install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install chawan

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add chawan

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

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#chawan

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

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S chawan

Arch Linux sync databases · chawan · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install chawan

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · chawan · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

TUI web browser with CSS, inline image and JavaScript support

Project links

Commands and aliases

cha
mancha

history

Project history and usage

Chawan is a Unix-like text-mode web browser and pager that aims to implement modern web standards in a self-contained terminal browser, including CSS, optional inline images, and optional JavaScript.

Project history

Chawan is developed primarily in Nim and hosted on SourceHut, with Codeberg listed as another source mirror. The official news archive begins with the 0.2.0 release in June 2025 and shows active 0.3 and 0.4 releases through June 2026.

Adoption history

The official site lists volunteer-maintained stable packages for Alpine Linux, Arch Linux, Debian testing, FreeBSD, Gentoo guru, Homebrew, NixOS, Slackware, and Void Linux, plus unstable packages through AUR, AppImage, Gentoo live ebuild, and Homebrew HEAD. That breadth is unusual for a young terminal browser and makes its packaging story part of the project identity.

How it is used

The `cha` command opens URLs and files, can act as a pager, supports web, SFTP, FTP, gopher, gemini, file, finger, and spartan browsing, and can dump rendered content when stdout is not a TTY. The config documentation defines the canonical `~/.chawan/config.toml` path and XDG/`CHA_DIR` alternatives.

Why package nerds care

Chawan is significant to package nerds because it revives the terminal-browser category with modern packaging friction: image protocols, QuickJS, sandboxing, Nim, multiple Unix distributions, and headless rendering all need to be expressed cleanly in distro formulas. It is also interesting as a modern counterpart to older text browsers such as w3m while using newer terminal capabilities.

Timeline

2025-06: Official news archive lists Chawan 0.2.0.
2025-11: Official news archive lists Chawan 0.3.0.
2026-05: Official news archive lists Chawan 0.4.0.
2026-06: Official news archive lists Chawan 0.4.3.

Related projects

Chame is Chawan's HTML5 parser subproject.
Chagashi is a related pure-Nim character coding library.
Monoucha is a related QuickJS binding generator and runtime glue project.
w3m and vi are cited by the official site as UI inspirations.

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for chawan. 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 3 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 2 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.

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: $CHA_DIR/config.toml${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/chawan/config.toml~/.chawan/config.toml

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`cha`	cli	global executable
`mancha`	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 version0.4.3

manager updated2026-06-21

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://sr.ht/~bptato/chawan/

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://sr.ht/~bptato/chawan/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:chawan
Version	0.4.3
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/chawan
Homepage	https://sr.ht/~bptato/chawan/
Repository	https://git.sr.ht/~bptato/chawan
Upstream docs	https://chawan.net/doc/cha/cha.html
License	Unlicense
Source archive	https://git.sr.ht/~bptato/chawan/archive/v0.4.3.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-21T17:48:25Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	brotli, libssh2, openssl@3
Build dependencies	nim, pkgconf
Uses from macOS	curl, ncurses
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	chawan
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
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%

chawan

nix profile install nixpkgs#chawan

normalized package name match
Matched by: Chawan

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ch/chawan/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

apk95%

chawan 0.4.2-r0

TUI web browser

https://git.sr.ht/~bptato/chawan

sudo apk add chawan

License: Unlicense
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: chawan
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Chawan

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: chawan from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

apk95%

chawan-doc 0.4.2-r0

TUI web browser (documentation)

https://git.sr.ht/~bptato/chawan

sudo apk add chawan-doc

License: Unlicense
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: chawan
normalized package name match
Matched by: Chawan

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: chawan-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

pacman95%

chawan 0.4.2-1

A text-mode web browser and pager for Unix-like systems

https://chawan.net/

sudo pacman -S chawan

License: Unlicense
Architecture: x86_64
6 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Chawan

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: chawan from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

zypper95%

chawan 0.3.3-2.2

Terminal-based web browser and pager

https://chawan.net/

sudo zypper install chawan

License: Unlicense
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: chawan
7 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Chawan

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: chawan from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

combined/chawan.yml

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

Install chawan with Homebrew, apk, Nix, pacman, zypper