-later
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: buku
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: buku-zsh-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

buku 4.9-4.fc44

Powerful command-line bookmark manager

https://github.com/jarun/Buku

sudo dnf install buku
  • License: GPL-3.0-or-later
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: noarch
  • Source Package: buku
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: buku from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
MacPorts95%

buku

sudo port install buku
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Buku
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: python/buku/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/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.

Related tools

Same workflow

  • jpdfbookmarksShares av.db curated category or tags: bookmarks, cli, productivity.
  • apparixShares av.db curated category or tags: bookmarks, cli, productivity.
  • bkmrShares av.db curated category or tags: bookmarks, cli, productivity.
  • cdargsShares av.db curated category or tags: bookmarks, cli, productivity.
  • filebrowserShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity, web-ui.
  • hledgerShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity, web-ui.

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.

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