macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install cfenginelocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install cfengine with Homebrew, apk
Help manage and understand IT infrastructure. Version 3.27.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add cfengineAlpine Linux edge package indexes · cfengine · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
overview
Package summary
Help manage and understand IT infrastructure
Project links
Commands and aliases
- cf-agent
- cf-check
- cf-execd
- cf-key
- cf-monitord
- cf-net
- cf-promises
- cf-runagent
- cf-secret
- cf-serverd
- cf-support
- cf-upgrade
- rpmvercmp
history
Project history and usage
CFEngine is a long-running open source configuration management and infrastructure automation system. Official docs describe lightweight C-based agents that continually converge machines toward desired state written in the CFEngine policy language.
Project history
The CFEngine core README says CFEngine was originally created by Mark Burgess and that CFEngine 3 is a popular open source configuration management system for automated configuration and maintenance of large-scale computer systems. The same README describes CFEngine 3 as a significant, incompatible generation after CFEngine 2.
Adoption history
The official overview says CFEngine runs across many platforms, from embedded devices through servers, cloud systems, and mainframes, and can handle tens or hundreds of thousands of hosts. The input package facts show it packaged for Homebrew and Alpine.
How it is used
Administrators write desired state in `.cf` policy files, normally stored under `/var/cfengine/masterfiles` on policy hubs and cached into `/var/cfengine/inputs` on clients before local `cf-agent` execution.
Why package nerds care
CFEngine matters in package-manager culture because it is one of the classic Unix-native configuration management agents: a pile of small `cf-*` binaries, a private `/var/cfengine` workspace, local convergence, and policy-as-code before that term became fashionable.
Timeline
- CFEngine 2 era: CFEngine 3 kept enough server protocol compatibility to support gradual upgrades.
- 2012: Official `cfengine/core` GitHub repository metadata records repository creation.
- CFEngine 3: Official README documents a more powerful but policy-language-incompatible generation.
Related projects
- Official source repositories include `cfengine/core`, `cfengine/masterfiles`, `cfengine/documentation`, `cfengine/cf-remote`, and `cfengine/buildscripts`.
- CFEngine's documentation links the system to Promise Theory.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: orange
infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.
Risk classifier
orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure
Why
- infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal
Signals
- text:infrastructure
Install behavior
- Homebrew declares a post-install hook for this formula.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 4 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
/var/cfengine/masterfiles/var/cfengine/inputs
Credential files
Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.
- Unix
/var/cfengine/ppkeys
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
cf-agent | cli | global executable | |
cf-check | cli | global executable | |
cf-execd | cli | global executable | |
cf-key | cli | global executable | |
cf-monitord | cli | global executable | |
cf-net | cli | global executable | |
cf-promises | cli | global executable | |
cf-runagent | cli | global executable | |
cf-secret | cli | global executable | |
cf-serverd | cli | global executable | |
cf-support | cli | global executable | |
cf-upgrade | cli | global executable | |
rpmvercmp | 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 version3.27.1
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://cfengine.com/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:cfengine |
|---|---|
| Version | 3.27.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/cfengine |
| Homepage | https://cfengine.com/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/cfengine/core |
| Upstream docs | https://docs.cfengine.com/ |
| License | BSD-3-Clause AND GPL-2.0-or-later AND GPL-3.0-only AND LGPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://cfengine-package-repos.s3.amazonaws.com/tarballs/cfengine-community-3.27.1.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-22T14:03:00-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | librsync, lmdb, openssl@3, pcre2 |
| Uses from macOS | curl, libxml2 |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | cfengine |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| 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.
apk95%
cfengine 3.27.1-r0
A systems administration tool for networks
sudo apk add cfengine- License: GPL-3.0-only
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: cfengine
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cfengine
apk95%
cfengine-doc 3.27.1-r0
A systems administration tool for networks (documentation)
sudo apk add cfengine-doc- License: GPL-3.0-only
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: cfengine
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cfengine
apk95%
cfengine-masterfiles 3.27.1-r0
Cfengine default masterfiles
sudo apk add cfengine-masterfiles- License: GPL-3.0-only
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: cfengine
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Cfengine
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 configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment