Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install chars with Homebrew, Nix

Command-line tool to display information about unicode characters. Version 0.7.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install chars

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#chars

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

overview

Package summary

Command-line tool to display information about unicode characters

Commands and aliases

  • chars

history

Project history and usage

Cha(rs) is a command-line Unicode and ASCII character inspection tool.

Project history

The official README presents Cha(rs) as a Rust command-line tool for displaying names and codes for ASCII and Unicode characters or code points. It explicitly positions the project as inspired by classic ascii(1)-style lookup tools while extending the idea to Unicode and control-character edge cases.

Adoption history

The README documents installation from source with cargo install and points to operating-system packages including Arch Linux AUR, Homebrew, and Chocolatey. Homebrew packages version 0.7.0 and reports small but steady install counts.

How it is used

Typical usage is running chars with a literal character, a Unicode code point such as U+1F63C, or an ambiguous numeric code, then reading the printed encodings, width, quote form, and Unicode name.

Why package nerds care

Cha(rs) is package-nerd interesting because it turns Unicode database lookup into a tiny terminal utility distributed through Rust and OS package managers, filling the same quick-reference role that ascii(1) filled for older character sets.

Timeline

  • 2026: Homebrew formula metadata lists chars 0.7.0 and packages Linux and macOS bottles.
  • 2026: Official repository README documents Cargo, Homebrew, AUR, Chocolatey, and source install paths.

Related projects

  • ascii(1)-style character lookup tools are named as inspiration in the official README.
  • Rust Cargo is the source and crate installation path documented by the official README.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 12 platform targets.
  • Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
charscliglobal 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 version0.7.0
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv0.7.0

https://github.com/boinkor-net/chars

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:chars
Version0.7.0
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/chars
Homepagehttps://github.com/boinkor-net/chars/
Repositoryhttps://github.com/boinkor-net/chars
Upstream docshttps://github.com/boinkor-net/chars#readme
LicenseMIT
Source archivehttps://github.com/boinkor-net/chars/archive/refs/tags/v0.7.0.tar.gz
Build dependenciesrust
Bottleavailable (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namechars
Version Scheme0
Revision0
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.

Nix95%

chars

nix profile install nixpkgs#chars
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Chars
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ch/chars/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/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

  • rustBuild dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • teipShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal, text-processing.
  • chalk-cliShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal.
  • chatbladeShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal.
  • ddgrShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal.
  • figletShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal.
  • fxShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, terminal.

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 package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment